Are affordable houses too cheap?

[Paul Day]

This is my first post so I'm sorry if I break any rules!

I'm looking at investing in Buffalo, New York for my first REI to get my foot in the market.

Buffalo isn't short on distressed homes. The city was selling them for a 1$ for a while.

I'm a skilled handyman so renovations don't scare me. I have experience roofing and doing major structural repairs which makes me feel these distressed properties are right up my alley.

I'm hesitant to pull the trigger on one of these "deals" for because most of them have been on the market for 200+ days.

If anybody has anything to share about distressed homes or the Buffalo market in general.

I've wanted to buy distressed homes in "bad" areas for years but I'm always talked out of it by somebody "smarter" then me. I've seen too many distressed buildings turned into high end homes. I don't want to keep missing the boat. On the other hand I don't want to rush into something that's obviously a terrible idea in hindsight. I've been running numbers like crazy and I can't find a reason not to buy these houses.

Thanks!

[Brent Paul]

Are you planning on flipping homes or keeping them as a rental?  

I agree with Aaron on checking the property from the outside.  Tall grass, boarded up windows you can almost guarantee it's vacant or someone used it for criminal activity.

You will need to know the comps for similar homes in the area or rents if you plan on keeping it.  Just be prepared for the worst it's not uncommon for someone to steal all the wiring, copper pipes or kitchen cabinets, etc.  I even had one person tell me someone dumped quikrete down all the toilets and drains....  Thousands to fix that mess.  But if you can do the work yourself you might do ok depending on if you get it for the right price.