You have the concept right. Sometimes the fixer upper doesn't need fixing up, though. The owners just have no imagination, so they call the home a 'fixer upper'.
My favorite was the family that had chickens in the house as pets - they roamed the house and did their thing on the carpets - and anywhere else they wanted to. My goodness, that house must have reeked. And some smells can't be removed without replacing otherwise good floors!