Stop lying to yourself about how much a fixer-upper actually costs

I keep seeing first time buyers talk about getting a "deal" on a rundown house, then they budget $10k for repairs that end up being $30k easy. I just watched a neighbor sink $45k into a $150k house and now it's barely worth $170k because they didn't check the foundation. Have you ever actually added up the real total before you bid, or are you just hoping the inspector misses things?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_richard12d ago

That $45k on a $150k house is brutal, but I wonder how much of that was stuff you could actually see before buying. Did you or your neighbor get a structural engineer out there before you made the offer, or just a regular home inspector?

dixon.iris11d ago

Oh, absolutely - did they even ask about the foundation when they had the inspector out?

emma_dixon7011d ago

Wait, didn't their regular inspector catch any of those red flags? That's a tough break for your neighbor, a $45k surprise on a $150k house is just rough. I feel for them, because most people trust their home inspector to find the big stuff and they just don't always check deep enough. A structural engineer is expensive up front, but it might've saved them from this mess. It stinks when you think you're doing everything right and still get hit with something like that.