Millennials are snatching up ‘cheap
old houses’ via Instagram
by
Shayne Benowitz
Original Article
Posted By: Imright,
8/6/2020 5:31:01 AM
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,”
My first thought upon reading the headline was "Good for them! We need some young people to buy up these old houses, fix them up, and fill them them with children, just like in the old days." But, nope. The first couple the reporter profiles are two gay guys. SMH.
21 people like this.
Reply 2 - Posted by:
Highlander 8/6/2020 6:59:31 AM (No. 501481)
I avoided watching HGTV for that reason. Too many magic faerie couples.
30 people like this.
Reply 3 - Posted by:
udanja99 8/6/2020 7:21:53 AM (No. 501503)
Cheap until you start to make it livable. Just like there’s no such thing as a “free horse”. About 35 years ago hubby and I bought a house which was built in 1840. It had some lovely features like maple floors and marble fireplaces but after 9 years of constant work and expense we sold it and built a new house which had things like real closets and central AC.
The estimates given for renovations in the article are a joke.
41 people like this.
Reply 4 - Posted by:
Sully 8/6/2020 7:24:29 AM (No. 501504)
We bought an "old fixer upper" house when we had 2 small kids. We now have 5 kids and I am still remodeling. Unless you can afford a construction crew, you are in for quite a ride if you think it's gonna be house beautiful any time soon.
Zero insulation. You gotta demo every outside wall to insulate it. As you fork over every paycheck to heat the place. Up for replacing every single window?
Are you gonna change those light fixtures? Yeah? W/o killing yourself or starting a fire? Ever see knob and tube electrical wire?
Are you gonna plumb a new toilet? Really? And replace the subfloor around it?
You have no idea what you're getting into. I am extremely doubtful that xers who are frightened of an air compressor can do the work. No offense. Good luck.
:-)
50 people like this.
Reply 5 - Posted by:
NorthernDog 8/6/2020 8:10:09 AM (No. 501554)
I like the concept of fixing up stately old homes. But as others have said, the renovation costs can be enormous. It's also interesting they focus on homes in rural or small town areas. Half the houses in Detroit could be bought for pennies on the dollar too.
25 people like this.
Reply 6 - Posted by:
smsnod 8/6/2020 8:20:21 AM (No. 501567)
I hadn't heard of this site but checked it out. It's pretty cool. I'll never use it, but it's fun to look at all the old places & window shop. Some are overseas, most in the US.
13 people like this.
Reply 7 - Posted by:
Strike3 8/6/2020 8:42:04 AM (No. 501585)
Isn't that precious? The two princesses can now spend hours together painting, replacing the old fuse fox, rewiring, replacing leaky roof and plumbing, rebuilding rotten porches, chasing rats around the basement, buying new dishes and drinking white wine at the end of the day. Did they find out yet that each slate shingle costs ten bucks each? Good luck finding somebody that knows how to replace them. That an electrician makes in one day what they make in two weeks? That all pipes were made of lead in those days and so was most paint? If they got along well before this project they certainly won't from this day forward after arguing over the colors, the curtains and the furniture that they can no longer afford.
30 people like this.
Reply 8 - Posted by:
TexaTucky 8/6/2020 8:55:54 AM (No. 501598)
Thanks for the reminder, #3 & #4. In our search for retirement property in the Hill country of Texas, we're often enticed by that cute 1800s property that just needs "a little work" to turn it into the perfect retirement nirvana. The reality, though, is that Chip and Joanna are not our friends, and nowhere in America can you transform ugly residential ducklings into HGTV swans on the budgets they claim on those shows.
34 people like this.
You want a quaint old house? Tip: Buy one that someone already renovated. It will probably save your marriage.
22 people like this.
Reply 10 - Posted by:
MamaElephant 8/6/2020 9:24:20 AM (No. 501630)
They estimate that renovations on a 2300 sf brick and slate home will be $50K. No, they will be at least four times that much. If I posted all of my lols, Lucianne would run out of bandwidth. I foresee a lot of "demo is done, just needs to be finished" MLS listings in these homes' futures.
17 people like this.
Reply 11 - Posted by:
Sully 8/6/2020 9:35:39 AM (No. 501643)
Not to pile on, but just one more question.
You know you can FEEL your heat rushing past a leaky old entry door.
You ever hang a door? Plumb and level? In a crooked door frame?
Ellll Ooooh Elllll
14 people like this.
Reply 12 - Posted by:
red1066 8/6/2020 9:37:11 AM (No. 501645)
#2 is correct. HGTV must accept only gay couples to appear on their shows. Either that, or mixed race couples. I know this because my wife has this channel on for hours every day. When did remodeling houses become a woke occupation? I made the comment one time when I saw a normal married couple on one of the shows that somebody is getting fired for allowing this to happen. As for the article, this is how wokeness will come to the suburbs. Also, old houses are great if there is unlimited amounts of money to pour into it. The estimates given to remodel homes on these shows are just ridiculously low. I make a habit of looking at the trees and noting the weather changes on these shows. The shows are an hour long, but the remodeling seems to take about six to eight months to complete. The show starts with warm weather and trees starting to bloom, and ends in what seems to be mid January with cold and snow.
13 people like this.
Reply 13 - Posted by:
justavoter 8/6/2020 10:17:50 AM (No. 501704)
Before anyone buys a house like this it should be required that they first watch the movie, "The Money Pit".
20 people like this.
Reply 14 - Posted by:
J-Dog 8/6/2020 10:26:26 AM (No. 501717)
Been there done that...ugh. Everything looks so nice on instagram. There's a real reason these houses are very cheap, beautiful as they used to be. Reality will bite.
8 people like this.
Reply 15 - Posted by:
Kate318 8/6/2020 11:09:32 AM (No. 501772)
The comments on this thread made me laugh out loud! So true, and definitely the voices of wisdom and experience. I have always been drawn to older homes, but you all have made me think twice.
6 people like this.
Reply 16 - Posted by:
Daisymay 8/6/2020 11:45:53 AM (No. 501816)
I did enjoy looking at all the old homes and seeing the towns they are in. That said, I would never, ever by a home that needed that much work. We bought one home, 9 years old in TN, that we totally remodeled. That was enough for me. Next move, to FL, brand new home. Only way to fly! I do love to watch HGTV, especially "Home Town". I know it's just a Show, but some days I can't watch FOX for more than an hour, so I turn to HGTV to keep me company while I cook or fold laundry !
9 people like this.
Reply 17 - Posted by:
WV.Hillbilly 8/6/2020 12:11:38 PM (No. 501840)
There's a reason these old homes are cheap. They're usually in the ghetto.
There went the neighborhood a long time ago.
7 people like this.
Reply 18 - Posted by:
4Justice 8/6/2020 5:27:54 PM (No. 502044)
My partner and I were going to try getting into the business of flipping and renovating houses. He talked me into it (then later said he couldn't believe I paid for the course....I could've killed him) Anyway, I ended up throwing away all my savings $40k+ just to get all the information and set up the business license and name, etc. By then, we couldn't do it all. It was supposed to be doable on our free time. Well, being we were on disability, I thought it would be no problem since we weren't working. We should have the time. Wrong!! We never had the time to do everything necessary to get it all started. I still have the info. Maybe I will use it for something else someday when my partner's health issues are not in the way. I sure wish I had that $$ now.
No, it is NOT as simple as they claim. Don't do it unless you can afford to throw away lots of $ and have lots of time and, most importantly, lots of energy.
1 person likes this.
Reply 19 - Posted by:
NYbob 8/6/2020 5:53:18 PM (No. 502056)
Great idea, if you were well off in Victorian times. Shoehorning a modern lifestyle into anything built before 1950 is an exercise in compromise. Open plan? Not unless you want to talk about engineered beams, but more likely steel beams and engineering reports. There goes your $50,000 for brickwork. Notice the tiny closets and the one two pronged outlet per room, if it has an outlet. They didn't need big closets because they had very few clothes and electricity was a marvel that came later. Fuses? Heat in Buffalo, that will be easy. Those old coal furnaces were built to last, sort of. Have fun boys and enjoy the commute from Halloween to Easter.
1 person likes this.
Reply 20 - Posted by:
Corndoggies 8/6/2020 7:35:45 PM (No. 502095)
I bought a semi renovated farm house with my first husband am on my second d husband and it’s still not done. It was very livable when first purchased but I like thing like I like them. It’s gone from a 4 bed 1 bath to a 4/3. Zillow is unaware as are my tax assessors lol. I had to stop renovating the kitchen due to finances and did dishes in the bathtub for an entire year. One of the happiest days of my life including the birth of my two children was the day I had a working sink in the kitchen again. HGTV makes it look so easy. It is not.
3 people like this.
I never want a used home again. This one, out of hundreds I looked at, was only four years old and full of problems. The previous owner never had the builder fix anything because it was a stepping stone to her dream home.
No thanks. Keep your 'cheap old houses'
0 people like this.
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