Bought a Fixer-Upper and We're Over It

Brought to you by the EveryDollar app. Start budgeting for free today. My husband and I, we bought what we thought was a cosmetic fixer-upper two years ago, turned out to be a lemon, and we're trying to decide if we should sell it or keep working on it. Oh man, what's been what's been wrong with it? Everything from like foundation, I mean anything and everything? We've had to redo all of our plumbing, oh man, now that you're asking me, I'm kind of blanking on it. No, no, it's fine. No, no, did the inspector? A lot of things that our inspector missed. Okay, and how much how much money have you guys put into the house already? We haven't really been keeping track of it, but we're thinking we've put about 30 into it already. What'd you pay for it? We bought it for $163,000 and we still owe $150,000 on it. And is it in worse condition now that you've been doing the renovation or better than when you started? No, it's been better. We have been doing, my husband's really handy, so we've just been doing all the work ourselves. So what can you sell it for? Well, that's the thing, we don't know. We're, I mean, let's pretend you could sell it for $200,000. Would you not sell it? Well, that's kind of my question because I don't really know if it makes more financial sense to sell it. Nothing about this house makes sense. When did you guys buy it, Bailey? How far, how long ago? It was August of 24. You've been working on it for two years, you said, right? Yes. And you are emotionally over this house, we can tell by talking to you. Yes, yes. So it is a, it's a, even if this house is completed and it's excellent when it's completed, you're still not going to like it because of what you've been through. Yeah, maybe, or maybe you fix it and it is what you love. So do you, do you not like the house, Bailey? Like when you're in it, what, are you annoyed by it? Yes, very much because it's a constant construction zone all the time. We've got things going on here, things going on there, and so there's never any like peace at the house. It's chaotic all the time because there's always something and whenever we start a project, it just turns into, you know. How long will it take if you finish the projects and have a perfect house? How long is that going to take from today? We anticipated about a year and a half. More? Yes. This is a three and a half year renovation. Y'all are slow. Well, her husband's doing it. I know, y'all are slow. That's what's killing you. Probably costs, they're keeping their costs down. They're taking a little bit at a time. That's what we tell people to do on the show. And you eat sawdust for breakfast. Yeah, living in it is what, that's fair. That's one thing. Well, and then the other thing, too, is that it's only a two-bedroom house and we do want kids in the future. So if we stated this house with kids, then we would need. I would cross that bridge when you get there, though. I wouldn't make the decision. That had nothing to do with it when you bought it two years ago. Yeah. There were kids in the future then, but what happened is this is taking three times longer than you thought it was going to, and it's costing more than you thought it was going to. And more. And that took all the fun out of the fixer-upper. You watched too many of those fixer-upper shows on TV and thought it was going to be that easy. Oh, man. Yeah. Yeah. I hate those shows because they're a lie. It's not what really happens. You've lived the reality. They're a lie. Definitely. Yeah. So I used to do historic rehabs and I did a bunch of rehabs of all kinds, but we would buy houses in the historic end, and I bought several houses from like 1898. They're beautiful, old gingerbread-looking houses when you get them done. But the construction techniques in 1898 and in 1905 were substantially sucky compared to today's construction techniques. They don't build them like they used to, thank God. It was crap. And we would open up a wall, one of these plaster walls, which once you open it up, you got to do the whole stinking wall. It's not like drywall, where you just open up one little piece and then put it back. We'd open up a wall, and we'd end up taking the whole stinking room down to the studs and hadn't anticipated that. It was a freaking nightmare. And we were doing it for investment. It was crazy. I bought one house for $13,000 and spent $78,000 fixing it. And today's dollar is just at a zero or two. Buying it for $130,000 and spending $780,000 on it. So when's the break-even? So for someone like Bailey who's asking- I would move if I'm Bailey. You're done. I'd put it on the market. If you can get your money- Get it show ready. If you can get your money out of it and get out of there today, get out of there. This has lost its clamor. There's no romance in this relationship. And it just keeps going. Yeah, it's just not fun. It's not fun. And by the way, her husband, bless his heart, he'd been working his butt off, and he's got a black fingernail from hitting his hand with a hammer and all this stuff. The pipe wrench slipped and busted his- He's sick of this thing, too. He's sick of it, too. I've been that guy, too. Honey, the problem with knowing how to fix stuff is you've got to fix stuff. It's true. Man, man. Okay, don't you think, though, Holmes, good old ranchers from the 60s and 70s, they're built well, though. Yeah. When you say there's a period of time- A 1962 is different than a 1902. No, that is true. Yes. Way different. 1962, in most areas, the construction technique is very similar to what it is today. Yeah, or even better than some of these pop-up houses that go quick, too, you know? Yeah, yeah. Be good. That's how it works. Okay. I will say, though, Bailey's called- Recommendation, I would never buy a fixer-upper that I'm going to live in unless I'm in the construction business and unless I've already owned a home before that. Never do that as your first home. And if it is their intention, I think, when she said, was cosmetic, right? If you want to change out cabinetry and those kind of things, you wouldn't do that? Paint and bushes and a roof. And carpet. Well, or floors, yeah. But I'm not touching the plumbing or the electrical. Right, right. That's right. And once you pull the cabinets out, you just got in the plumbing and you just got into all the appliances. And so here we go. Just paint the cabinets. Well, there you go. Spray from a distance. Spray them. I mean, it's just, don't touch them. The romanticized idea- That's a stupid TV show. And I'm going to keep going back around, though, is because the market is high, people are buying smaller, older homes that do need some work. And so you do have to estimate that you may not be able to afford the nice new home. I'm fine with that. Yeah. But don't get into these major rehabs and just go rent the old movie, The Money Pit, from the 1980s or 90s or whenever that movie came out. And you'll just see all the humor around it. And it's not funny, really. Create your free every dollar budget today. The simplest way to budget for your life.