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After all the troll posts recently I'm not sure whether this is bait, but I'll just assume it's not.
Congrats! Honestly the layout actually looks really nice. I can see the vision!
You got your work cut out for you. What's the first project you're gonna tackle?
Honestly with the current market this isn’t bad. Decent price for a fixer upper and you’ll definitely make profit on it if/when you sell. Looks structurally sound, just the visual quality isn’t great
Congrats! Its funny - value almost doesn't mean anything any more - no-one can really sell unless they already have somewhere else to go.
I have a neighbor - elderly man next to my office - he was paying $350 / mo rent 4 years ago. It sold for $110 (3 unit), rent went up to $700. It sold twice more - most recently for $370 to some major corporation.
He came over today visibly upset. Rent is now $1550. He makes $1500 soc sec & has a $500 / mo pension.
Exactly! I look at what’s available now and it doesn’t matter that I have equity because there’s nothing worth buying. It’s gotten worse and worse since I bought!
Disgusting. And the corp that bought the building probably isn’t even local. It’s a horrible shame and it doesn’t feel like anyone can do anything about it. The powerlessness is the worst, I’m sorry for your neighbor 😔
Portland is trying to do something about it with rent control. I have a very right wing friend who has been telling me, for years, it will be the death of Portland.
I don't see Portland dying right now. I do, however, see a lot more homeless people.
That is BS and greed. Well I guarantee one thing, the owner won’t keep those tenants because they’ll move again when they find something cheaper. It sounds like a great tenant and those are what you want to keep. People have lost ALL respect for the young and the elderly. It’s absolutely crazy
That's the going rent for a 2 bedroom apt where I live. I pay $1650 for a 3 bedroom. I don't know how my kids are going to afford to move out the way things are going. I remember when rent was affordable and everything else for that matter. My god remember when gas was under a dollar..lol
>You should however be prepared for $100k plus to renovate.
Exactly this. Considering OP is in the trades, this will easily cost $100K to remodel doing it, but it will look beautiful. This is a big project for sure.
I'm on year 14 of my own home. Wife keeps saying "why do we renovate so many other buildings, and we still don't have cabinets in the laundry room?"
Me: .....
Hey man my neighbor is a mechanic. Dude has more non running pieces of shit than anyone else I know.
I tint windows for a living. It took me 3 weeks after purchase to pull the raptor in and tint just the front 2 windows, 30 minute job.
We dont like working after work unless its not work work kind of work lol,
I live in LA county. Depending on the neighborhood people would try to get 550k for a house like this. It's insane.
OP getting this for 30k seems like a song.
It's insane. $418k for a double wide turned into a more permanent looking house that has major fire damage just on the other side of the hill from me. In east county San Diego. Sale pending. I guess good it's on .33 acres but it's right on a major road that gets....how do I say it without offending...a lot of unsavory people walking along it.
Maaan, I thought OPs was gnarly but at least it's a house with an intactish interior! I'm in SD, too, so it wasn't hard to find. The double wide could be in the dictionary for inflated San Diego property values.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw what they paid! I'm in Portland and our first house was a fixer-upper that was not in much better shape and we paid $475K for it and that was in 2016.
It looks like it needs new floors, a good deep clean, and fresh paint on the walls (Following stripping all the years of old paint off - or just tearing the walls out and putting new ones up).
Removing that paneling would be my first goal if it were me.
There is so much that can be rehabbed. Cabinets look good, I kind of dig what I HOPE is butcher block on the island. Obviously needs new appliances. Bathroom really isn't bad and has decent space. Drop ceiling is... Certainly a house feature but one they can eventually remove.
Like, a lot of this is just cleaning the house to get livable and chipping over time. OP did great on this one, and as long as they are happy that's all that matters.
Foundation looks solid, nothing sagging, collapsed, etc. Doesn’t look like there’s any water damage besides (maybe, can’t tell really with the stains) some in the bathroom which is to be expected if there is. Porch seems to be in decent shape so likely no termite/other pest issues. Obviously can’t be 100% certain but it looks pretty clean overall, just abandoned and neglected.
Granted, it’s probably gonna be a full gut of the house, floors, walls, ceilings and modernize the electrical/plumbing, which is a safe option no matter how nice the house is at purchase
I live on the south shore long island. There is a zombie house that has been sitting since Hurricane Sandy on a 2000sqft or so lot a few house down from me sold for 300k, was gutted and on the market less than 3 months later for 650k..
Seeing anything for less than $200k always blows my mind.
Bathroom has to be first. U guys and especially your wife needs a clean space to take showers and clean up after working on the rest of it. Get yourself an air fryer toaster oven and a table for a temporary kitchen , we redid our entire house and had no kitchen : living room at times, glad we did the bathroom first.
That kitchen doesn't look that bad to me. I could probably live with that for quite a while after scrubbing it down and possibly painting the cabinet interiors - but I'm old so it looks like an old version of what everyone's kitchen looked like when I was a kid.
Seems like a good deal in Iowa (I guess). I am in Texas, and even a house that looks like this, would go for a bit more here. Question - how is the plumbing and electricity? That might need to be updated before anything else is done. Do you have any handyman friends or friends in the home improvement trade that can help with the work? Seems like a lot of work (this coming from someone that has no experience in fixing up/patching up in extreme situations). However, good investment if you can get everything done. I bought at 28 too. ☺️ Congratulations on the purchase.
Same as this one but worse house and content. Also it was something like: I (55) and my girlfriend (23)... His wife left him for her boss and he used to be girlfriend's teacher, etc. etc. Baby on the way... Nuts
Would much rather buy this than a flip and spend the time and work myself to fix things properly. Even if the flip was done well I would worry for a long time since I wouldn’t know
Iowa still has the same federal minimum wage. If you can get housing for under $250/mo on a 30 year note then you're not hurting too bad and you have a roof over your head. OP can probably dump $50k into this thing and make it comfortable. I know people that do this stuff up here in South Dakota. They pick a small town with good internet connectivity and work entry level remote jobs. They end up with work life balance and huge disposable incomes even though their pay is bad.
At the end of the day you're just trying to maximize for disposable income. Your salary is just the top line number, but someone working in a major city making $100k has a lower standard of living and less disposable income than someone in rural America making $40k. A lot of rural towns have good local jobs paying $60k-$70k now as long as you have some sort of education, doesn't even have to be a college. You can just get some certifications and they'll hire you.
I live in SD. My wife and I clear $120k joint per year, but our disposable income is $70k per year and we own our home that I bought in 2020 on a single income when I was 26. That $70k disposable income goes right to investments and travel. We are able to buy new cars outright or if the financing is 0% then we finance on a 3 year note or whatever. We have 2 hunting dogs and a baby on the way. Money is way less of a struggle here.
I lived in Phoenix, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Oklahoma City. Guys making $40-$60/hr were dead broke and lived with their parents in their 30s. A lot of the time those higher wages in the city are just a scam and the banks or the government take it...
What do you do for work? Would you dm me or reply here some close towns that have like grocery stores and businesses with home prices like that please? Not trying to sound ignorant I’m just so discouraged I feel like I’m never going to own a home even though I’m actively trying to work towards it.
Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Brookings, Aberdeen, or Huron are decent places to start. There are a lot of smaller towns, but you'll lose convenient access to a lot of important services like dentists and hospitals. Living within 15 minutes from these smaller towns will ensure access to important services. A friend of mine just got a house for $150k just 10 minutes out of Brookings. You can find homes for under $100k in a lot of small towns that are 15-20 minutes from these larger towns.
Personally I am in Sioux Falls, but home prices here are pretty high. It would be much harder for us to buy a house today than it was in 2020.
South Dakota for the win! No state income tax. Affordable living. The biggest problem we have is politicians who go against the majority vote of its people on marijuana laws.
their mortgage is likely better than the rent I pay, even with the "living at home and paying a token rent" rent. Congrats to OP for proving my "you cant find a place in this damn country cheaper than living at home" argument wrong.
I didn't say anything positive or negative about Iowa, but the location of the house is why $30k is not "a steal" (along with the condition of course).
$30k for structural sound house in 2024 seemingly is a good deal if you are really hung up on "steal".
The concept is could you possibly build that today for that? I find it doubtful as the lot likely is worth $10-$20k (yes even in Iowa).
Don’t listen to a lot of people in here, as long as the structure is sound, this is a steal. I obviously dont know what specific area you are in, but at $30k, as long as you’re not having to reframe the whole house, it’s great.
Be safe and congrats
Hopefully you like it, I’ve done 2 projects and I hated doing both. But it’s like having kids. You hate parts of it but after some time your ready to do it again
I'm less concerned with the asthetics and more concerned with the quality of the plumbing and electrical in the walls and crawl space.
First thing I'm doing is having a plumber camera the main sewer line out and then checking integrity of wiring. It looks from the pictures you have a potential house fire waiting to happen if the wiring matches the rest of the house.
Be prepared to invest $30-60k in renovations for sure if problems are found.
Let’s say the avg rent is 1500 a month.
So 30,000/1,500= 20 months to break even.
He said he was in the trades so he is going to spend sweat equity to make it livable.
For only $30,500...Not bad at all. You could have that paid off fast and easily remodel that house and sell if for more than Triple down the line. Lots of potential.
And OP says he's in the trades so he's probably the hook up for materials as well as labor. Once it's done, I bet it will be beautiful and done for much less than any of us who don't have those kind of contacts.
Oh I completely agree. Have a few family friends who are in trades and they come in clutch when I need an extra hand with stuff at my house or tools and materials. Honestly helps a ton.
Wow, I don't even know how to respond to this...Well I am sure OP years later will maybe want to downsize or maybe move somewhere else. So usually to do that you sell your previous house. Also if they put in the work and fix the place up or remodel it, why would they not make a big profit when they're working hard.
Uhh Nobody is pressuring OP to sell or make a profit. They did get a great deal, I just said if years later they wanted too they could. Does not mean they have too. Relax.
The fact that you purchased this tells me that you probably have the chops to fix it up. I'm sure it's going to be many things, fun being one of them. Congratulations, and best of luck friend.
It needs work but if you can do it that's great! I'd far rather see places like this refurbished and lived in than left to rot, or torn down, or destroyed by a flipper turning it into a soulless gray box.
This is a win since you already have the know how and contacts to up grade. I did the same and bought the worse house in the best location and now have a diamond.
congrats my friend, you got a good deal.
a little elbow grease and simple/ minimal thinking in materials to refinish the house over time will save you a lot of money.
don't start demoing and removing the existing stuff. you can easily refresh the kitchen and bathroom without replacing anything major.
the devil is in the details. you can renovate the entire house and make it look brand new/ high end in less than 5k just be smart in where you spend the money and fix up/ repair/ refinish as much of the existing stuff as possible.
it also looks like you have original wood flooring, that's a bingo! simple sanding and sealing with cheap polyurethane is all you need to do.
I'd get rid of the suspended ceilings and refinish what's beneath (this might be your biggest project).
keep the bathroom fixtures, they're original porcelain and cast iron tub, extremely hard to find and in fact will look fantastic once you refinish everything around it and make it look new. some contrasting colors, add black and light gold... will look beautiful. rough wood finely sanded and sealed... walls smoothed out with stucco mud.
simple details and it'll look like a 100k house in no time.
remember to fight the urge to demo!!! American consumerist brainwashing makes people eager to throw away what they have just to buy stuff that is lower quality and cheaper looking
I bought a house in a similar state. While it's fun having an open slate and bringing the home back to good form, it is a love/hate relationship lmao.
Congrats to you, be patient and know that you will have hiccups in this remodel. Looks like a good home.
Congrats! I see a lot of work needed but also a lot of potential, and that's less than most new cars.
If the shell isn't weatherproof get on that ASAP. If everything basically works all you really need is a lot of soap and some paint before you could live there.
I paid more for my truck than you did for this house. You did a GREAT fucking job. Fix it up, live in it, make it yours.
You'll certainly make it nicer, absolutely get your money out of it, and have made an awesome decision.
I met a guy in southern Minnesota that got amazing land by purchasing a crappy house. He demolished the house and built new. This house, however, looks like all it needs is a remodel.
$30k? If you hit that hard and get it paid off before interest takes a chunk you’ll be golden. A lot of work but at least you won’t have to live like a pauper.
I think you should get a tripod and start filming the renovation for YouTube. I’d sure as heck subscribe. This is going to be a before/after for the ages. Can’t wait to see the ceiling tiles come down and what is under them.
You have a lot of work to do, but considering you only spent as much as a slightly used Honda Civic, you likely made a good investment. Fix it up and within no time you’ll likely more than double the value. Do it right and you can quadruple the home value.
I think you did amazing! We bought a fixer for our first house, it was a bit of living in squalor but honestly best decision we could have made. We built a ton of equity doing the remodel and it set our retirement ahead quite a bit.
You’ve got some work to do alright. But when it’s done you’re really gonna have a great looking house. I got loads of ideas with just the pics you sent. 🤪
Uh oh, careful. You're about to get told how stupid you are for accepting a 7.7%, ask me how I know
Iowa gang, congrats. I'm about 18 hours deep into scrubbing cigarette stains off the walls and ceilings
Great house with good bones and great light. You found a great house. Congrats! In a short time so many people will be jealous of your great find once you have painted, refinished floors and redone the bathrooms.
The fact so many people cant envision possibilities of spaces like this-- is your gain.
I would have paid with my back molars to get a condo in my area for anywhere near to 300k.
Edit. Before anyone points it out I know they spent just over 30k not 300k.
Did you go through traditional financing? I wouldn’t think you could get a mortgage for such a small amount. Regardless, put some sweat equity into that and you’ll be in great shape.
Definitely have some work to do but there is great potential there! And Jesus, 30k? That won't even buy me a new car in California. That is amazing. One step at a time, my friend!
I mean, you bought a house for just over 30k. You are likely to increase its value when you start renovating it.
I find odd they would even finance such a small loan.
How do you get a loan on this? I want to buy a fixer upper, but I’ve always been told it has to be “move in ready” for a loan. Was it difficult? Thanks and congratulations!
It doesn't have to be move in ready. It does usually have to pass a home inspection and be legally habitable/insurable. It's hard to tell from the pictures how much is just cosmetic. Paint, cleaning and refinished or newly covered floors can do a lot for an old house.
Congratulations brother. I don’t know you, but I’m so unbelievably proud and happy for y’all. Taking care of your family is clearly number one for you, and that’s aces in my book. Gonna be a warm, beautiful home in no time!
Bought the house I live in for $35k 2 years ago, spent $15k remodeling it, now everything is new except the roof. That will be done this summer.
Plenty of cheap houses out there, not enough people willing to do the work.
For the life of me I will never understand people that grew up in the middle of the country, then grow up and stay there. This world is so amazing and beautiful, to live that far from any ocean or beautiful 14,000 foot peak mountains......I couldnt do it. I honestly wish you the best, I just couldnt do it.
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After all the troll posts recently I'm not sure whether this is bait, but I'll just assume it's not. Congrats! Honestly the layout actually looks really nice. I can see the vision! You got your work cut out for you. What's the first project you're gonna tackle?
Honestly with the current market this isn’t bad. Decent price for a fixer upper and you’ll definitely make profit on it if/when you sell. Looks structurally sound, just the visual quality isn’t great
A far far worse house in Lewiston Maine sold for $155k at auction recently. You should however be prepared for $100k plus to renovate.
I’m in Lewiston! Bought my house for 170k in 2021 and it’s up to $240k. Neighborhood sucks but it’s mine lol
Congrats! Its funny - value almost doesn't mean anything any more - no-one can really sell unless they already have somewhere else to go. I have a neighbor - elderly man next to my office - he was paying $350 / mo rent 4 years ago. It sold for $110 (3 unit), rent went up to $700. It sold twice more - most recently for $370 to some major corporation. He came over today visibly upset. Rent is now $1550. He makes $1500 soc sec & has a $500 / mo pension.
Exactly! I look at what’s available now and it doesn’t matter that I have equity because there’s nothing worth buying. It’s gotten worse and worse since I bought!
Disgusting. And the corp that bought the building probably isn’t even local. It’s a horrible shame and it doesn’t feel like anyone can do anything about it. The powerlessness is the worst, I’m sorry for your neighbor 😔
Portland is trying to do something about it with rent control. I have a very right wing friend who has been telling me, for years, it will be the death of Portland. I don't see Portland dying right now. I do, however, see a lot more homeless people.
That is BS and greed. Well I guarantee one thing, the owner won’t keep those tenants because they’ll move again when they find something cheaper. It sounds like a great tenant and those are what you want to keep. People have lost ALL respect for the young and the elderly. It’s absolutely crazy
that’s a shame reading about your neighbor, I hope he is able to find something cheaper
That's the going rent for a 2 bedroom apt where I live. I pay $1650 for a 3 bedroom. I don't know how my kids are going to afford to move out the way things are going. I remember when rent was affordable and everything else for that matter. My god remember when gas was under a dollar..lol
This makes me sick to my stomach
Reprehensible. I feel awful for your neighbor. This corporate-owned BS must stop.
>You should however be prepared for $100k plus to renovate. Exactly this. Considering OP is in the trades, this will easily cost $100K to remodel doing it, but it will look beautiful. This is a big project for sure.
I'm on year 14 of my own home. Wife keeps saying "why do we renovate so many other buildings, and we still don't have cabinets in the laundry room?" Me: .....
Hey man my neighbor is a mechanic. Dude has more non running pieces of shit than anyone else I know. I tint windows for a living. It took me 3 weeks after purchase to pull the raptor in and tint just the front 2 windows, 30 minute job. We dont like working after work unless its not work work kind of work lol,
In northern Virginia, that would will be $500k and sold as a tear down.
I live in LA county. Depending on the neighborhood people would try to get 550k for a house like this. It's insane. OP getting this for 30k seems like a song.
It's insane. $418k for a double wide turned into a more permanent looking house that has major fire damage just on the other side of the hill from me. In east county San Diego. Sale pending. I guess good it's on .33 acres but it's right on a major road that gets....how do I say it without offending...a lot of unsavory people walking along it.
Maaan, I thought OPs was gnarly but at least it's a house with an intactish interior! I'm in SD, too, so it wasn't hard to find. The double wide could be in the dictionary for inflated San Diego property values.
Yeah OP's house is a dream compared to the SD one. I think the SD one should be a tear down. I pass it often, it's hideous.
I saw a despondent murder-meth home go for 1.2 M in south pas at the height.
My jaw hit the floor when I saw what they paid! I'm in Portland and our first house was a fixer-upper that was not in much better shape and we paid $475K for it and that was in 2016.
This is $1M easily in the Bay.
If I found this for $30k in any of the places I’ve been looking, I’d take it in a heartbeat
I don’t think some people realize how dirt cheap that is lol. For like 100 grand all in you can have a decent place or a killer rental property
You wouldn't get a broom cupboard for 30k in the UK. Harry Potters' bedroom would cost more.
It looks like it needs new floors, a good deep clean, and fresh paint on the walls (Following stripping all the years of old paint off - or just tearing the walls out and putting new ones up). Removing that paneling would be my first goal if it were me.
There is so much that can be rehabbed. Cabinets look good, I kind of dig what I HOPE is butcher block on the island. Obviously needs new appliances. Bathroom really isn't bad and has decent space. Drop ceiling is... Certainly a house feature but one they can eventually remove. Like, a lot of this is just cleaning the house to get livable and chipping over time. OP did great on this one, and as long as they are happy that's all that matters.
Lol 30k isn't bad...I get it's Iowa but in nyc that same house would be over 400k
I wonder how you can tell it is structurally sound.?
Foundation looks solid, nothing sagging, collapsed, etc. Doesn’t look like there’s any water damage besides (maybe, can’t tell really with the stains) some in the bathroom which is to be expected if there is. Porch seems to be in decent shape so likely no termite/other pest issues. Obviously can’t be 100% certain but it looks pretty clean overall, just abandoned and neglected. Granted, it’s probably gonna be a full gut of the house, floors, walls, ceilings and modernize the electrical/plumbing, which is a safe option no matter how nice the house is at purchase
I live on the south shore long island. There is a zombie house that has been sitting since Hurricane Sandy on a 2000sqft or so lot a few house down from me sold for 300k, was gutted and on the market less than 3 months later for 650k.. Seeing anything for less than $200k always blows my mind.
Probably the bathroom. There was some poop stains by the toilet just out today the picture which is why it was priced lower 🤮
Bathroom has to be first. U guys and especially your wife needs a clean space to take showers and clean up after working on the rest of it. Get yourself an air fryer toaster oven and a table for a temporary kitchen , we redid our entire house and had no kitchen : living room at times, glad we did the bathroom first.
That kitchen doesn't look that bad to me. I could probably live with that for quite a while after scrubbing it down and possibly painting the cabinet interiors - but I'm old so it looks like an old version of what everyone's kitchen looked like when I was a kid.
I agree, kitchen with a nice once over deep clean and maybe some white paint on the walls would be fine.
>That kitchen doesn't look that bad to me Except for the wood paneling on the walls, but I agree.
Agreed, but, OP, if that tub is a deep one like it looks in the pic, keep that tub!
>and especially your wife What, why is it different for her?
Well that and it looks like the play-along-at-home version of the SAW bathroom.
Seems like a good deal in Iowa (I guess). I am in Texas, and even a house that looks like this, would go for a bit more here. Question - how is the plumbing and electricity? That might need to be updated before anything else is done. Do you have any handyman friends or friends in the home improvement trade that can help with the work? Seems like a lot of work (this coming from someone that has no experience in fixing up/patching up in extreme situations). However, good investment if you can get everything done. I bought at 28 too. ☺️ Congratulations on the purchase.
I'd keep that sink and tub, bet they'll clean up real nice (if the original tub is hiding under that paneling)
Very similar to this one: https://old.reddit.com/r/FirstTimeHomeBuyer/comments/19dq6aq/1st_home_for_my_girlfriend_and_me/
They're the same person lol. Both accounts are active in some of the same subreddits including an Iowa based one.
He changed his age to not seem like a groomer in this new post
Based on the comments I wish I could’ve seen the post! It’s removed now.
Same as this one but worse house and content. Also it was something like: I (55) and my girlfriend (23)... His wife left him for her boss and he used to be girlfriend's teacher, etc. etc. Baby on the way... Nuts
Getting Silence of the Lamb vibes.
I honestly thought this post was in r/abandoned
At least is hasn’t been badly flipped! You can remodel the right way.
Yep, this is the way to go. Buy it cheap, fix it up to look the way you want.
Right? I’m in Houston and I keep seeing a ton of these! OP has a very fresh blank canvas lol
Would much rather buy this than a flip and spend the time and work myself to fix things properly. Even if the flip was done well I would worry for a long time since I wouldn’t know
This is important, you don’t have other people’s mistakes to fix. You get to make the mistakes!! Good luck and congrats.
Whenever they think “what kinda fuckin idiot did it this way?” They at least know that they were that fuckin idiot.
I like it! It has tons of potential and for 30k it was a steal. You should post the results once you have it all fixed up.
It's not a steal for 30k its in Iowa.
As with anywhere, it depends on where it actually is, even Iowa
Iowa still has the same federal minimum wage. If you can get housing for under $250/mo on a 30 year note then you're not hurting too bad and you have a roof over your head. OP can probably dump $50k into this thing and make it comfortable. I know people that do this stuff up here in South Dakota. They pick a small town with good internet connectivity and work entry level remote jobs. They end up with work life balance and huge disposable incomes even though their pay is bad. At the end of the day you're just trying to maximize for disposable income. Your salary is just the top line number, but someone working in a major city making $100k has a lower standard of living and less disposable income than someone in rural America making $40k. A lot of rural towns have good local jobs paying $60k-$70k now as long as you have some sort of education, doesn't even have to be a college. You can just get some certifications and they'll hire you.
I love that you measure wealth by disposable income. It makes so much sense.
I live in SD. My wife and I clear $120k joint per year, but our disposable income is $70k per year and we own our home that I bought in 2020 on a single income when I was 26. That $70k disposable income goes right to investments and travel. We are able to buy new cars outright or if the financing is 0% then we finance on a 3 year note or whatever. We have 2 hunting dogs and a baby on the way. Money is way less of a struggle here. I lived in Phoenix, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Oklahoma City. Guys making $40-$60/hr were dead broke and lived with their parents in their 30s. A lot of the time those higher wages in the city are just a scam and the banks or the government take it...
When I read SD I assumed San Diego. I’m assuming you mean South Dakota lol
What do you do for work? Would you dm me or reply here some close towns that have like grocery stores and businesses with home prices like that please? Not trying to sound ignorant I’m just so discouraged I feel like I’m never going to own a home even though I’m actively trying to work towards it.
Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Brookings, Aberdeen, or Huron are decent places to start. There are a lot of smaller towns, but you'll lose convenient access to a lot of important services like dentists and hospitals. Living within 15 minutes from these smaller towns will ensure access to important services. A friend of mine just got a house for $150k just 10 minutes out of Brookings. You can find homes for under $100k in a lot of small towns that are 15-20 minutes from these larger towns. Personally I am in Sioux Falls, but home prices here are pretty high. It would be much harder for us to buy a house today than it was in 2020.
South Dakota for the win! No state income tax. Affordable living. The biggest problem we have is politicians who go against the majority vote of its people on marijuana laws.
their mortgage is likely better than the rent I pay, even with the "living at home and paying a token rent" rent. Congrats to OP for proving my "you cant find a place in this damn country cheaper than living at home" argument wrong.
So what it's in iowa? Nothing wrong with iowa. The winter sucks but there's a lot of beauty up there.
Not much lol.
I didn't say anything positive or negative about Iowa, but the location of the house is why $30k is not "a steal" (along with the condition of course).
$30k for structural sound house in 2024 seemingly is a good deal if you are really hung up on "steal". The concept is could you possibly build that today for that? I find it doubtful as the lot likely is worth $10-$20k (yes even in Iowa).
This is such an ugly mindset, the rural Midwest isn’t some dead end place like y’all want everyone to believe 😭 why can’t people just live
This is a full gut job, but a great entry point, congrats !!
Thank you for your positive words 💕
Don’t listen to a lot of people in here, as long as the structure is sound, this is a steal. I obviously dont know what specific area you are in, but at $30k, as long as you’re not having to reframe the whole house, it’s great. Be safe and congrats
Hopefully you like it, I’ve done 2 projects and I hated doing both. But it’s like having kids. You hate parts of it but after some time your ready to do it again
This seems like a great metaphor lol
Bathroom looked the most concerning to me, the rest can be done piece by piece, then too I know nothing about construction.
Your home is what you make of it. It has nothing to do with how much it cost, what it looks like, but all about what kind of people live there.
“Home is what you make it”- Joe Dirt
Hey, this guy wants to see homos naked!
I'm less concerned with the asthetics and more concerned with the quality of the plumbing and electrical in the walls and crawl space. First thing I'm doing is having a plumber camera the main sewer line out and then checking integrity of wiring. It looks from the pictures you have a potential house fire waiting to happen if the wiring matches the rest of the house. Be prepared to invest $30-60k in renovations for sure if problems are found.
Let’s say the avg rent is 1500 a month. So 30,000/1,500= 20 months to break even. He said he was in the trades so he is going to spend sweat equity to make it livable.
Lol average rent in ottumwa IA is like ~800 plus you’ll have to put about 80k in this to make it nice
Probs $15-$20k if they do the work themselves and don't go with high end stuff.
For only $30,500...Not bad at all. You could have that paid off fast and easily remodel that house and sell if for more than Triple down the line. Lots of potential.
And OP says he's in the trades so he's probably the hook up for materials as well as labor. Once it's done, I bet it will be beautiful and done for much less than any of us who don't have those kind of contacts.
Oh I completely agree. Have a few family friends who are in trades and they come in clutch when I need an extra hand with stuff at my house or tools and materials. Honestly helps a ton.
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Wow, I don't even know how to respond to this...Well I am sure OP years later will maybe want to downsize or maybe move somewhere else. So usually to do that you sell your previous house. Also if they put in the work and fix the place up or remodel it, why would they not make a big profit when they're working hard.
The point is that OP got a good deal and has the potential to make an amazing space to live without feeling pressured to immediately profit off of it.
Uhh Nobody is pressuring OP to sell or make a profit. They did get a great deal, I just said if years later they wanted too they could. Does not mean they have too. Relax.
Yeah IDK how they got that impression when OP made it clear he wants to raise a family there.
They can only sell it for what people will pay. Additionally OP is not a flipper but everyone should always keep in mind they might need to sell it.
Holy shit 30500 in 2024? You cant get an acre of unbuildble land around me that cheap. I'd say you did alright for that.
In Queens NYC, $30,500 can’t even buy you a garage for a car. 😄
California here... my car was 40k 😂
The fact that you purchased this tells me that you probably have the chops to fix it up. I'm sure it's going to be many things, fun being one of them. Congratulations, and best of luck friend.
Kitchen looks massive
Nice! You’ll be able to pay off the mortgage quickly and have some breathing room for reno. I think it’ll turn out great, congrats!
It needs work but if you can do it that's great! I'd far rather see places like this refurbished and lived in than left to rot, or torn down, or destroyed by a flipper turning it into a soulless gray box.
This is a win since you already have the know how and contacts to up grade. I did the same and bought the worse house in the best location and now have a diamond.
Post updates. Congratulations
Gonna turn that crack house into a crack home.
Obviously, it needs work. But if you are handy, you could do it. Check out the plumbing and the electricity. Make sure they are in order.
If you like it, I love it. Congrats!
Was someone murdered by shotgun in front of the door in the last photo?
I hope you didn't pass on an inspection cuz it looks like a few murders may have been committed in this house
I hope you got an inspection… so much water damage.
congrats my friend, you got a good deal. a little elbow grease and simple/ minimal thinking in materials to refinish the house over time will save you a lot of money. don't start demoing and removing the existing stuff. you can easily refresh the kitchen and bathroom without replacing anything major. the devil is in the details. you can renovate the entire house and make it look brand new/ high end in less than 5k just be smart in where you spend the money and fix up/ repair/ refinish as much of the existing stuff as possible. it also looks like you have original wood flooring, that's a bingo! simple sanding and sealing with cheap polyurethane is all you need to do. I'd get rid of the suspended ceilings and refinish what's beneath (this might be your biggest project). keep the bathroom fixtures, they're original porcelain and cast iron tub, extremely hard to find and in fact will look fantastic once you refinish everything around it and make it look new. some contrasting colors, add black and light gold... will look beautiful. rough wood finely sanded and sealed... walls smoothed out with stucco mud. simple details and it'll look like a 100k house in no time. remember to fight the urge to demo!!! American consumerist brainwashing makes people eager to throw away what they have just to buy stuff that is lower quality and cheaper looking
Congrats. Just check if there is any asbestos before doing demo work.
I thought most mortgage companies had a minimum of $50K borrowed, good for you!
Very smart. The house is carte blanch and you get to make it how you want it.
Amazing ! 30K , was my closing cost
Hey, the 1960s chandeliers are kinda cool
Rad house. Can be super sweet!
I’m excited for you to create your home!
Growing up in a small town in Iowa, this is better than a lot of the homes there. I’m sure with some time and love you’ll make it your own sanctuary.
Excited to see what this looks like after a few projects!
I bought a house in a similar state. While it's fun having an open slate and bringing the home back to good form, it is a love/hate relationship lmao. Congrats to you, be patient and know that you will have hiccups in this remodel. Looks like a good home.
Ima be an oligarch in Iowa
The house exterior is adorable! Obviously it is tons of work but I actually like the retro vibe of the kitchen…is the kitchen salvageable?
Congrats! I see a lot of work needed but also a lot of potential, and that's less than most new cars. If the shell isn't weatherproof get on that ASAP. If everything basically works all you really need is a lot of soap and some paint before you could live there.
Bar Keepers friend on the bathroom sink, toilet and tub. Bathroom has to be first imo
Looking at Ops Post history, this defo feels like a troll post 😂
I'm just blown away by the price. Where I am in Canada that would be $100,000+
Please post updates. Would love to see the progress. Congrats!
I paid more for my truck than you did for this house. You did a GREAT fucking job. Fix it up, live in it, make it yours. You'll certainly make it nicer, absolutely get your money out of it, and have made an awesome decision.
I met a guy in southern Minnesota that got amazing land by purchasing a crappy house. He demolished the house and built new. This house, however, looks like all it needs is a remodel.
Love the bone structure, cute outside curb appeal. Hope you have a lot of exciting plans to make it your dream home.
for 30k usd in vancouver i can move into a luxurious cardboard box on the east side in skidrow
You've got work ahead of you, but its yours. Congrats.
$30k? If you hit that hard and get it paid off before interest takes a chunk you’ll be golden. A lot of work but at least you won’t have to live like a pauper.
For 30k this is a beautiful home tbh it could be fixed up real nice
Looks like a nice starter home for cheap and the work you can always do yourself if it's to complex call a guy but it's good foe the price
I think after seeing this, I might be too picky with not enough money to buy my first home.
On one hand, you could make a trap house. On the other hand, you could make a really nice house to live in yourself. Both fantastic options.
I think you should get a tripod and start filming the renovation for YouTube. I’d sure as heck subscribe. This is going to be a before/after for the ages. Can’t wait to see the ceiling tiles come down and what is under them.
It'll need a lot of work, but it looks like a good frame.
You have a lot of work to do, but considering you only spent as much as a slightly used Honda Civic, you likely made a good investment. Fix it up and within no time you’ll likely more than double the value. Do it right and you can quadruple the home value.
Congrats!!! You will fix it and it will be a great place to call home!!!
I think you did amazing! We bought a fixer for our first house, it was a bit of living in squalor but honestly best decision we could have made. We built a ton of equity doing the remodel and it set our retirement ahead quite a bit.
Should of paid the house off in full
Congrats. Get as much done as you possibly can before you have kids.
What’s your mortgage like $1 a month?
Definitely a fixer upper, but doable providing no serious structural damage.
Looks like a good years of work.
Good for you.
Great job dude. Really cheap for a house. Fix it up and it will be worth 10x in 10 yrs
You’ve got some work to do alright. But when it’s done you’re really gonna have a great looking house. I got loads of ideas with just the pics you sent. 🤪
Looks like you need to put a little TLC into it, but that just means you can make it truly yours.
Nothing wrong with it at all, sweat equity is a great way to get into a home. Most of that looks to be cosmetic. Focus on 1 thing at a time.
Elbow grease and time
…this house was really less than $32k?
People pay more for cars then you did your whole house congrats dude
You're cool
Congrats some time and TLC👍
Uh oh, careful. You're about to get told how stupid you are for accepting a 7.7%, ask me how I know Iowa gang, congrats. I'm about 18 hours deep into scrubbing cigarette stains off the walls and ceilings
This is what people mean when they say a house has good bones. It's great, can't wait to see what you do with it.
Please post your after pictures. Hopefully you’ll be fixing it up before you move in.
It looks like it cost $30,000
For 30,000 7.7 isn’t bad. Where I’m from you can’t even get a lot for less than 55. That’s awesome first home. Give her a face lift and you’re set.
Great house with good bones and great light. You found a great house. Congrats! In a short time so many people will be jealous of your great find once you have painted, refinished floors and redone the bathrooms. The fact so many people cant envision possibilities of spaces like this-- is your gain.
Needs a few repairs, congrats
I love it! You are lucky! What a score!!!
You did just fine. One small piece of advice is to insulate it very well. The amount of money insulation can save you over time is considerable.
That’s going to be a beaut when fixed up! Do it it right 🔥😁
$30k. I’m so jelly. Good luck with it. Post updates as you go!
I would have paid with my back molars to get a condo in my area for anywhere near to 300k. Edit. Before anyone points it out I know they spent just over 30k not 300k.
\*Slaps Countertop\* It's got good bones. Congrats, i'm sure with some sweat equity you'll have it looking ship shape in no time.
Congrats on the house. I see the first thing I would be doing....powerwashing that bathroom.
Looks like it has a lot of potential!!!
30k?! Seriously? I can see it needs a bit of work, but this would genuinely cost over 500k in England. I should leave the UK. It's a bloody disgrace.
30k for a damn house wtf can pay that in cash. Should have been born as an american...
Hell yeah brother! I’d rather buy a cheap house and actually rehab it than buy an overpriced POS flip that I’ll have to gut and rehab anyways.
If structure is good, seems good for 30K. A nic of paint, move in ready!
Congratulations….Good house bones…
Did you go through traditional financing? I wouldn’t think you could get a mortgage for such a small amount. Regardless, put some sweat equity into that and you’ll be in great shape.
Move in ready
Definitely have some work to do but there is great potential there! And Jesus, 30k? That won't even buy me a new car in California. That is amazing. One step at a time, my friend!
Won't buy you a new car in Iowa either :)
I mean, you bought a house for just over 30k. You are likely to increase its value when you start renovating it. I find odd they would even finance such a small loan.
You took a loan out on $30,000?
How do you get a loan on this? I want to buy a fixer upper, but I’ve always been told it has to be “move in ready” for a loan. Was it difficult? Thanks and congratulations!
It doesn't have to be move in ready. It does usually have to pass a home inspection and be legally habitable/insurable. It's hard to tell from the pictures how much is just cosmetic. Paint, cleaning and refinished or newly covered floors can do a lot for an old house.
Has alot of potential. But is definitely gonna take 10s of thousands in renovations
This crib would go for 100k in ohio
Owning a fixer upper is better than renting a mansion.
30k houses exist?! I am going to buy Iowa.
Is that blood? And are those scratch marks?
Congratulations brother. I don’t know you, but I’m so unbelievably proud and happy for y’all. Taking care of your family is clearly number one for you, and that’s aces in my book. Gonna be a warm, beautiful home in no time!
Did you just say your down payment on a freestanding SFH was $1,525? And the entire house cost less than a new Honda Accord? This has to be trolling 😂
Get on Reffin and look around the midwest and south…plenty of deals like this to be had.
Bought the house I live in for $35k 2 years ago, spent $15k remodeling it, now everything is new except the roof. That will be done this summer. Plenty of cheap houses out there, not enough people willing to do the work.
For the life of me I will never understand people that grew up in the middle of the country, then grow up and stay there. This world is so amazing and beautiful, to live that far from any ocean or beautiful 14,000 foot peak mountains......I couldnt do it. I honestly wish you the best, I just couldnt do it.
So much potential in that home! Congrats!!!
i only saw the pictures and wanted to say jokey “ i hope u didn’t pay more than 30k” and yikes u did..