The first question you should answer is wether to buy a house to renovate or a turn-key ready house. This is a personal decision of course but this will drastically impact your budget and how you will spend it. But it also depends on your DYI skills and experience, your timeline, and preferences.
The Catskills and Sullivan County, NY have been hot for a few years now and the pandemic only accelerated this trend! If you are looking into buying a home there, just know it’s a hot real estate market with prices going up by 13% in 2022 almost doubling in value vs. 2020. Deciding for a house ready to move in or a fixer upper will be critical to decide how / when / where you will spend your budget
Here are some pros and cons to consider:
Buying a house to renovate
The pro’s of buying a house to renovate are:
- Better deal: it takes times, money and experience to renovate a house so you are paying a premium if you buy a turn-key ready house. Basically that’s what fixer-upper are doing to make a profit. Are you up for the renovation challenge or do you want to move right after you got they keys?
- Customization: Renovating a house allows you to personalize it to your tastes and needs.
- Learning experience: Renovating a house can be a great learning experience, especially if you’re interested in home improvement and DYI.
Cons of buying a house to renovate:
- Uncertainty: Renovating a house can come with unexpected costs and delays, which can be stressful and frustrating.
- Time and effort: Renovating a house can be time-consuming and require a lot of physical labor. And let’s be clear: this is not a HGTV show, it will take (much) more time than you think!
Buying a turn-key ready house
- Move-in ready: A turn-key ready house requires little to no work before moving in.
- Predictable costs: With a turn-key ready house, you know what you’re getting and what it will cost upfront.
- Time-saving: Buying a move-in ready house saves time compared to renovating a house.
Cons of buying a turn-key ready house:
- Limited customization: A turn-key ready house may not be personalized to your tastes and needs.
- Higher price: Move-in ready houses may come with a higher price tag than fixer-uppers. Even if you include the renovation costs
Ultimately, you should consider your financial situation, timeline, and willingness to put in time and effort before making a decision. If you have the skills, experience, and budget, a fixer-upper could be great. If you want to move in quicker and if you need to optimize for predictability vs. customization then a turn-key ready house will be your thing.
If you are up for the task and you need some help, you should reach out to us. Michael Interieur can help you designing your home based on your needs and make this renovation process easier for you. You should contact us now!