buy a really cheap house that needs work but you wouldn't need a mortgage or buy a more expensive house that is already done but would have a mortgage? TIA
cjb88
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Re: Would it be better to
i think it depends on what kind of person you are... if you are handy, i would buy the less expensive house that needed no work... then fix it up and the value of your house would go up... if you werent handy at all and didnt have time or patience to fix things up, i would pick the more expensive house....
EJSD2006
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Re: Would it be better to
in my experience, there's no such thing as a 'turn key' home. meaning, there's no home out there that has 100% of everything that you're looking for. people buy a house and then make a bunch of changes when they move in anyway. they'll knock down walls, pull up carpets, redo the driveway, etc. so why not buy a house that's less expensive and then make the house up the way you want. and 9 times out of 10 you'll know someone who knows someone who knows someone that can do the work for cheap. good luck in your home search!
lrs2005
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Re: Would it be better to
I think it would really depend upon how much work the house needed to answer this question. If the house needed to be completly gutted to the point where I could not live there and I had no where else to stay I would vote for a more expensive home that needed some work but I could still live there while the work was done. I am comfortable having a mortgage for the following reasons: 1. tax write off 2. what happens if I have an emergency and I need the money. Now I may own the house outright, but if I am house poor that would do nothing for me. 3. I really did not want to deal with the hastels of building/ redoing a lot of stuff. My DH is not extremely handy and I don't know a lot of people that could help me do the things I would want for free/reduced prices....so I would rather have a home that was done and all I had to do was paint or some minor repairs. That is just me. If you are handy or know people that are good with tools then I could see the temptation of the renovation.
Meaghan729
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Re: Would it be better to
i would go for the house that needs work - because then you can make it however you want - you'll never find a house that you love perfectly, so you might as well do it yourself!
Blu-ize
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Re: Would it be better to
We went for a home that had the big stuff done. New kitchen, roof was only 6 years old..boiler and water heater pretty new..etc..
We are re-doing the brick work, adding gutters, re-doing a staircase, put in a floor and may replace some fixtures in both bathrooms. We added little touches like bringing the laundry room upstairs, building a pantry closet (in the works).
But even though this house was listed as mint, these are things that needed to be done or at least we wanted to do.
We are going to re-paint some rooms and the exterior ourselves this summer with the help of friends. These are cosmetic things that did not deter us from buying the house.
Now, if the roof needed replacing, electric, plumbing, etc..then we would have to re-think buying the house.
Beth1210
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Re: Would it be better to
is the work all cosmetic or is it major things
I think you need to think about how much money you would need to put into the house- it adds up quick
and how will you pay for all the renovations- the interest rates are usually higher on loans for that
dgtlsunshine
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Re: Would it be better to
I would definately go the route of no mortgage
Mrs. dleeny
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Re: Would it be better to
you're going to do the work in the house that's a fixer anyway, right? so the extra money will be spent regardless.
that being said, I would go for the house that requires little if any work. you will also save yourself A LOT of aggravation!
Blu-ize
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Just want to add that you are never done with home improvements. Once you do something, you want to do something else.
curliegirl
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Re: Would it be better to
Posted by Blu-ize
Just want to add that you are never done with home improvements. Once you do something, you want to do something else.
So true, my poor DH is never satisfied!!!!! But thankfully he is very handy.....
RikkisDad
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Re: Would it be better to
The only problem is that when you buy a home outright with no mortgage and it needs TLC, you are going to wind up with either a mortgage or a HELOC to fix it up, if you have the money to pay for a handyman special and have the money to upgrade and fix it to your desires, by all means do that. But realize despite the housing market and despite how much rates have risen, houses are liabilities NOT assests....regardless of liens...
