A couple who bought a house for less than $13,000 shares the reality of rehabilitating a home in downtown Detroit

One Detroit-based couple decided to forgo that financial burden altogether by purchasing a 103-year-old fixer-upper.

Justin Craig, 35, and Alia Polsgrove, 33, left Seattle for Detroit three years ago. Polsgrove, originally from the area, was ready to return, and the couple was eager to start their business RUNdetroit, a running store that also coordinates running events and group runs.

Knowing RUNdetroit would be located in the heart of the city, they wanted to live downtown, but they also didn't want to settle into an apartment or condo.

The most economical decision was pretty clear to the couple: Take on a fixer-upper home with the mind-boggling price tag of just $6,500, plus $6,000 more in back taxes.

While a $12,500 home is unfathomable in most big cities, it's not an anomaly in Detroit - particularly three years ago during the city's financial crisis, when the couple made the purchase. The city promotes new ownership through programs like Building Detroit, which has daily auctions of rundown homes starting at $1,000.

After seeing Craig's story in Credit Sesame, Business Insider reached out to Craig and Polsgrove to find out what it's really like to rehabilitate a home and start a business in Detroit: