The Enticing Pull of a Fixer-Upper
By: Rebeca Ansar
Tags: Housing, Investing, Real Estate, Blog, Self

I love home makeover shows.

On my bucket list is one project that was inspired by watching too much HGTV. I spent my last break between school semesters eating Nutella and watching houses transformed from a dump into a space people would dream to live inside.

My primary real-estate interest at present is the Austin housing market. My partner and I got our crash course in property investment one year ago, when we purchased our first house. A brood of cacti welcomed us in the front yard. The olive green exterior captured the neighborhood’s charm- not too showy. It was spacious with the appeal of feeling cozy.

We stayed there for a couple of months before converting the house into a rental property. Our cats had a phenomenal time running around like crazy.

Our approach to money changed.

Our monthly rental income would have been enough to cover a 30-year mortgage. Because we chose a more aggressive time frame for repayment, we end up paying a small out-of-pocket percentage. When we invested in the house, we had to make sure we were ready for the best and worst-case scenarios.

At worst, we must have the entire monthly mortgage payment saved up. And, at best, we will still be paying a few hundred dollars each month to make up for the gap between our rental income and the amount we owe.

This requires a different mindset. There’s not as much wiggle room when it comes to large-scale purchases, and we have to take our financial commitments into account before we take on any new responsibilities.

Personally, I am unwilling to sacrifice my quality of life beyond a certain point for a better future. I’ll work on building one, but it has to be within reason. I need a trade-off that works for me. What this looks like is more home-cooked dinners and less impulsive shopping.

The inside was like meeting your date in person and realizing, rather quickly, the enormity of the damage.

Investing in real estate should be done with care.

Research is critical. You need to know what areas are experiencing economic growth and what the property value trends are.

You’ll also benefit from finding a team that you can trust. Have conversations with a few realtors to understand their work styles and evaluate if those styles are compatible with yours. If you’re renting out your property, you might consider getting a property manager. This person can be especially helpful if you travel often or live far away from your investment properties.

As I search for the next investment property, I look through Zillow and Realty Austin, both sites provide a lot of great information on the real estate market for beginners.

The house looked like a perfect fixer-upper.

I was scrolling through property listings a couple of nights ago when I came across the house. Fresh brick lined the structure. A wooden door beckoned the guest. There was ample front yard, enough to create a clear separation between the house and the street.

Even the driveway looked new. The cement didn’t show any visible oil stains and there were no major cracks.

This house was similar to an excellent online dating profile. A little too good to be true. That’s exactly what it was. The inside was like meeting your date in person and realizing, rather quickly, the enormity of the damage.

It had two stories and was less than 1000 square feet. Dilapidated carpet and horribly textured walls met you in the small living room. If you kept walking toward the backyard, you found your way into a narrow kitchen with appliances from the 80s. The wooden cabinets were so disgusting that I wanted to buy the house just to get rid of them.

The bedrooms were upstairs. They didn’t fare much better than the living room.

This house would need thousands of dollars of renovations.

Given the low price point, the investment could still turn out to be profitable. As I said, my HGTV fantasy had my eyes gleaming. I was captivated by the possibility.

Long ago, I realized that my almost-addiction to the promise of something was really getting in the way of my dating life. Eventually, I stopped dating the potential in people and began to look for existent traits.

But this house made me feel like I could flex that trait in myself. It wasn’t a living breathing person. It was an actual project, and it made me feel purposeful.

I’m not sure if this particular house will be the one we invest in. Right now, we are putting a hard stop on all travel unless there's an emergency, but it would be nice to start a project like this once it’s safe to do so.

Taking something hideous and turning it into a livable space may be exactly what I need.