HGTV versus Reality – Remodeling Homes in Green Bay, WI

Fixer upper home on the west side of Green Bay, WI

HGtv is great! I love those shows. I also love how EASY they make home renovations seem. Look, I’m all for home renovations, but you’ve got to have the right kind of perspective – not everything is as quick and simple as it seems. 

I get numerous calls from home buyers and real estate investors in Green Bay that say they want to flip a property. Usually, they have stars in their eyes about a house that will be 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, perfectly sound in every way, but that maybe needs paint. Oh, and is around $50k. That is NOT going to happen. I find great deals on real estate, but deals like that are a fantasy. When I gently, but firmly, burst the would be investor’s bubble, the response I get is something like, “What do you mean? That doesn’t sound right.”

People looking to buy a home can still find awesome deals, but, not like that. 

One of the latest deals I found was a cute Bungalow style home on the west side of Green Bay, Wisocnsin. It was a foreclosure home going for $45k. The house hass 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, is less than 1000 square feet and built in 1918. It was home sale purchase  price was $42K and change. What exactly did this particular house need? $20k worth of home renovations and repairs that included: new roof, new siding (that one wasn’t necessary, but really added to the home’s curb appeal), appliances (including washer and dryer), light fixtures, new windows, re-finishing some hardwood floors, all interior painting (trim and doors too), a new garage door opener mechanism, and a new sump pump. The buyer of that piece of real estate could have potentially sold that home for close to $85k in the current Green Bay housing market — that was what my comps came around to anyway. But they decided to hold onto it and rent it out. This real estate investor currently makes a 12% annual return.

To that home buyer (and me), that was an AWESOME deal. I also had been watching the market for them for around 5 months before that little gem came across my path. The buyer put in a lot of work and extra money – but it was worth it. 

Long story short: HGtv is great, but unrealistic especially in the Green Bay and De Pere area. Listen to your real estate agent when they give you proper advise, and be patient! 

Happy Homeowners and Real Estate Investors

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