My dad's advice about 'buy the worst house on the best street' nearly cost me $15,000 last year

My dad told me last summer to always go for the fixer upper in a fancy area. So I put an offer on a house near the river valley in Edmonton for $450,000. It looked great from the outside but had knob and tube wiring and a foundation crack I didn't see until after the inspection. I backed out last minute but lost $500 on the inspection fee. Now I think buying a decent house in a so-so area might be smarter for a first flip. Has anyone else been burned by that kind of advice from family?

2 comments

2 Comments

nancy27516d ago

Same thing happened to me with a house in Austin last year.

nancys9016d ago

Oh boy, don't even get me started. We had a place in Phoenix that looked perfect online, drove all the way out there, and the "updated kitchen" was just a fresh coat of paint on cabinets that were falling apart. The listing said "close to downtown" which meant it was about 20 minutes with no traffic. I swear these real estate agents must think we're all blind and don't have GPS. It's like they take the best photo from 2010 and run with it forever.