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I was dead set against buying a fixer-upper until my buddy in Portland showed me his $80k remodel budget vs my $350k turnkey house.
He did the whole kitchen himself for $12k and now I'm looking at houses with good bones and bad carpets instead of move-in ready nonsense, anyone else cave on a hard rule like that?
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the_jordan1mo ago
actually just saw a YouTube deep dive on this exact thing, some contractor in Ohio who flips houses and he broke down how most of the $80k in "fixer savings" gets eaten by materials and unseen problems like old wiring or foundation cracks. but your buddy's kitchen for $12k sounds wild, did he find a good deal on cabinets or something? i think the real trick is knowing what you can actually do yourself versus what you gotta pay a pro for, like plumbing and electrical are not DIY territory unless you want your house to catch fire. my cousin tried to save on a roof patch and ended up spending double when water damage showed up three months later. so yeah i'd cave on the "no fixer upper" rule but only if i had a solid inspection first and a realistic list of what needs doing.
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claire9991mo ago
Man, that water damage story is rough. Did your cousin get the whole roof replaced in the end or just keep patching it?
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