That’s the thing, there are projects, and then there are PROJECTS. I bought a mostly updated 80’s ranch in the burbs with a newer kitchen and bath, freshly painted and carpeted and nothing severely falling apart. In six years I’ve replaced the roof, HVAC, front and rear deck, privacy fence, flooring, a window, some siding, re-graveled the driveway, removed some trees. I’m also relatively handy and did most of the work myself.

I’ve spent thousands of hours and close to $40K of my own money. Again, no serious damage, just relatively common deferred maintenance. Your average Detroit vacant house has a deteriorating roof and siding that could potentially cause water damage and harm the integrity of the house. It’s possible that the plumbing, wiring and HVAC have been stripped. The interior most likely needs to be gutted.

Even if it’s lived in and reasonably well cared for, chances are nothing cosmetic has been done in decades and a lot of the critical, unsexy stuff is nearing a breaking point. The fact is that most people don’t have the time or expertise to do things that serious themselves. Even if they do, a lot of these homes aren’t livable in the meantime. If you’re a first time homebuyer, renovation financing is a challenge, if you can even find a contractor to show up and do the work. It’s definitely a serious problem with no easy answers.