A millennial couple bought an abandoned cottage for half the price of nearby houses. It's a major fixer-upper, but it's worth it.

Maria NoyenMay 29, 2024, 04:55 IST

Greer Gagnier and Kyle Verma bought an abandoned fixer-upper in Rhode Island after two years of looking for a starter home.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

Greer Gagnier and Kyle Verma bought an abandoned house in a bucolic riverside town in Rhode Island.
Buying "worst house in the best neighborhood" helped them score a home in a tough market, they said.

Buying the worst house on the best street is one of the oldest tricks in the real-estate book.

While not everyone agrees with the proverb, a millennial couple who landed a house in a bucolic Rhode Island neighborhood for half what homes in the area usually cost swears by it.

The last year has been filled with milestones for Greer Gagnier, a property manager for her family's real-estate business, and Kyle Verma, who works in finance. After years of dating, the couple, both 30, got engaged.

And, after two years of looking for a starter home in Rhode Island's Pawtuxet Village, a town near Providence where Gagnier moved after college, amid an increasingly challenging housing market, they found it — take a look.

The couple's house is a fixer-upper in every sense of the word.

Gagnier and Verma were looking for a starter home for two years before they found their fixer-upper cottage.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

The decrepit house was "scary-looking," Gagnier said. The couple knew it would need a lot of love — and sweat equity.

The cottage was covered in grime, dust, and dog hair when they bought it.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

Verma and Gagnier made an offer in the low $300,000s that was accepted in early 2024.

Verma and Gagnier are renovating the "worst house" in their favorite neighborhood in Rhode Island.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

Originally built in the 1920s, the house came with beautiful hardwood floors, an original fireplace, and a basement bar.

The cottage now has an open-plan kitchen and dining area.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

Location was everything to the couple — they only house-hunted in a small Rhode Island enclave about five miles south of Providence.

Pawtuxet Village is close to Providence and Warwick in Rhode Island.Denis Tangney Jr/Getty Images

Home prices in that part of Rhode Island have jumped, just like they have across the US.

The median price of listed homes in Pawtuxet Village is $684,500.Denis Tangney Jr/Getty Images.

The couple is doing many of the renovations themselves — with the help of Gagnier's dad.

Gagnier said they kept the original wood flooring in the cottage.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

After deep-cleaning the entire house, the biggest project so far was gutting the kitchen.

The kitchen had to be gutted.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

Gagnier has been documenting the renovation and their DIY work on Instagram.

The couple decided to cover up the pink tiling in the upstairs bathroom.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

Gagnier and Verma are almost ready to move into their fixer-upper, but the renovation work will continue.

There have been days when Gagnier and Verma have wanted to give up on their fixer-upper, but the end is now in sight.Courtesy of Greer Gagnier

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