Their fixer-upper farmhouse fantasy met reality

Ethan Finkelstein and his wife, Elizabeth, built a following as the co-founders of Cheap Old Houses. Then they bought their own fixer-upper. Here’s why it still isn’t finished yet, and what he wants others to know about city versus country life.

Q: How did you end up buying a fixer-upper farmhouse? “In 2020, we purchased a falling-down farmhouse on 11 acres in upstate New York for $70,000. There was a competing buyer who was going to tear it down! It’s been a complete soup-to-nuts project. We’re still working on it. We built six fireplaces in there; we have five bedrooms and five bathrooms. My wife, Elizabeth, has a master’s degree in preservation. We really wanted to do a quality job. It was less an investment and more about love.”

Q: What did you learn fixing up this farmhouse? “Know what you’re getting into in terms of time and money. You need a lot of both; this was not the quick-flip game. But learning from that house has helped us work on other houses in a more economical way.”

Q: What’s your advice for others who want to renovate a country home? “Please think carefully about buying something far from where you live. We’ve met hundreds of people who purchased cheap old houses, and the ones that tend to fall through are the ones that are far away. It seems really dreamy to keep flying out to restore your house, but you’re adding travel costs on top of restoration costs, which are already expensive. If you have the opportunity to be flexible in where you live, you’re going to have more opportunities to get into real estate. To get familiar with a town, get on their Facebook groups—every town and village has one. Country foreclosure auctions aren’t advertised beyond signs around the area, so you have to be local to find them. The house my mom is living in now is a foreclosure we bought at auction in 2022 for $27,000.”

Q: Is a home ever too old to be saved? “A lot of old houses have been abandoned for 30 years and are still standing. They’re fine because they’re built with solid old-growth wood. I think the bigger problem is newer builds and renovations with subpar material, where someone added a crappy brand-new bathroom—that’s the problematic part. I think another challenge is that a lot of aging housing is in areas that have been shrinking, population-wise. We truly believe these local communities can be amazing places to live and put down roots.”