I feel sorry for this guy , his first deal

[Matthew Paul]

I went on an estimate this weekend . A guy bought a fixer upper at auction in a very good area, 4 bed 2 bath 2500 sq ft . Houses sell $ 400K to $ 450K  .  Now he paid  $ 375 K for the house  .   I get there he has a spread sheet , a list of what he wants done , a total rehab .  The house needs it all , its overgrown , roof leaks , siding missing , broken windows , junk car under weeds . Its been vacant for 4 or 5 years .   I look around outside , we are talking , he wants to move his family in , wife wants granite counter tops etc .  Just before we are going inside he tells me he has a budget , and before I can say anything he says " we need to stay around $ 20 grand for all this " .          I stop dead in my tracks and ask him " Is this a joke , we aren't on candid camera are we ? "    The guy has this perplexed look on his face and says , " No , thats my budget "  

I stop and look at him and tell him I have some bad news for him , the budget will maybe cover the roof , siding and windows , if there are no hidden issues , which rarely happens . And thats not hardie plank like he wants , thats builder grade vinyl .  I go inside and its as bad if not worse , 3 ft water in basement that was higher by the marks on the wall , mold , the smell of heating oil  , you get the picture .  I just shake my head .   

This guy had no clue as to costs , I talked to him about 2 hours  , explained to him that he is looking in the $ 80k to 100k range , depending on  what ever the oil clean up will cost ..