house buying abilities
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- vwsung18t0
i wanted to do something like that, where i buy a DIY house and flip it for more money but i don't think i know enough about fixing stuff. i can make window screens like there's no tomorrow, though.
- UndoUndo0
id never take on a big job that involves building but in britain its surprising how much a place can gain value just by making it presentable by tidying it up, fixing simple broken stuff and painting it magnolia.
you can also get good deals from developers if your prepared to buy off-plan, if you get into their early enough you can walk into equity when you get the keys
- tkmeister0
bathroom/kitchen fix up is an instant value increaser.
it's very tricky to buy a fix up. you need to make sure the house is solid. after all, you may end up spending 50k+ on renovation and a year renovating. if i do a fix up, i'd do all the renovation up-front and quick.
- Nairn0
I severely dislike this term used in the States for selling property at a profit - 'flip' utterly devalues the whole escapade for me.
- nosaj0
I'm in the process of finishing up a 3 year old restoration of a hundred year old house.
I started with 0 experience or knowledge, but absolutely love working on it now.
To date we've:
Rebuilt massive deck from the frame up
Rewired the whole house
Painted complete exterior
Remodeled kitched
Hardwood floors in downstairs
Refinished Pine floors upstairs
Painted complete interior.
Repaired and re-shingled roof poarch
Refinished Fireplace.
- vwsung18t0
who did you do this with? i don't know anyone that knows what they're doing.
- kelpie0
arg, I'm about 20K down on buying any 1 bedroom up here on these mortgage-calculators.
I will never own my own home :(
- kelpie0
actually, make that 35K
- tkmeister0
another thing to remember is that getting loan now is harder, especially after the whole new century subprime shit. you need to have excellent credit score to get a prime rate and they do more checking on your income, and other stuff.
- vwsung18t0
fortunately, i do have good credit (somehow). my loans should be completely paid off in about two years by then i should have enough money saved for a down payment. maybe i should get a housemate.
- kelpie0
then you'd need to buy a bigger house, unless you were shagging them...
- nosaj0
vwsung18t - I have some friends that are handy that helped me get started. I hired an electrician of a friend friend to do the wiring, I took a week off work and acted as his assistant.
The reason i mention this is we had a really small budget when we were looking to buy. Our option were to buy a house needing lots of renovations in a part of town we liked or a duplex in 80's suburbs. It is a little stressful, and time consuming but also really rewarding. I wouldn't want to do it alone though... my wife has done so much work also.
- Jaline0
My family have been working on our house for a few years now as well. It's about 16 years old, and we managed to re-floor nearly everything, get the roof done again, get the entire basement finished (we never did anything with it for 15 years), get the kitchen re-done, etc, etc.
We're still working on some of the flooring. Most of these are summer projects, and since there are 7 of us we get most of it done by ourselves by taking classes and reading books.
- Jaline0
I think my parents are planning on selling it within 10 years...
- nosaj0
Nice Jaline - a team of 7 would be awesome,
Getting a fixer upper also brings you into the world of buying tools. Mitre saws, wet tile saws, compressors, Air nailers... all tons of fun.
- Jaline0
nosaj, we also got an electrician to learn things from. family friend.
- vwsung18t0
i should look for a large 'fixer-upper' and look for housemates, preferably good at electrician things. how old do you think i can go having a housemate?
- -sputnik-0
trust me on this one: if you can't afford a 30 year fixed mortgage and need "creative financing" such as zero down and ARMs, you probably can't afford the house.
- kelpie0
what if you don't even know what they are?
- -sputnik-0
u mean what a fixed versus adjustable rate mortgage are? i have found that a lot of decent mortgage bankers are knowledgeable and will discuss them w/you - you can ask to speak to one at a bank. otherwise, here's the most elegantly designed site on the innernet:
http://www.mtgprofessor.com/type…
(just googled and found it)