This week on "Your Home" we're tackling the "fixer-upper." If you've got the time, patience and know-how, it may be the perfect project for you. Ryan Peterson reports.

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"In this day and age, with the abundance of real estate available, there are certainly lots of opportunities to get fixer-uppers," said real estate broker, Scott Varley. "There are some that are newer, maybe less than 10-years-old that were maybe a foreclosure or short sale.

There are some key things to consider here. First, don't be lured in by the seemingly low purchase price until you've done your homework.

Varley said, "I strongly recommend that if people are going to buy a fixer-upper that they end up doing some of the repair work themselves and have some experience doing that. If you don't, you end up having to hire somebody to do it end then it gets very expensive."

Make sure you budget for the inevitable, unforseen repairs. Also, if you plan on making the house your primary residence, don't skimp on quality.

Varley said, "Make the repairs of very high quality if you're going to be living in the house yourself for a long time or if you're going to keep it as a rental, as an investment property, for a long period of time. You want the big ticket items, those repair items, to be of the highest quality so that you won't have to be re-fixing them in the short term."

Obviously this house is on the extreme end of things when it comes to fixer-uppers. One of things about them, if you're looking to purchase one, it's definitely not something to get into if you're a first-time buyer.

Varley said, "A fixer-upper, typically I like to sell them to folks who have some construction experience or in the trades some way or another. They have knowledge, they have the ability to do a lot of the work themselves. They know how to do it and do it right the first time."

With interest rates as low as they are right now, Varley also suggests putting a minimum amount down, borrow more than you normally would have and roll the costs of the repairs into your loan.