From Storage Cafe:
Challenged by the unrelentingly hot U.S. market, first-time and experienced buyers alike may find that the effort of fixing up a home can certainly pay off. Buying a home that needs extensive remodeling can in fact fetch a handsome discount, but it depends a lot on where you’re looking to buy.
If Memphis is on your radar for a more affordable home, you’re in the right place as there’s plenty of fixer-upper material on the local market. The city emerges as the 4th-best city for getting a fixer-upper.
These are the reasons Memphis is such a great place to buy a fixer-upper:
- Fixer-uppers in Memphis represent 18% of the existing homes for sale, more than double the overall average for the cities included in our study.
- The fixer-upper discount represents about 45% of the listing price, a more than hefty saving, as compared to Nashville for example (ranked 48th) where fixer-uppers are priced 16% lower than typical homes.
- In fact, buying a fixer-upper shaves approx. $88K off the price of a turnkey home here.
- In line with national trends, fixer-uppers are smaller than standard homes in Memphis, but outdoor space makes up for it. Median lot sizes are about 10% larger for fixer-uppers than for turnkey listings, translating to almost 9,600 sq. ft. of space.
* We used 11 key indicators of fixer-upper market potential. Our ranking metrics rank from median purchase price to fixer-upper inventory and discounts, median home space and lot size for a fixer-upper as compared to a regular home.
Here are the best cities for shopping for a fixer: https://www.storagecafe.com/
These are neat data, but they really don’t tell much of the story of dealing with a fixer-upper. I’m far too old to do it now, but in the 1980s, I purchased two homes in Cooper Young as fixer-uppers. In fact, the key to a fixer-upper is that almost all the homes nearby will be fixer-uppers also. Unless you are really affluent, the key thing to remember about a fixer-upper is that you have to live in it while you are fixing it up. Fixer-uppers can be a real challenge. Initially, I hired two teenagers to help clean out the mess left behind. One quit after a day, explaining to me that he was not used to working in such filth. Neither was I, but I owned the mess at that stage. But 18 months later, I had a beautiful home, wishing that the neighborhood were as nice as my home — 30 years later Cooper Young is now fancier than my home. But during the process there were many issues. The big one was money — nobody wants to deliver a second mortage on a piece of junk. So, it is a constant search for cash for central air to sanding the hardwood floors. Then you find out that you are not as talented as you thought you were — a PhD gets you many things in life, but it doesn’t really make you a decent plumber or painter. It takes time, patience and good friends to find out how do all the tasks that you don’t wish to outsource. Of course, be ready for surprises like spongy floors or knob and tube wiring — things your Dad never told you about. Buying a fixer-upper is a great idea if you are young, crazy and don’t mind having several high interest rate personal loans that you haven’t the foggiest notion how you will pay back.