Fix now or later?

[Lady_V]

Hiya Villagers!

The Old Man and I are trying to move to a different town in 2 years (the summer before Diva starts Jr. High.. I am not fond of the public school she will have to go to, and the private schools are too far for a twice daily commute - the jr. high in the next town over is MUCH better).

Here is our dilemma. Money... and lack thereof.

The condo needs work... 3 new carpets, a new bathtub enclosure, shelving in some closets... moldings around doors... smallish jobs but jobs that need money none-the-less.

We also need to save more money for a down-payment on whatever new place we buy.

Do we save, save save for the down payment and then fix the condo... or do we fix it NOW and then try to save.

My biggest fears are if we fix it now, something could happen that needs further repairs before we can move out... we can't sell the place at all... or we can't afford to a down payment AND repairs.

Condo units here aren't selling. More and more foreclosures are listed every month because people just walk away from the condos because they have been trying to sell for over a year.

Worse case scenario is we rent the condo out... but our last tenant destroyed the condo and I am not too keen on going down that road again.

What would you do??

[monkeywrangler71]

I would plug away at the jobs over the two years, while saving for the downpayment at the same time. Put a specified amount in the downpayment savings, and don't touch it for anything, then do what repairs you can squeeze out of the rest of your budget.

If you leave the repairs to the last minute they could end up costing you more, because you will end up buying stuff at full price and/or hiring out jobs that you could do yourself, because you are pressed for time. If you spread it out, you can check the sales each week and pick jobs based on what supplies are discounted.

It's also a lot less stressful, if you happen to move up your schedule for some reason, to already have a lot of the little jobs done.

ETA: Leave the new carpet for the last minute though, so it's fresh.

[Greebo]

Are the issues minor? If so, when you go to sell, you CAN sell it "as is" - although we're generally in a Buyers market right now, and in such case, the buyers are likely to ask for a discount because of the needed repairs, or demand that you fix them before they buy. If you wait a year, the situation may change - though rising lending rates may counteract the housing recovery we're starting to see.

[DaughterOfErin]

Yes, you could Sell "As Is" OR state on the listing agreement that there a "credit" is reflective in the price of the home for carpets whatever else needs to be fixed/replaced etc