Real estate is a good investment, but it requires lots of scrimping and saving and even taking out loans. Right? Fortunately—no. There are some amazing deals and fabulous houses out there that won’t break the bank and will leave you very happy. Especially since some homes cost a grand total of 0 dollars.
One of the best places to find low-priced but beautiful properties is the Cheap Old Houses Instagram account that has over 1.3 million loyal followers. The account has helped countless Americans and Europeans find their new homes and showcases the country’s hidden gems.
So scroll down, dear Pandas, upvote your favorite houses, and share which properties you liked the most and why.
More info: Instagram | Facebook | CheapOldHouses.com | CircaOldHouses.com
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The Cheap Old Houses Instagram page is run by husband and wife Elizabeth and Ethan Finkelstein. Elizabeth is also the founder of Circa Old Houses, a company dedicated to selling historic homes to buyers who want to preserve them.
“There are a lot of people out there who look at a house and think, Wow, this looks like a lot of work. And then there are the people who look at the same house and think, That looks like a lot of work—and I cannot wait,” Elizabeth told Garden & Gun.
For her, it’s vital that these iconic buildings and American and European history be preserved. “In so many instances, these homes are vulnerable to being flipped or destroyed. They also kind of go under the radar. Real estate agents are not making a huge commission off of a thirty-thousand dollar house, and so generally they don’t do the extra things, like hire professional photographers.”
The homes that Elizabeth and Ethan feature on their page are generally under 100k dollars. But the price can be as low as 2.5k dollars, 1k dollars, and… free! You can’t really get a better deal than that, unless somebody actually pays you to live somewhere.
It’s a win-win situation. Anyone who’s looking for a family home gets to put down roots without getting up to their necks in debt; meanwhile, Elizabeth and Ethan get to preserve history and build up the community of old house lovers.
“We believe that you’re being sold the wrong American dream. Contrary to what everyone else says, you don’t actually need to buy a million-dollar house and go into extreme debt to live a satisfying and beautiful life,” they write on their website. “Our philosophy of life is simple. Work hard. Find something beautiful, something well-crafted. Something that needs you. Nurture it. Learn about it. Spend time honing your skills so you understand it. Teach your family to do the same. And give back to history while doing it.”
That last room has some pretty extensive water damage on the ceiling...hope it is nothing too severe, that can get pretty costly!
how is real estate soooooo cheap in the US???? In Sydney Australia, a 2 bedroom apartment, build in the 80's or earlier, 40 minutes out from the city, can still cost you $500,000+
It's Bodfish. Sure, Lake Isabella is nice, but the only employer is the state prison in Tehachapi.
Note: this post originally had 60 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
And every single one of those houses needs a MINIMUM of $500.000.00 in renovations before you could move in. The electrical would need to be redone because they look flat out dangerous, the walls are cracking, the foundations are rotting, there's no real heating system, every single roof needs replacing. ...///... When you buy anything cheap, you get EXACTLY what you pay for.
Yes exactly what I came here to say! Also there's a lot of cheap property in southern states they're not idea places to live, in the middle of no where, and not conveniently near metropolitan hubs, I know states like Kentucky you can easily find homes, while small, and in remote locations, for like 20-40k, so there's that and the others above in more high population areas like Messy said probably have massive renovation, treatment, and overhauls needed, something as seemingly unnoticeable as a roof could be due for a replacement and just that is thousands of dollars. People need to understand they ain't just paying the price listed let me tell you
And what job do you work, when you live faraway from cities, in rural areas without broadband? You can’t even get online.
Where do you live that renovations would cost a minimum of half a million? Where I live, you could build a new forty room McMansion for less than that.
Yep. I was thinking the same thing. I'm not sure some of them could even be restored.
Meami love
Exactly. More importantly, the location of the houses matters a lot for the quality of living (eg shitty neighbors) and the resell value (now you have a half a million $ house that nobody wants in that neighborhood).
Buying a creepy victorian house in the middle of nowhere for only $65.000 ... Isn't it the way the horror movies start?
The horror movies are less scary - you either inherit the houses or they belong to somebody else.
Yes, if they're next to a pet cemetery. ;-)
you can get grants to restore old houses...at our local community collage they have courses to learn how to renovate old houses and they fix up houses in the community... there are ways around spending a ton of money restoring beautiful worth it houses... There is so much beautiful craftsmanship that's went into most of these houses, its sad they weren't kept up on
And every single one of those houses needs a MINIMUM of $500.000.00 in renovations before you could move in. The electrical would need to be redone because they look flat out dangerous, the walls are cracking, the foundations are rotting, there's no real heating system, every single roof needs replacing. ...///... When you buy anything cheap, you get EXACTLY what you pay for.
Yes exactly what I came here to say! Also there's a lot of cheap property in southern states they're not idea places to live, in the middle of no where, and not conveniently near metropolitan hubs, I know states like Kentucky you can easily find homes, while small, and in remote locations, for like 20-40k, so there's that and the others above in more high population areas like Messy said probably have massive renovation, treatment, and overhauls needed, something as seemingly unnoticeable as a roof could be due for a replacement and just that is thousands of dollars. People need to understand they ain't just paying the price listed let me tell you
And what job do you work, when you live faraway from cities, in rural areas without broadband? You can’t even get online.
Where do you live that renovations would cost a minimum of half a million? Where I live, you could build a new forty room McMansion for less than that.
Yep. I was thinking the same thing. I'm not sure some of them could even be restored.
Meami love
Exactly. More importantly, the location of the houses matters a lot for the quality of living (eg shitty neighbors) and the resell value (now you have a half a million $ house that nobody wants in that neighborhood).
Buying a creepy victorian house in the middle of nowhere for only $65.000 ... Isn't it the way the horror movies start?
The horror movies are less scary - you either inherit the houses or they belong to somebody else.
Yes, if they're next to a pet cemetery. ;-)
you can get grants to restore old houses...at our local community collage they have courses to learn how to renovate old houses and they fix up houses in the community... there are ways around spending a ton of money restoring beautiful worth it houses... There is so much beautiful craftsmanship that's went into most of these houses, its sad they weren't kept up on