For many homeowners, the reality of just how many home improvements and repairs need to be made on their property isn’t fully realized until they’re ready to sell it.

I love the idea of building my own home, but realistically, a custom-built house probably won’t be the first home I own. Most likely I’ll have to wait to break out that Hitachi Mini Excavator to prep my own land. Chances are I’ll buy a fixer-upper that needs a lot of elbow-grease.