I bought a fixer-upper, but I can fix things myself including re-wiring the
entire house. If you can't do these things yourself, then it will be costly
to make repairs.

The way I look at it, I can buy a house at a bargain price, fix it up, then
have a home in good condition for much less than the cost of a new "perfect
condition" home. Also I am willing to live in a house with defects for
several years until I get around to fixing everything.

If you need to hire contractors to do everything, then you should only buy
the house for a price which is low enough so that after fixing everything,
your total cost for the house is about what a similar "perfect house" in
the area is selling for. But then there is the money issue. You may be able
to negotiate a low purchase price, but may not be able to come up with 15
or 20 thousand for repairs after purchase.

If you want a perfect condition house right away, then you might be better
off buying one from the get-go...