What are some common mistakes people make when buying fixer-uppers to develop?
Probably the biggest mistake people make when they’re buying a property to fix it up is what we call overcapitalizing, meaning they don’t take into account, and they don’t do their homework to find out, what’s going on in the neighbourhood. They’ll go ahead and upgrade things that either don’t need to be upgraded, meaning they’ll put in granite countertops when all the neighbourhood homes just have tile. Or they’ll put in a spa or Jacuzzi when no one else in the neighbourhood does. Or they’ll do the opposite. They won’t bring the house up to the standards of the other houses in the neighbourhood – meaning they don’t make the house up to standard. If every house in the neighbourhood has granite and a beautiful swimming pool, you’re probably going to have to do that. So, not being aware of the competition is one of the biggest mistakes that people make.
