Can you afford a fixer-upper?

By Geoff Williams, U.S. News & World Report

So you're thinking of buying a fixer-upper? Maybe you're a do-it-yourselfer, or you just love this home so much that you don't mind lavishing extra TLC on it in the years to come. Or perhaps you're enthralled with home renovation television programs where every home has a camera-ready happy ending.

But there is a reason movie plot lines have been based on the darker idea that rehabilitating a home can result in disaster. Sometimes fixer-uppers turn out to be dismal downers. So if you're weighing the pros and cons of purchasing one, here are some thoughts to put in your mental toolbox.

Some projects are fun; others aren't. If you're going to lay down $10,000 to turn an outdated kitchen into a modern marvel that will be the envy of the neighborhood, that's fun. But if you need to spend $10,000 on a center beam in the foundation of the house that no one will see or care about, the joy of fixing up your home might start to fade.

And future buyers may not be impressed, either.

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That was the scenario Christopher Rither found himself in several years ago when he was working in due diligence services in real estate, including inspecting residential homes. "I bought an old plantation home in a great location in Hawaii and decided to fix it up, live in it for a few years, and sell it," says Rither, who now teaches conversational English at Myongji University in South Korea and runs a lifestyle website. "I thought restoring the entire house would make it a cinch to sell.

It didn't. Rither moved from Hawaii in 2010 and just sold the home a few months ago. As he found, "People really only care about what they can see. Nearly all buyers didn't seem impressed that I spent well over $25,000 ripping out and replacing all the plumbing, electrical lines and fixtures. What eventually sold the house was the clean exterior and the appearance of the interior. This could have still been achieved without new wiring and plumbing. A few upgrades would have been just fine."

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Can you afford a fixer-upper?