That depends on your budget, your tolerance for construction and whether the money you spend fixing the home to your liking — or at least making it livable — will pay off. That payoff can be the pleasure you derive from living in the home or the equity you could build by making the improvements. 

As you budget, keep in mind that home maintenance and upkeep runs more than $6,000 annually, according to research by Zillow and Thumbtack, a home management platform that enables people to fix, maintain and improve their homes. Also remember that the value of a home is influenced by others around it, so if you’re spending a ton of money to improve the home, make sure the value of other homes in the neighborhood is comparable so you stand a better chance of recouping your investment when you sell. 

One way to protect yourself is to tap the expertise of professionals like your real estate agent, loan officer and home inspector to identify the issues that need to be fixed, determine what it might cost to fix them, and whether it’s worth making an offer on the home. If you do decide to move forward, your agent can help you craft an offer that takes some of the bite out of the costs.

For example, you could:

• Ask the seller to discount the home to help share or cover the cost of the repairs
• Negotiate other concessions, such as closing credits, from the seller that will allow you to save money in other areas

You also could consider a construction loan to rehab the property, or keep looking for a home that won’t require as much work or expense to fix. A fixer could be well worth the work, especially if you can live it in while making improvements over time. A money pit could just be a lot of heartache.

The important thing is to get as much information as you can about the home so you can budget and not get in above your head.