954: Cheap Old Houses: Buying Fixer-Uppers for Just $100K w/Ethan and Elizabeth Finkelstein

BiggerPockets Real Estate Podcast

Would you buy a house for $100K? That’s right, just twenty-five percent of the median home price in America. Well, we found a couple who does just that, finding fixer-upper properties that often cost less than six figures and turning them into eye-catching, head-turning homes. They even argue that these cheap old homes are BETTER than the newer-built house flips that so many investors are targeting today. So, how do you find your next $100K home, and where do you start looking?

Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein, the brains behind HGTV’s Cheap Old Houses and the social media account by the same name with millions of followers, join us on today’s show. Elizabeth and Ethan love cheap old houses, but not for the reason you think. Most investors purely look at the numbers or the profit potential, but Elizabeth and Ethan see beyond that, fixing up old houses to not only collect the significant equity gain but restore communities and bring back long-forgotten styles, materials, and looks.

They’ve bought houses for as cheap as $27,000 and turned them into homes anyone would dream of having. If you’re an investor without much capital and can get a little handy, these old houses could explode your portfolio. But who SHOULD be buying these cheap old houses? Stick around as Elizabeth and Ethan give their expert advice on what to DIY vs. hire out, which old pieces to keep, the best way for beginners to get started with little money, and the decades that built the BEST houses!

In This Episode We Cover

How to get on the path to financial freedom by buying cheap old houses

Buying houses for just $27,000 and where to find these types of homes

How old is old enough, and the decades when building quality starts to decline

Using the “live in flip” strategy to buy your first fixer-upper or primary residence

DIY vs. hiring it out and the tasks that Elizabeth and Ethan enjoy the most

And So Much More!

(00:00) Intro

(01:24) Why Cheap Old Houses?

(05:16) $150K Houses!?

(07:17) Rehabbing New vs. Old Houses

(19:03) Who Should Do These Rehabs?

(20:11) Best Ways to Get Started

(23:38) DIY vs. Hiring it Out

(27:47) Connect with Ethan and Elizabeth!

Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/real-estate-954

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