Buying An $18,000 House: Inside America’s Cheap Old Houses 

Yes, please revisit when it’s complete!

Def but it would also take a lot of money tbh

YES OMG

She is spending 125k on a house in an area where the average townhouse is under 100k. Not sure if it's worth the hassle.

Nitesh Sewnandan at this point buying the €1 houses in Italy are a better option in my opinion. You pay literally just for renovations

Yes!!! Please go back to this house after completion

Yes!!! Or at least have her video it and send it to you lol.

I'd love to see that too

I would love to see that. To see what it was to what she had done too it

I was going to comment the same thing!

Hello 👋 how are you doing?

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MU4GoTPnBWg.html

Please do it Betsy!

Yes!!

There's already a million people doing this exact same thing on HGTV!

@@yessiryousir A million? I still want to see Betsy do THIS house.

@@skeesaurs thanks!

I agree Monica needs to do a part 2 to the video. 😚

WE would love one ❤

Same

Same

Yess please.. maybe a series of renovation projects in different rooms

Did you even see my comments? Probably not

YES!!!! ❤100%

Small world. How amazing!....

Awesome 💗💗💗

Wow how cool hi from Australia 👍

That's so cool. I'm glad that you found this video 🙂

so cool!!!!

West Virginia has some cool neighborhoods with neat old houses (though most aren't quite as old as what you're talking about). We live in a neighborhood with some older homes - ours is 1915 - and there are definitely other similar communities across the state. The capitol city, Charleston, WV, definitely has lots of very cool older houses and apartments. I think the oldest ones, though, are mostly in the eastern panhandle of the state in places like Shepherdstown, Charles Town, Harpers Ferry, etc. if you ever feel like looking them up just for fun :)

I use to live in Wheeling for school, but I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA. Both are very very heavily dressed with Victorian houses. They’re absolutely gorgeous! I’d search for houses in Pittsburgh just to see, a lot of them are being restored as well and they’re amazing!

lmao same, over here these houses are absolutely everywhere, I think it’s great that you can get them for super cheap though since all the old houses have already been renovated in my city*

Wv is a beautiful place. We live about 3hrs from wheeling and you’d be amazed at all the old houses and buildings around here (the town i live in still has buildings on mainstreet from almost a hundred years ago (some burned down a few years ago and were rebuilt but to the best of my knowledge some are still the originals)

I agree, my house is early 1800s with some original fittings and honestly I never even noticed them till after I moved in. I think people only consider a property really old in the uk when its 300+ years old. It is interesting to see more antique American homes as they are likely rarer (and slightly different in style) to antique homes here.

Agree 👍

I’m with you on that!!!

The cottage industry is seeing a boom, with the help of remote work. I even heard talks about installing tall towers to get cheap internet to the people, by having the towers of multiple cities connected to eachother, and the consumers having an antenna system which connects to the town's tower, effectively avoiding having to pay the local authorities billions of dollars before even laying a single cable on public land. Since those antennas don't move much most of the time (even if they're on a pole in strong winds), the tower can use directed signals to get high speed wifi to a whole city for dirt cheap. The only issue they have is getting the permit to build towers tall enough to be seen across the city, and building tall enough towers or enough towers to connect multiple cities. But there are already internet providers which use such antennas to give cheap internet to the people of a few cities. Many people even became ISPs (Internet Service Providers), to resell cheaper internet to others nearby them. An example is the video "This Man Launched a New Internet Service Provider from His Garage | Freethink DIY Science " by the "Freethink" youtube channel.

Agree

We're not exactly remote here. It's a small town but we're close to a lot of stuff

Agreed!!

yesss!!

I'd love to see an update on this home!

Amazing video! Love this type of content

Liked abs subscribe in hopes that this happens

Thank you!

Yes!!! I hope she does!!

I bet you could sell a series on this to HGN. That would 100% be up their alley. "Twins renovate cheap Victorian homes." You could also do a spinoff series in Italy.

I second this!!!

L E yessss!

@Well known Thank you, I appreciate that ♡

Agreed, it's so nice to go on a trip with her!

In my firm belief Those old derelict buildings especially the old houses should be knocked down and rebuilt not be resided in

ev3n gr8er trans4mable bumble bee strongly disagree. They are pieces of history.

This area is afflicted by drugs and poverty. You truly don't want to visit here.

You just reminded me of the classic the rock Dwayne Johnson movie, Can't actually remember what it's called though, He played a cop 👮 🚓 boss and the local timber mill ended up being a illicit drugs factory plus a high majority of the cops under his own command were crooked cops helping out the criminals so he replaced them

She has an Instagram account!!

@@Elizkleincaz I know I want full footage

@@QueenEpicStory 👍🏼👍🏼 same, that would be great

Totally 100% agree. I would definitely watch. I love old houses but don't have either the money nor the physical strength to do up one of these old beauties (disabled pensioner here)...plus, if this lass had a channel of her own, there could be the bonus of making a little bit of extra coin to help with the reno costs...

Hermione Chantel on RU-vid bought an old, cheap house in the UK. She films all of her renovations

Exactly,thats what i was thinking!!

Hit the nail on the head. Impressive! This generation coming up now is going to do special things!

@@Theactualstoic i was talking about the owner of the house. I know about monica and shelby.

She's actually awesome, I'm a fan!

@@sanjaysingha8911 she does, she's an architectural historian. this is literally what she does for a living, which is awesome bcuz she knows exactly what she's talking about 😀

This is so relatable

Also money to invest.

Very true

I have the patience just not the funds 😂

I have the patience and the funds but not the knowledge. Anyone who has the knowledge.... want to partner on a project?!

Thank you!

YESSSSS

Good job.

@@MonicaChurch can I print you

@@MonicaChurch are you related to shelby church? She has a RU-vid channel too

꧁FIDUCI ICUDIF꧂ me: “Yo, you got any of that old money buried somewhere? You’ gon’ pay rent or nah?”

Never believe in such a thing

awww, that's a lovely thought! :)

well, house spirits are known to be a thing so..

Ahahaha

There's a link up there to follow Betsy. She has pics on instagram of the updates!

Just went to her site.. & I hate to be a drain on someone’s optimism, ..but after a year, it looks like she’s only repaired a few windows and wall-papered the half bathroom. She has great ideas, but realistically.. I don’t believe restoring ‘cheap old houses’ is financially feasible for the average person. 😬 If anything, it seems more like a millionaire’s hobby project. She’d probably do better to salvage whatever fixtures she wants from the home, bulldoze the rest, & start fresh.

@@purpleXpotion It's done now and looks awesome!

@@drawnontheway5481 This guy states only a month ago that it looks like only a few windows were repaired and half a bathroom got wall papered. Then three weeks later you say its done and looks awesome.... Hhhmmm......

@@kylemoening3321 Looks like they're both wrong.

I also really liked the quirky dead-end service staircase room that she is turning into a meditation book nook personal retreat room. I wish I had one of those, so much so that if I ever build myself a home I might add one in, just cause it's so awesome.

She renovates old houses for a living. In the video they say, she did wiring with her father. I think she knows all the tricks, all the good contractors and will do a lot with her family. The budget might work. Renting out the small house is still a good idea, if she is willing to trade in some of her privacy for an extra income.

Renovations this big ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, cost a good 30% more than your initial estimate, bare minimum. And take at least 30% more time. If I were her I would make a RU-vid channel and Patreon documenting the whole thing. I'm glad she's respecting the history and character of the place. I see way too many people buy old houses and totally modernize the interior, and it's upsetting. If you want a modern home, buy a modern house! A little modernized facelift here and there is fine, but I'm talking about when it all becomes sleek angles and flat surfaces and glossy finishes and sculpture overhead lighting, etc.

Tamara Nothing wrong with modernizing them. It’s to each their own.

@@CattyMcMeow depends on how many surprises there are, really. The fact that she's retaining a lot of the layout, doesn't have to replace the stairs etc is in her favour. I would be most concerned about getting the shell insulated and weathertight, I guess she won't be replacing the windows and they'll bleed a lot of heat

@@CattyMcMeow I can see this renovation topping $200,000. Documenting the process on RU-vid might recoup some of the costs but shooting video maked a project take twice as long.

I lived in a 18th building in Yaroslavl Russia, it was fascinated experience. Especially tourist who were peeping all the time. But old houses have souls and character. It's like one more person in the room. All that noises.. i loved it.

Seems to be the same all over the world my friend, houses built when people cared about the little details and features. New houses are just red brick square boxes, no soul, no features, nothing.

@@TheDoosh79 Yeah and they were built diffrent back then too the carpentry isnt the same as it once was. Its all about speed and saving money nowadays

Slowly? You must have never been to America. Many of the original homes from civilizations are still standing for a reason. And keep in mind our country wasn't even civilized until the 1700s

High ceilings? Not in a farmers house from 1700. :D (Fachwerk) But I like old houses a lot, too. The natural materials such as wood and clay just feel good and can be reused. The work they have done is so great, but much of the knowledge is lost nowadays. We are working at our house for 3,5 years now. And I expected it that way. :D Im fact, we are even faster than I expected. Just don't think it will be done some day, it's a lifelong mission. And I love it. It's just great, that it's our own and we can do, what we want, even if it's a small house, there's still much possible. We probably change all rooms.

Sounds better for a retiree or someone who works exclusively online.

I wish there were opportunities like this in Phoenix.

You say that, but in practice people hate you because you're "gentrifying the neighborhood" I bought a very affordable early 1900s house in a city that's a little rough. In 5 years it has come leaps and bounds, more than any owner in the last 50 years, and on a tight budget (any extra cash I had). I love my home, but it's just not worth the harassment/property damage we have had to endure because the neighborhood is bad.

*M E S O T H E L I O M A*

@@echopm765 That's a really good point. I live in a neighbourhood that is undergoing intense gentrification. As someone who has been living in my neighbourhood pre-gentrification, I believe that those knocking down old houses should be giving back to the community in some way. One way is to put money towards creating parks and to contribute to beautifying the neighbourhood and even offering space for community use, like meeting rooms and community gardens or pathways. I have heard that beautifying and greening neighbourhoods brings pride and reduces crime. My neighboorhood is also getting a lot of development, especially apartment towers, but we have a unique situation where public consults are shaping what will be developed because the land is either Crown and/or Indigenous owned. So we will finally get amenities and some more space for the community to use. Once new people come into a neighbourhood they have no clue what came before. What I see is so much being removed from neighbourhoods and the new people moving in are none the wiser. There house is there temple and there is no connection to the community. So it's important to connect with community associations to find out the history and try to maintain or at least honour it in some way. So those involved in gentrifying may wish to shift their perspective to meeting community needs and wants and not just having a one-sided experience that alienates those already living there.

Really wish downtown wheeling had more shops. We use to have a lot when I was younger.

Nice story to go along with the video!!

And she is proud of it. She like I don't care what yall say or think . I'm good at what I do.

You know is the English that built that considering it's similarities with houses in England

It's not too quiet in some parts

@monica church lol impasta

Yeah and she thinks , she can set up business there and make money..Very optimistic idea. It seems like retirement city.

i visit wv in june of 2020 and i would move there in a heart beat!

I want an update 😭

Renovation is gonna cost her more than an actual new house in that area.

@@garryliango6485 she said it costs roughly the same as a new house, not more. She loves that old house and she enjoys the process of renovating it. I think she knows exactly what she is doing.

@@Mondoshawn I agree with you there

@Plum Milk but that loss of heritage🥺

Plum Milk why wouldn’t you just buy an empty lot or a house that’s unsalvageable!? Don’t go around knocking down perfectly good houses 😩

Plum Milk you can upgrade old homes so they don’t constantly need repair. In the UK we have medieval cottages that people still live in. Why would you want to erase that history?

Plum Milk even so, buy an empty lot and let someone else save it

Plum Milk erm this home is clearly made of brick and is not much different from a Victorian home in Britain which would also have been built from bricks and wood. In fact most medieval houses that are still standing here have timber frames so..

Yes. I would love to see it.

Yes!!! Please go back when she has completed the renovation!

ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-MRN38gkXw3U.html

Hello how are you doing?

That is awesome!! How is your project going? Would love to get in contact with you, if you want to dm me on Instagram

She is so cool! It's fun to hear about all her visions for the house and how excited she is. It makes me want to do this.

So inspiring!!!

betheroo I bought a house that used oil (converted it to gas, I live in a cold environment and so gas is really best option), needed new plumbing, new electrical, etc. back in December last year and that took about 6 months to complete renovation. Moved in right after I got furloughed due to COVID (luckily I did return to work). Been a crazy year. I’m glad I bought my house, for me it was all about location. It is literally only a couple houses down from my sister and little niece. But I did have a contractor and honestly I couldn’t have done it without my contractor’s help. It really is a full time job organizing work between tradesmen and inspecting work and just having expertise. So I do recommend getting a professional you trust to help. It is very stressful to do a pretty big renovation. This was my first home ever and I literally knew nothing. So it was scary. You always fear that you might encounter a huge unforeseen expense or problem. But I got lucky that nothing structural was wrong with house and although I spent more than I wanted (there was unforeseen plumbing issues) my original contingency covered it. It’s worth it in the end, but not easy by any means. Plus you definitely need to have somewhere else to live while doing a large renovation. There’s lots of dust, people coming and going, and no utilities. But yep, once it’s done, it is great and hopefully you should be good for at least 15 years on any major expenses, knowing that all utilities are new and done right.

@@narnia1233 I bet that was a lot of work! Good to hear you got to go back to work. That's what scares me about older houses and houses in general, all the unforeseen problems. Definitely makes sense to be informed and consult the experts. I'm hoping to build a house someday but there's just a charm to these old houses and a mystique thinking of what they've seen in their history.

betheroo Yeah, I did read and watch videos before I bought the fixer upper. Mainly I just researched how much something might cost. And what to watch out for regarding foundation. Mainly you have to rely on inspectors. For example, I actually put in an offer on a different house that was accepted and I went to the house inspection and they found that house had a serious foundation issue. I backed out of that offer. So yeah, never buy a house without requiring a home inspection. But yeah, I’m happy with my purchase and it worked out well. I recommend just knowing your area. For example, there’s tons of rain where I live so I looked for homes that weren’t at the bottom of a hill or near a creek, etc. It’s rained a ton this year and my basement is dry. So yeah being on top side of a hill is good.

For real 😂

@@MonicaChurch pls do it, monica hahahaha

Monica Church you should really go see houses in Huntington WV I live in Barboursville a neighboring city, Huntington has really pretty architecture. In Huntington houses are 10k to 1mil (mostly 50k -250k) look on realtor.com we are selling our house for 369k in Barboursville WV. We bought our house in 2008 for 250k, put 30k into it, that’s almost 100k in equity. Xoxo I’m a big fan

Houses or Builds like this are nothing new- My father bought a Victorian House in 1970 in the UK for as little as 1100(He paid Cash) & is worth 1.5M today, my father then bought 5 other houses on the same Road- People in the UK have been buying Houses like this & fixing them up for decades

‼️‼️

She’s going downtown and pulling them. Simple. Also she’s certainly working with an architect and doing subcontracting. This chick knows her stuff.

Totally get it promoting a house cheap is o e thing but then come the cost to fix it up.... Sometimes building a house new is cheaper then rebuilding an old house

According to her instagram and some google search she is a freelance historian and preservationist. So she probably has the know-how and contacts on how to pull something like this off.

why would you need to be an architect or "interior designer" to be able to pull permits?

Is COVID over?!?

@@asamuel4395 girl what

I love this so much! Mostly that she's been able to home several other family members. Love it

Boy I wish you wouldve commented on my cheap house video

For sure! I’d love to see how far the house comes

I lived in a 500 year old house in europe. No ghosts. =)

I am afraid too (kinda) but ghosts are dead and you are alive and as from now there is no "death from ghost killing" so just do you and get that house and (holy water)

_(singing like Ray Parker Jr.)_ I ain't 'fraid of no ghosts

Yeah that was the first thing that came into my mind, considering no one lived there. But at the moment I'm living in a house that was built in early 1900s and it's pretty cool! I do feel creeped out sometimes tho😂😂

Rather buy a house with “ghosts” than have have a house with a murder history to it. Ain’t living in a place knowing someone was killed cold blooded on my damn kitchen floor......

*(Let’s~communicate.).❤️⤴️🆙💙.⬆️*

What the Hell: Likely because no one who watched this ever saw the house on CHARMED so they have no point of comparison.

Even the inside

@@johnpickford4222 let's not stereotype, I know what they're talking about, it's the first thing I thought of when I saw the house

Because it doesn't look anything like the Charmed house.

Le Panda Slop: I wasn’t trying to stereotype and she apparently has her work cut out. She could use some help from witches fixing up the place but not from the Melrose Place witch-she’s trouble.witch

It's actually happening in our historic downtown. We are working to take back a lot of it from slumloards that let these historic homes fall in instead of making repairs. Even new built houses have to have a historic look to them.

@@SarV1 that is wonderful, I hope it all gets rebuilt and it gets a new shine that it deserves.

How is this just a US thing? Can’t other countries do the same?

@@SarV1 Where is your city?

@@derranlawston4052 Its a US thing because in Europe these types of places are already being maintained and taken care of as a standard. In the US, its often a one-off person such as this or only a very small handful of communities.

Not for long though

Yeah I'm from Washington state and everyone keeps seeing how great it is and inflating our market 😅😭

No way would I live there.

@@lorrainebossler16 me too, but everyone has preference and bias.

Please liberals stay out

Then it's not you're dream, just a want...

I know. Probably get all dusty and musty. 🤧🤧

Only if you fill with too much stuff. Keeping everything simple and minimalistic means much less work. That includes timeless decor.

Houses or Builds like this are nothing new- My father bought a Victorian House in 1970 in the UK for as little as 1100(He paid Cash) & is worth 1.5M today, my father then bought 5 other houses on the same Road- People in the UK have been buying Houses like this & fixing them up for decades

@@kylieharrison3782 I think she means cleaning up the house in the state that it's in currently