5 Projects to Focus On When You Buy a Fixer Upper

When you’re buying a home, you’ll have plenty of options on offer. Broadly, these can be broken into several categories, with one of the more notable of these being a fixer upper. These are broken-down homes that have been neglected for years.

This neglect leads to them being more affordable than alternatives, but you’ll need to put a lot of work into them. Despite that, it can be more affordable overall to buy a fixer upper. The work it needs could cost much less than the price difference compared to more traditional homes.

When you’re doing this work, though, it’s worth making sure you get several projects out of the way. That way, your new home will look amazing and be safe to move into before you know it.

Why Buy a Fixer Upper?

Before diving in, it is recommended to look at why you should buy a fixer upper in the first place. It offers more than a few benefits on top of being affordably priced. The largest of these are:

• Greater control over how the house ends up looking
• Letting you make sure the work done on it is high quality
• Not needing to deal with many other people putting offers in

After buying a fixer upper, it’s worth focusing on a few particular projects. That way, you can make sure it’s structurally sound and safe to move into. Five of these can be worth starting off with.

Buy a Fixer Upper: 5 Projects to Focus On

1. Drywalls

Fixer uppers tend to have a few common areas that need to be worked on. They’re what’ll start falling apart the fastest, with drywalls being one of the more notable. This doesn’t just mean damage will need to be repaired, though. Sometimes, you could want to move the drywall around.

This lets you free up space in some rooms and even create some subdivisions. This could mean needing to take down some drywalls while putting some up in other areas. Since this can affect the flooring and other areas, it’s worth getting out of the way early.

2. Foundation Work

The foundation is one of the more important parts of the house. When there are problems with this, there’ll be problems with the rest of the property. It’s vital you put some time and effort into it because of that. This is best left to a professional.

There are countless options to pick from, depending on exactly what needs to be done. Looking up ‘concrete jacking near me’ and similar services lets you find the right ones for you. With the foundation serviced, you wouldn’t have to worry about the house coming down.

3. Flooring

The flooring in your house can make or break a room, and it’s always worth making sure you have the right one for your preferences. While there could be damage to the floors that need to be addressed, many flooring projects tend to focus on aesthetics. You’ll need to tear the original flooring up first.

When you do, make sure there isn’t any damage underneath. This could cause problems with your new flooring when it’s put down, which will be a headache later on. Once the floors are taken care of, you’ll see each of the rooms taking shape.

4. Exterior Upgrades

When you first buy a fixer upper, the outside of it isn’t going to be too nice. It’ll look like it’s been neglected for quite a while. Naturally, this makes the exterior a priority. Focus on any repairs that need to be taken care of first, and then pay attention to your curb appeal.

This makes sure there aren’t any issues inside the house because of any cracks or holes in the outside walls. This could be one of the larger projects to focus on, especially when it comes to the roof. With these taken care of, your house should be more structurally sound.

5. Window Replacements

With most of the large work out of the way, it’s worth starting to look at some of the smaller areas. Windows are in the middle area with this, so they could take priority over the minor fixes. Many of the windows already in the home could be broken or outdated and need to be replaced.

Going with modern options to make sure they’re as energy efficient as possible. While that could mean paying a little more, you’ll save on your energy bills. Leave this until you have all of the exterior and wall improvements taken care of.

In Conclusion

If you buy a fixer upper, you’ll already know you’ll have to put a lot of work into it. Focusing on certain projects first makes sure you can move into the house relatively quickly while making it safe and comfortable to live in. Once they’re out of the way, there’ll be nothing to worry about.