I think I may watch too many home improvement shows. I see people take broken down, sad looking houses and turn them into something that's not only livable, but much nicer than what they could have bought already finished with the same budget. The trouble is, these shows don't apply to my life.
Where I live, houses seem to cost the same amount whether they're finished nicely or not. A house that is literally falling down is often on the market for the same price as a home that doesn't need any work. But the bigger problem is, I couldn't actually afford to buy either one. My income is sufficient for a single person (and assorted rodents) to live on, but if I was making house payments there would be nothing left over for anything else.
I still look anyway. Right now there is a house in town that I could potentially afford. It's super cute, in a decent neighborhood, with a good sized backyard. The problem is, I can tell just from the pictures that it will at least need a new foundation, the single bathroom is missing all the finishes, there are huge patches all over the floor, and there's a deck basically falling off the back of the building. Despite all that, I love to look at it and imagine how it could be. Who says I'm not a romantic?
Where I live, houses seem to cost the same amount whether they're finished nicely or not. A house that is literally falling down is often on the market for the same price as a home that doesn't need any work. But the bigger problem is, I couldn't actually afford to buy either one. My income is sufficient for a single person (and assorted rodents) to live on, but if I was making house payments there would be nothing left over for anything else.
I still look anyway. Right now there is a house in town that I could potentially afford. It's super cute, in a decent neighborhood, with a good sized backyard. The problem is, I can tell just from the pictures that it will at least need a new foundation, the single bathroom is missing all the finishes, there are huge patches all over the floor, and there's a deck basically falling off the back of the building. Despite all that, I love to look at it and imagine how it could be. Who says I'm not a romantic?
Maybe someday I'll have the income and bravery to match my home renovating dreams. Maybe you will too. Have a day!