One must assume half of a million dollars for a run down old shack in a b- neighbourhood is peanuts these days based on asking prices for homes. These 60 year old gems aren’t just a coat of paint and new carpet away from being someone’s dream home. They are filled with asbestos and many kinds of gremlins reside within the walls, some minor and others requiring a lot of expense to deal with. Items like windows (old, drafty, too small, wrong place in the wall), plumbing (cast iron, corroded and filled with debris), poor insulation (sometimes non-existing or just some sawdust in the cavity), and awful kitchen layouts with tiny counters confined behind walls that are load bearing. And no master bathroom ensuite or space to build one. Of course, to the realtor, these issues are glossed over as the home is a tremendous opportunity ‘awaiting your creative style to make it your own’. My own personal style involves a track hoe and a trailer to haul this place to the landfill, not a further investment of $200k to make it my dream home.