subject: There's Never Been A Better Time For Home Remodeling [print this page] As any home buyer can tell you, there's no such thing as a perfect house that meets every need and desire. There's always a mental image of that dream home in the ideal location when the house hunt begins. That image is usually crushed in short order when the reality of the market and the houses available prove to be inadequate, overpriced, or in inconvenient or undesirable locations. By looking at house hunting from a different direction, though, it may be possible to get everything you ever wanted and more at the price you can afford.
Homes that are brand new or are in move-in condition are going to be priced at the top of the market so the only equity in the home will be the down payment. Even finding a house that's close to what you want will require a few changes here and there to meet your taste and individual requirements, requiring additional expense. No such thing as a perfect house, right? Perhaps a better approach to getting the perfect house for you as well as making a wise investment would be to purchase a home that is affectionately known in the industry as a "fixer upper."
There are some tremendous deals to be made now due to the volatile housing market. While no one wants to think about making a profit on someone else's loss, there are foreclosed homes available in most every neighborhood that are priced way below market value. Lenders are anxious to find buyers and are accepting much lower offers than they would have considered just a couple of years ago. A house in an ideal location, even if it has a funky floor plan or needs more space to accommodate the family, may have the potential to be that ideal home after the remodeling that will be affordable with the drastically reduced price of the home. Even after the cost of remodeling, the house will likely have instant equity when priced at market value.
Also a result of the depressed housing market is the number of highly experienced and reputable general contractors available to take on any size of remodeling job. Expert tradesmen are looking for work and willing to make great deals to keep their employees working. With lowered demand, material costs are lowered as well, making now the best time to do those remodeling projects to make your home more functional, more reflective of your tastes and desires, and increase the home's value. With quality remodeling, there is such a thing as a perfect house after all.
