Had to decide between a fixer-upper in town or a move-in-ready 30 minutes out

Last year I was looking at two houses in the Columbus area. One was a cute 1920s bungalow near downtown for $180k but needed a new roof and kitchen. The other was a 2015 suburban house for $210k that was ready to go, but added an hour to my commute each day. I went with the fixer-upper because I figured I could save money over time and like being close to stuff. Well, 8 months in and I've dropped $15k on the roof and the kitchen is still a mess with cabinets half done. Commute time is great though, I can walk to the coffee shop. Anyone else pick the wrong option and regret it or is it just me?

2 comments

2 Comments

amy97521h ago

Ugh, the classic "do I save money now or later" trap. I went with the move-in-ready and honestly my commute is slowly killing my soul. I spend like 10 hours a week in the car just listening to the same three podcasts on repeat. Meanwhile my buddy fixed up his fixer-upper over two years and now his house is worth double and he's biking to brunch. There's no winning, just different kinds of pain (and maybe a half-finished cabinet or two).

mason_foster6820h ago

Yeah but the thing with fixer-uppers nobody talks about is the hidden stuff that can wreck you. My buddy thought he was getting a steal on an old house and ended up finding termite damage in the walls that cost him like 15 grand. @amy975 at least you know your place is solid, even if the commute sucks. Sometimes the pain you can see is better than the surprise pain.