I found a good one in my neighborhood that I can sort of afford. With how rents are going up, I'd rather be locked in and have a chance of not being rent-burdened someday. Overall, it's in good shape with a good foundation, roof, and utilities. However the current owner was going at it silly and the whole thing is covered in half-started DIY projects.
My friend who is a builder said that actually it's in great shape, it's just going to be a lot of work to clean up the half projects and finish up with the drywall and so on. She guessed it would be 300 hours of work for her or about 1000 for me since I have a lot more to learn. She's offered to work together with me at a discount to teach me how to do things myself/do work-trade where I do grunt work at her sites and she does more specialized labor for me.
I think I wouldn't mind living somewhere jank for a few years as I fixed it, but I am seeking the perspective of people who have done it before. What were your regrets and what do you wish you had known going in?
My union has been coming through for us these past years so I can afford an okay down payment and to get some good inspections.
Overall, I feel mixed. On one hand, this feels like a real chance at stability but on the other it might be saddling myself with more work than I can chew. With each year that passes, my capacity for projects and things outside work wanes and I am a bit worried about the trade-off with having such a big ongoing project and the mental load of it being always around me.
Also for reference, I am used to doing manual labor just not building trades.
So yeah.
Also I'm excited because there is a really big and easy to access attic that can become a dance hall or a jam room. Like it was enough room to have 15 people dancing comfortably up there. Granted that's only really gonna be comfortable in the Spring and Fall months although if we get really moving the Winter could be doable.
I did something like this. some days after work sucked. like a week straight of stopping by the hardware store on the way home from work and doing shit while my kitchen was unusable/draped in plastic. but it is so worth it to make a place yours, to have it laid out how you want functionally.
I say, if the critical parts "the bones" of the structure are good and it's just bullshit like replacing fixtures, aesthetic b.s., and putting in new components: go for it.
I spent a lot of effort on my kitchen and got it 90% how I wanted, and now I love being in it, cooking, hanging out with friends, etc. somewhat by surprise, I'm moving to another state for work stuff in the next months and will have to sell it and get a new place, which is heartbreaking, but I will easily get back what I put in, material and labor wise, so that numbs the sting a little.
owning a house that you work on is very gratifying. sometimes you can bang out a little job, like sturdy shelving in a utility space, over a weekend at a chill pace and it drastically improves your quality of life.