The math can genuinely work in your favor: buy below market, renovate to a high standard, and the finished value often exceeds the purchase price plus renovation cost by a healthy margin, particularly in strong neighborhoods where the ceiling on finished value is high.
The upside of a fixer-upper is entirely dependent on controlling renovation costs and timeline — both of which are historically the hardest part for owners to manage from abroad. An already-renovated apartment costs more upfront but removes that variable entirely: what you see is what you get, with no permit risk, no structural surprises, and no months-long project to oversee.
A useful way to frame the decision: a fixer-upper makes sense if you have — or can put in place — real oversight capacity for the renovation itself. Without that, the "discount" on the purchase price can quietly disappear into cost overruns, delays, and rework, and the already-renovated option ends up being the better value despite the higher sticker price.
For an investment property specifically, fixer-uppers in the right neighborhood tend to offer the strongest renovation-driven upside — but that upside is realized through disciplined project management, not just a lower purchase price. The purchase decision and the renovation-management decision aren't really separate — they're the same decision, made at once.