Why would you flip a house over buying a new home?
I have bought and rehabbed 3 fixer upper properties to live in as my own personal residence. It’s definitely not as easy as buying a new house, but here is why I choose to buy fixer uppers instead of new homes:
- Equity - The main reason I buy fixer uppers is it gives me a chance to build equity into the home, that I wouldn’t otherwise be able to do buying new.
- When you buy new, you are buying at retail prices, so the only way you can gain equity is through market appreciation.
- When buying fixer uppers, you can ‘force appreciation’ by buying at a discount and making smart improvements that add value. My most recent purchase was bought for $80k, and needed $80k in repairs, but is now worth $300k+…That’s over $100k in equity.
- Customization - When buying a fixer upper you get the opportunity to truly customize every aspect of the home and make the kitchens, bathrooms and finishes match your design style and lifestyle.
- Like New - My current personal residence has basically been renovated to meet the today’s building standards of a new home…All new electrical, new plumbing, new furnace, new A/C, new kitchen, bathrooms, etc…
- Most New Houses are Cookie Cutter - Most new neighborhoods have 3 to 4 ‘cookie cutter’ floor plans in the neighborhood so every house on the block looks the same.
- Location - I want to live close to downtown Kansas City…right now I live 5 minutes from downtown KC…most new neighborhoods are at least 15 minutes from downtown.
- Trees - I’m not a tree hugger, but I appreciate well established neighborhoods with large trees. Newer neighborhoods generally barely have a tree in sight.
- Enjoyment - I personally enjoy rehabbing old houses and taking an old run-down house and making it my own.


