Many of your questions are location-specific.

Urban, suburban or rural?

Are you moving to California? Idaho? Alaska? Mississippi? Different states have different laws.

This is a big country--where in the US are you moving? Each state and municipality have their own restrictions and rules. Is your company going to help you with the relocation? Do you have the home already? Or are you just looking?

If I were moving to a foreign country, I would probably take it slowly. Do you know anyone in the town/state you are moving to? I'd ask their advice before the advice of strangers on Houzz. Perhaps move in first, and then think about renovating. Actually I'd probably look for something in move-in condition to ease the transition.

Location is everything. A ”1960’s ranch style house” most likely would be torn down in my neighborhood ( unfortunately ).

1. The average is 20% return on investment.

2. The only way to be sure you get exactly what you want is to be on the site daily--even then the more custom the more scrutiny is needed.

3. No way to know your expectations or what is usual where you come from.

I live in a high cost of living area in the north east. People appear to buy anything regardless of condition and pay dearly for a sad fixer. Your real estate agent would be able to give you more direction on investing in a property. Don't just randomly choose a buyers broker, do your homework to look at the agents past sales, and listing prices compared to sales prices. Someone who's been in the biz a long time will have connections with contractors. That's your biggest problem - finding skilled craftsmen. The variability in workmanship and pricing makes it extremely challenging. Do NOT do this remotely. Additionally, knowing what I know, rather than hire a general inspector, I would negotiate for a longer inspection period and bring in separate HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and renovation contractors to assess the condition of the home.

Where are you moving from and to? No to remote renos for sure in a country you are not familiar with. Kitchens and bathrooms have the best ROI but so little info to really advise much. Make sure you vett realtors and ask people in the company where you will be working to help with that.

An O-1 visa is by definition, temporary work status. It’s good up to 3 years and renewable in 1 year increments until/unless permanent status is received. We don’t know your financial situation, where you’re coming from or where you’re planning to live, whether you’re already familiar with US appliances, transportation, the climate you’re moving to or other important factors related to home function and value.

I encourage you to slow down and wade into the shallow end instead of diving in head first. There can be a steep learning curve even when just traveling and remodeling is hard enough when you know exactly what you want.

Also, I don’t want to discourage you unnecessarily, but there are parts of the US where home prices have dropped because large populations of immigrants have returned to their countries of origin and simply walked away from homes, cars and jobs due to changes in immigration requirements related to employment. Unless there are compelling reasons to purchase a fixer-upper, consider renting or getting a turn key home instead.

In America, the buyer's agent splits the fee with the seller's agent, unlike in the UK where the seller's agent gets 100% of the fee. So, you agent is working for you, not the seller (they might be working for both and will tell you so, if a house you're interested in is listed by their agency). The multi-listing service means your agent will have access to anything any seller using an agent (ie most sellers) lists. While this may be the norm where you are from, it's very different from the way things were in England when I looked for a house there. So, you want to start by finding a good agent. Take your time to talk to them, ask plenty of questions. Tell them what you want. A good agent will be working for you --- and paid with half of the standard fee.

Then, your agent is probably your best bet for finding helping you with the inspections (the American version tends to be far more thorough than the English version), mortgage (this may be one of the toughest issues), contractors, etc. And most importantly, what upgrades will pay off. Because that really depends on what you are starting from and the market. A shoddy kitchen in an upmarket house is probably worth renovating. Even a few small updates might not pay off in a slightly dated, not-the-best kitchen in a mid-market house.

You probably don't want to try to organize renovations from overseas, unless it's pretty simple. My experience was moving to the UK, not vice versa. But, getting a bank can be pretty hard due to "know-your-customer" laws. I found that you need an address to get a bank account, but it was hard to rent or buy any place to live without it. I suggest you start working on the banking issue, unless you already bank somewhere with a US presence and/or don't need a mortgage.

Lastly, we are in an environment where interest rates are soaring, housing prices are high, and the economy is teetering. You may be looking to buy at a market high. And you have to take into exchange rates. We ended up not buying in the UK and that was so, so, so good because the housing market was at the peak of a bubble and the pound at the peak of it's value compared to the dollar. And, the company my husband worked for went bankrupt. We'd have lost so much money. (We didn't buy because we struggled to understand the real estate market at first and then, when we found a house to buy, it failed inspection and then the company cratered, rather than because we accurately assessed the financial disaster it would have been).

Will you be paying cash for the house and renovations? As others asked, which area will you be moving to. Personally, I'd be more inclined to rent until you can decide exactly which nieghborhood you want to be in and get a realistic idea of the cost of renovations, which are very high right now because material costs are high. As @Sigrid mentioned, the economy is currently very unstable and I wouldn't want to buy until things stabilize.

We bought a house in the US while living overseas. Of course, we're Americans, knew the system, but we emailed real estate agents in places we thought we might want to live to ask about things like the schools. You may get answers to questions like this through your company. My husband worked for a company that was really good at helping employees move and one that was clueless.

In America, towns and cities fund the schools, so a better-off community will probably have good public schools, but the houses will cost more. It's usually cheaper to live in a community with good schools than to live in a community with cheaper houses and send your kids to private schools.

But, really, we need some clues about what country you are moving from. From your name, I'd guess UK, Canada, Oz/NZ or South Africa.

You have to buy the property (complicated, but it is done all the time) before worrying about renovating. Just because the house was built in the 60's does not mean it needs renovation. You probably will need cash for the purchase. Find the community where you want to live. Check out the homes within your budget. Information for you here.

https://www.crossborderinternationalrealty.com/insights/how-to-move-to-the-us-and-buy-a-home/

Thanks all — this has been really helpful, and we're now leaning toward renting first. One follow-up: my O-1 is temporary, and we plan to file for a green card after we land. How do US lenders treat that during underwriting? While sorting out the paperwork I found this breakdown of the I-485 adjustment-of-status steps: https://www.o1eb1.com/en/eb1/aos-i-485 — has anyone here closed on a house with that application still pending?

Renting is a good idea anyway. Since you are not familiar with the areas in the city you are moving to. If you absolutely hate the area after moving in, at least, in a rental, you can move elsewhere once your lease needs to be removed.

Expect most professionals you deal with, rental agents, real estate agents, mortgage lenders, bankers, whoever to have no clue about any of the details of your visa status or what it means in legal terms. I'd start with the assumption that no one you deal with has ever heard of an O-1 visa.

You may need an immigration service or lawyer, I don't know. But, unlike in Europe where people seem to move to other countries easily, that's not the general rule in America. Again, it depends on where you are moving from and to. From London to a major city, possibly you'll find people who are have some familiarity with your issues. From New Zealand to the suburbs of a minor city, not so much. And if you're moving from a non-English-speaking country with documents in another language, that's another layer of stuff to deal with. Don't expect anyone you are dealing with to be competent in any foreign language, not even Spanish (with the possible exception of some heavily Hispanic parts of the country).

We once asked our American bank how to wire Euros to a landlord in Europe. They replied that most people take dollars. We shouldn't bother with Euros. You're going to get a lot of stuff like that.

One thing to be acutely aware of - a renovation will ALWAYS cost more than you anticipate. As for trying to manage the process remotely I will advise against it. Photos and video feeds seldom portray the true conditions and especially the colors acurately.

From reading all the comments, this is not the venue for getting reliable advice on your situation. I'd start with your employer--don't they have a department that helps employees navigate this process?

Welcome in advance. For a 1960s ranch you may sell in 5 to 7 years, I'd put money first into the things an inspection will flag: roof, electrical panel, plumbing, windows and HVAC. Buyers pay for a sound house. After that, paint, flooring and lighting give the best return for the cost. A kitchen refresh with new counters, hardware and fixtures usually beats a full gut on that timeline. I'd wait until you're here before starting. Living in the house for a few months tells you a lot, and you'll want to meet contractors in person. Get a thorough home inspection before you close, collect two or three detailed written bids, check that each contractor is licensed and insured in your state, and confirm who pulls the permits. Permit rules vary by county, so ask early.

@Alex Greene, I worked in mortgages as a loan officer for 5 years. In order to get a mortgage in the U.S., you need to be a permanent resident alien or citizen. This can take anywhere from 8 months to 10 years. Renting makes sense. Lenders also require 2 years of tax returns and employment at the same job before you can be considered for a mortgage.