This work was originally for the Real Estate blog I contribute to.

A fixer-upper can be a great way to either get more home than you could otherwise afford, or else to make a lot of money. But you have to know what you are doing to make it work. That's rarely the case, yet that's still a good thing. I often say that this is something everyone should do once in their life – and usually only once. That means that no one actually knows what they are doing.

How do you get around this problem? That's where old hands like myself are useful. I still run into a number of younger people looking to do just what I started doing 14 years ago, and I like to make myself available for advice.

The most important thing I tell them? Make sure you have access to enough money to get it going! I was fortunate enough to purchase my 1860 Greek Revival with a purchase and renovation loan put together by the City. This is critical, because otherwise you wind up having to fund a lot of big-ticket items like furnaces and rewiring out of pocket. No one can do that without very creative finance, so my advice is to do your best to get that up front. It's hard, but a good mortgage broker can steer you to some creative mortgage packages that are out there. The best advice I can give people is to have them call Colleen TeBockhorst and talk over their plans with her.

Most people who are doing this plan to do most of the work themselves. However, some things are best left to professionals. I drew the line at anything that could cause the whole house to be destroyed if I screwed it up. That meant that rewiring, most of the plumbing, and the chimney were contracted out. The rest of it was hard work, but if you start in the corner of the upstairs bathroom no one is ever going to realize how long it took you to learn how to hang doors.

After you get a flying start, obtain and refinance a second mortgage once a year or so as your equity builds on your hard labor. As long as you're in the budget you can afford, it's best to have some capacity to keep doing the pieces you can as professionally as possible, and not slow yourself down by a lack of capital. If you need a contractor, it's surprising how flexible many of them are, and how much they are willing to work with people who are doing a whole house themselves. Remember, you're not alone, so ask around for neighbors and friends who did restoration work. They love to tell war stories and relate which contractors worked well with them.

Finally, one important last thing. Good finds are often in not so great neighborhoods, so I recommend getting involved in the District Council or other neighborhood organization. You'll find a lot of people just like you, and helping to make sure you all turn things around together is most of the battle.

Everyone needs to restore at least one house in their life. The things you learn about what makes a house work are amazing. If that's all that you have in you, well, just remember to pass on what you have learned. Rebuilding the city is something that happens one house, and one generation, at a time.