Posted on 08/06/2020 10:21:03 AM PDT by Red Badger
Betsy Sweeny (left) snagged a rundown Victorian home (right) in West Virginia, which she learned about from the Instagram account Cheap Old Houses, for a mind-blowing $18,500. Betsy Sweeny
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It was not love at first sight.
After Buffalo, New York, couple Nick Weith and Damian Mordecai spotted a grand Victorian-style home on a popular Instagram account called Cheap Old Houses, they drove an hour south to a village called Gowanda (population 2,700) to tour the historic property.
Initially, Mordecai, a 39-year-old nonprofit executive, was “less enthused” about the idea of living so far outside the city. But the pair was drawn to the property’s stately brick façade, dramatic slate tile mansard roof and widow’s peak tower. By the time they got back in the car, Mordecai was sold. “We have to buy it,” he said to Weith, a 26-year-old educator.
Their visit to the 1870s manse took place the weekend of March 13, when President Trump declared the coronavirus a national emergency.
In the days that followed, shelter-in-place orders went into effect across New York. By then, Mordecai’s office was already exploring work-from-home solutions, making the prospect of a lengthy daily commute a non-issue. They closed on the 2,300-square-foot, four-bedroom, 1½-bathroom home in June for $52,500, and they estimate that renovations will cost another $50,000. (Cheap Old Houses posted a photo of the house with a caption that exclaimed, “I’ve been saved!”)
Given relatively high city rents and the growing realities of a remote workforce that are becoming ubiquitous as the pandemic persists, purchasing a “cheap old house” in a small town or rural area is becoming an increasingly alluring pathway for some millennials.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
We should pass a law requiring all engaged couples to work a year on renovating a house together - if they survive, they can get married.
Cheap houses come with a price.
A profound truth.
Don't tell that to the Millennials, though. A good number of them need to learn actual life's lessons, not the textbook and feel good nonsense.
Just upgrading the plumbing and electric is a nightmare.
LOL ... 3 months to the day after we met, I started a business flipping houses with my girlfriend. We got engaged on our 1 year anniversary, and married 2 1/2 years after we met. We have done a number of flips and BRRRs as well as now getting into commercial multifamily syndications. I completely agree that had I done something like this with wives 1 and 2, they would not have been wives 1 and 2.
Good for them!!
Ever see the movie "The Money Pit" with Tom Hanks and Shelley Long?
It's along your premise and worth a watch.
Renovation is going to be way more than $50K. $50K is cosmetic only. I built a calculator for estimating reno costs for properties bought at auction, and just from what little is known about the house from the article, I would estimate over $120K
The movie “The Money Pit” comes to mind.......................
Oddly “this old house” is pretty realistic though they never give you figures, the project is always extremely pricey.
My favorite on the topic is “Mr Blandings builds his dreamhouse”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ep9Q8rJhs8
That’s great! I’m in my fourth year of this business here in the Denver market, so my deals are about 2-3 per year. What market are you in?
And with lessons, let the real world learning begin. Not cheap enough that most of them will be able to just walk away and in the process of learning to DIY, work with skilled tradesmen, and fit into a small community they might just turn into decent human beings.
“Cheap houses come with a price.”
Yes, like BLM showing up to collect the gentrification tax.
Or a long canoe trip...trust me.
LOL!
Careful, that house may come with a Ratt problem like that GEICO commercial.
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