-[Damian Forrester] Little bit of an open concept. -Oh, wow.
Feeling a little exclusive here.
[female narrator] Clark and Lucais have high hopes
for their first home togethe in Billings, Montana.
I think it's really cute and antique style.
-I do like the grand staircase. -[Damian] Yeah.
[female narrator] Lucais is the practical one.
It's very ready to move in.
-Trying to keep me away from my project? -[all laughing]
[Lucais] Little bit, yeah.
I do like that the shower is encased in wood though,
that's actually kind of different.
-I've never seen that before. -Is it different?
-Is it mold welcoming? -[all laughing]
[female narrator] But Clark is the eternal optimist with grand ideas.
Take down the wall.
We can get the bathroom and the closet,
so we can make this the ensuite.
That's a lot more money.
What's a little reward without little risk?
I brought home some food if that's okay.
Thank you.
We met online, new age, that's how, you know,
most people meet nowadays.
Went over to his house and we watched,
-I think Sabrina. -[Clark] Sabrina.
It worked really well.
-[Clark] Where's Colby? -[Lucais] He is outside.
Oh, how was he today?
He's outside.
[laughs]
We do not have any kids. We do have one dog.
He is a nine month old puppy Mini Schnauzer.
There's a lot of onions on this.
-Sorry. -[laughs]
But you can pick them off like normal.
I would describe Clark as extremely lovable,
definitely idealistic.
He does like to look at everything,
and not even glass half full, but like over pouring.
And it is, it is really nice to have that kind of contrast
to my more realistic and reserved,
kind of, personality trait.
I probably should have bought some wine too, huh?
-Yeah. -[chuckles]
[Clark] We moved to Billings, Montana about six months ago.
We were both ready to move out of Michigan
and I work from home,
so it was already easy for me to travel around.
[female narrator] So, Clark who works in the diversity and inclusion field
started looking online for jobs in Maryland,
where Lucais has family.
When he was doing his job search,
he accidentally clicked on MT instead of MD.
So I come home and I'm like, "Babe,
so, apparently, I applied to a job in Montana.
Don't ask me how, it was a mistake."
-[laughs] -Yeah.
It was a good opportunity for the job he found, so, it worked out.
-People here are extremely friendly. -Yes.
[Clark] I like it a lot and I think that we're both still just learning.
We have some houses to go look at.
I guess you could say I prefer more ranch style.
But I think I like, I also like homes
with farmhouse style features.
A condo or a townhouse to me, you know,
it kind of decreases the level of work
that has to go into maintaining it.
Need a room for us.
-Yep. Yep. -For an office, for guests.
Working in the living room right now also makes it
very hard to devote my focus to work.
So being able to have that designated office space
will be a huge improvement to that.
I've always liked bigger yards because it reminds me
of my dad mowing the yard when I was a kid...
-Yeah. Yeah. -...and his hair used to always blow in the wind.
So I always imagine myself on a riding lawn mower.
I would really love if we could find a big picture window.
-What do you mean big picture window? -In the front of the house.
A big picture window for the front of the house.
Oh, I've never heard it.
Watch storms, watch cars go by, watch birds fly away.
You like to watch a lot of things.
Watch, yeah.
I think 300 is a really good number.
If we find a house that is very close to move-in ready
because even if you find a house that's cheaper,
it needs a lot of work, we're still putting that money in.
I came from a house back in Michigan.
With the sale of the house, we have some money set aside
for additional renovations.
[Lucais] He is really more inclined and ready to take on a project.
I'm ready to go in and take the whole kitchen out
and put a new one in.
Let's get it done.
Oh, my gosh, look at these mountains.
Oh, yeah, I'm just leisurely driving in the morning
and I'm looking at mountains.
-Can't say that in Michigan. -[Lucais] I know.
[female narrator] Since Luca really wants to see a move-in ready townhouse,
they're headed to the edge of town
to meet their broker at a new build.
He said it was 300, but...
It better have everything we want.
It sounds like it's newer and nicer,
so it might just be ready to go in.
We don't have to spend any renovation money.
You trying to sell me on this thing before we even see it.
But, it only has two bedrooms.
Hmm.
[Damian] What's going on, gentlemen?
Hey, hey, how we doing?
Good. Good. Good.
Well, guys, welcome to the far west end.
Yeah, you right, far.
Yeah, we talkin' about it.
[Damian] Things are being built fast
and the prices are going to be increasing here pretty soon.
So we're looking at about a $20,000 increase
from the $300,000 probably within the next couple of months. So...
[Clark] It's like instant equity if you purchase it.
Instant equity, exactly. And these are going fast,
so it's something to really consider.
It's a bit challenging right now
looking for homes for Lucais and Clark.
They have such different needs.
This home is pretty much turnkey, ready to go.
Lucais is absolutely going to love it.
For Clark, you know, although it shares a wall,
it still feels like a single family home
and they're going to get a great return on investment in a couple of years.
All right, gentlemen.
First thoughts?
This is pretty.
[Clark] This is nice.
[Lucais] Yes, very nice.
Feeling a little exclusive here.
-[Damian] Yeah. -It's kinda nice.
[Damian] So we have the tile backsplash,
appliances all conveyed with the property.
-[Clark] Okay. -[Lucais] I like the cathedral ceiling.
It's really nice. This looks good.
-[Damian] Cool, cool, cool. -I'm not gonna lie.
-Yeah, yes. -I like it a lot.
I'm not a big townhouse person, but I like this a lot.
-This wood floor, very attractive. -[Damian] Yep.
-So that's a high-end laminate. -[Clark] Okay.
Snapped together, but they hold up very well.
-It's a fireplace. -[Clark] I know, I love fireplaces.
[Damian] Hey, so what do you guys think about that, huh?
Can you see this furniture being put around this on cozy nights?
-[Lucais] Yeah. -[Clark] Honestly very easil
We have a big couch and this offers a lot
of real estate to actually place it in different areas,
like, we have a couple of different options for layout.
Let's go take a look at the outside.
-Hmm. -Nice.
Let's talk about just the ar and the HOA.
-It's $175 a month. -[Lucais] Right.
That will include your exterior maintenance,
snow removal, and exterior insurance.
You're going to have to get insurance for yourself inside.
If you do want your own fencing,
it's going to be about 4,300 bucks on top of that.
That's a lot of money.
I'm pretty cool with the small-ish size of the yard.
I mean Colby is a small dog, so that won't really be too big of a deal.
-Well... -You could barely mow this yard.
-You just need to go out and cut it with scissors. -[all laughing]
-You do have the beauty of the Rims. -[Lucais] Oh, my gosh.
You look up there to your northwest and your northeast.
-[Clark] Yeah. -[Lucais] This view is unbelievable.
[Damian] This is the second bedroom
or we can actually consider this your office.
Not sure if you can actually fit a bed
and a small desk in here.
We can try, it might be a twin bed.
It would be tight. We were looking at a queen...
-Okay. -...to put in for the guest bed
and I think that it's still doable if we put the queen
where you're standing and then the desk here against this wall.
-I think that's doable. -[Damian] Right.
So what if we got a bed that folded back up into the wall,
that way we can always have a space we need
'cause the bed would almost never be down.
-Murphy bed. -Murphy bed.
I think I'd rather not.
-[Damian] No. -You like stuff that folds.
I like stuff that creates space.
-[Damian] Oh. -I don't want that.
[Damian] So it looks like we have the same size for the primary suite.
It's a bit cozy.
Yeah. [laughing]
We would be... I mean we have a king bed.
-This is kind of a tight fit -[Damian] Right.
But it's attractive. It's a cute room.
I like that fan.
This one does not come with the tub though.
It is a walk-in.
-[Clark] Okay. -[Lucais] Yeah, that's all right.
-There's fixtures. I like this. -[Damian] Right, yeah.
-I'm good... -This is good counterspace.
I think they did a really good job.
The question is, if it's gonna be right for you guys.
-Right, right. I agree. -Right.
[Lucais] It's very ready to move in.
It's very up to date.
You trying to keep me away from my projects?
[all laughing]
[Lucais] Little bit, yeah.
Save us some time, we can just move in, be comfortable.
Live, laugh, love.
Would this be the place that I choose?
Maybe, maybe not.
[Lucais] This is a really nice park. Colby loves coming here.
I didn't know that you brought Colby here.
Yeah, I brought him here a couple times. It's a nice big park.
You've been sneaking Colby out and taking him places that I don't know about?
Home all day.
[laughs]
[female narrator] Since Clar wasn't sold on the townhous and it was far out.
Today they're seeing a single family in town.
[Clark] I like the colors.
It's got really cool, like, decor
like, the trim around the top of the house.
[Clark] Mm-hmm.
-Hey, hey. -[Damian] Hey, guys, welcome. What's going on?
-[Clark] Oh, a bunch. -[Damian] All righty, come on in.
[Lucais] This is a great area.
Yeah, you're gonna like it. It's really close to downtown.
-We also have the Rims in the back here. -[Clark] Right.
-[Lucais] Oh. I actually like it. -[Damian] Right?
I think it's really cute and antique style.
I do like the grand staircase
and this chandelier is very nice.
-Yeah. -I like that door too.
This is a nice door.
[Damian] One of the great things about this home,
there is another house in the back.
So this unit out there they used to rent this place
for $1,600 and the back for $500.
So look at the mortgage at 299, for this price,
it's really gonna help you guys out.
-That's good to hear. Good. -Okay.
As far as renting out a secondary space,
for privacy sakes for us, I'm not too sure.
But I'm very involved
when it comes to, like, a return on investment of, of spaces.
[Lucais] This is a really nice grand room.
[Clark] Yeah, I like how big it is.
-It reminds me of the fan in my parents' house. -And...
It's a pretty nice front window.
And you can see a lot it offers in some nice, natural light.
-This is... Yes. -Nice open concept floor plan.
-[Clark] This is what I like -[Lucais] Yeah.
That is a really cool looking counter.
I like that it's open.
The only thing that I don't like about the kitchen,
my refrigerator will be all the way over here.
-[Lucais] That is weird spot. -But it's very, very beautiful.
[Damian] Composite farm sink
-Oh. -That's...
It may not be a ranch or a farm,
but I love meeting that style.
Probably the house can be raised up.
[Damian] The house is very settled,
how the ceiling bows right there.
[Lucais] No way.
I'm also noticing older windows.
Yeah, it's gonna probably cost a bit to get those updated
single pane windows that we have here right now
This is very narrow, but it's actually kind of cool.
[Damian] Three bedrooms.
The three bedrooms are all upstairs.
This is a pretty good size, it's more length than width.
Man, these windows are old.
And windows tend to be pretty costly especially,
especially ones that are this big
with this many divisions as well.
Single pane, you want to be more a little bit energy efficient.
-[Clark] Right. -Each window you're looking at 2500 or above.
-Right. -[Damian] This all depends on the room.
-[Clark] Now that's a quick. -[Lucais] Yeah.
It is a little bit smaller than the other one.
I thought the other one would be a greater office,
but with this one being smaller, this one might be.
[Damian] Not the biggest.
[Clark] I do like that the shower is encased in wood though.
That's actually kind of different.
-I've never seen that before -[Lucais] Is it different? Is it mold welcoming?
[all laughing]
It's not the ensuite I was looking for.
[Damian] So you don't like all the bedrooms.
I think any one can be used probably as a bedroom, or a study.
It reminds me of the room
-on the exact opposite side -[Damian] Right.
[Clark] Oh, these stairs are pretty steep.
I think you might just have a twin size bed up here.
[all laughing]
Forget about the California king.
Now watch your step here?
[Lucais] It is nice and it looks fenced in for Colby.
Yeah, but my riding mower couldn't fit back here.
-[all laughing] -[Lucais] Definitely not.
[Damian] Got a full bathroom here.
[Lucais] It looks like it's got some newer stuff.
-This can be your bedroom area and we have the living area. -Yeah.
[Damian] It's nice and open
[Lucais] Okay. I like that wooden frame around the door.
-[Clark] Oh, yeah. -[Lucais] That's an attractive wood.
I think it's a really nice opportunity to have
this back here for that supplemental income.
Given how old the house is, I actually really liked
how modernized it's been or at least updated.
[Clark] I love the kitchen area
that open dining space.
But the windows themselves,
like, we replace windows at the house back in Michigan and that's pretty expensive.
That, mixed with some foundation.
I'm all for doing some work but I'm not too sure.
[female narrator] But since Clark is open to projects,
a home with a much lower price tag
could give him the opportunity he wants.
So maybe around a 1,500 redo?
So already starting a budget for renovation.
Oh, we already have money set aside for it.
[female narrator] Now a well-priced fixer has come available.
So Clark and Lucais are headed to see it.
Nice little landscaping.
[Lucais] Well, blue, I don't mind it.
-[Damian] Hey, hey, what's going on? -[Clark] How you doing?
[Damian] Great, great. Come on in.
[Clark] Windows, I noticed them on the outside, they look a little bit older
Is this like the picture window you tellin' me about?
It's, it's cousin. It gives...
it gives enough of the light that I like and that I'm looking for.
One, two, three, four different types of carpet right there.
It's very small.
I guess we tried to go ahead and dig into this.
Put this back.
The plumbing here, it doesn't even have a real showerhead.
So we probably have to put in a new surround,
new flooring.
-Yeah. -So maybe around a 1,500 redo?
-So already starting a budget for renovation. -Okay.
-Oh, we already have money set aside for it. -What?
-This is a good size. -[Lucais] It is...
It's kind of big for as smal as the house seems to be.
We can hear the, the road out there.
Yeah.
[Clark] Well, it's something to consider.
-[Damian] We talked about the carpets. -[Clark] The floors.
Yeah, maybe...
-[Clark] Some wood flooring underneath. -...wood flooring and bingo.
All you got to do is just shine that
and buff that thing up and...
-[Lucais] Okay. -It's gonna take some time and some money though.
-Right. -Do you want to do it yourself or find a contractor?
Bids around here pricing, you know, between $75 and $100 an hour.
So who knows, either you break your back or you have them break theirs.
-Time and... -He could break his back.
You want to do all the renovation work, this is what you asked for.
You know, the whole...
When I think of DIY, you know, he's the--
DHY. Do it himself.
He's the DI as in "Do it,"
and the yourself part is me.
[Clark] So it's an exterior I'm guessing.
Exterior door and maybe that,
that might go back to the dining area.
[Lucais] I do like these corner windows.
It's not big enough for our primary bedroom,
but I think it'd be a nice office space.
[Damian] So what do you guy think about the kitchen? Here we go.
[Lucais] I already kind of like how this looks
We've been talking about having a butcher block
and this is, like, the laminate version...
-Right. -...which gives the right aesthetic.
He really likes country style farm style.
This really kind of touches that area, so...
[Clark] With the big window with the nice sink.
-Butcher block. -[Damian] Get a farm sink maybe?
-Put a farm sink here. -Right, okay.
I will take the refrigerator. I will move it over here.
-[Clark] Oh. -[Lucais] You see this is nice finished.
[Clark] That's a great open area.
[Lucais] Yeah, this is a really nice size.
And it's a really nice separation from upstairs.
I like that a lot.
Honestly, I'm thinking this could be, like,
the true entertainment space, like, instead of having...
-All right. -...our couches upstairs.
Move it down here.
[Damian] This is the third bedroom,
we have one bedroom downstairs.
Little smaller, maybe office type space?
[Lucais] Yes. I would rather the office upstairs,
but this would be okay, this would work.
So it's only two bedrooms upstairs
and then this is considered the third one.
That's correct, you're right.
Behind door number one a bonus room.
Oh, wow. This is huge.
-This is the wall to the bedroom. -[Damian] Yes.
-Wow. -All right, yeah.
Listen to me, primary bedroom, take down the wall.
We can get the bathroom and the closet,
so we can make this the ensuite.
-That's a lot more money. -Yeah, but that's something
that can come down the line.
We already have a primary bedroom upstairs
after we get done what we need to get done
and we can take our time with this.
It would take a lot of money and work
to get this to the kind of modern and nicer look
that I'm looking for.
I tend to be a bit more patient,
Lucais does like instant gratification
when it comes to certain things.
I think I'm a little bit more willing
to take chances here and there.
You know, what's a little reward without a little risk?
-[Lucais] Oh, this is a nice porch. -[Damian] So this is...
[Clark] Unfortunately I don't think the yard is big enough for me
to have my riding lawnmower.
-[Lucais] Yeah. -[Clark] ...but I still thin it's a good size.
I mean the $240,000 listing price is really nice.
-It's a good sweet spot for us, but... -[Damian] Yeah.
But I am really concerned about all of the costs
that will have to go into kind of improving it and making it ours.
Damian just texted, he said that the townhouse
is going to go up $20,000 any day.
I guess that means we got to make our decision.
Yeah, we got to figure that out.
[female narrator] After renting in Billings for the last few months,
Clark and Lucais are ready to buy their first house together.
If they can only figure out which one.
[Lucais] The townhouse is the only one that had a primary ensuite.
It's newer everything looks very nice
and clean and up to date.
[Clark] It's very small.
I don't get to have any projects.
It's also right at the top of the price range.
[Lucais] All that dirt and construction that's going on,
is that worth paying the extra money for that?
If we do decide to get it, that's 20 grand into equity
that we don't have to worry about.
[Lucais] I think with that two story house downtown,
it was like cute.
You know, the yard was I think mostly fenced in.
It's, like, good for Colby.
That was already kind of a higher amount.
[Clark] But with the house in the back, that would help to offset
the cost of the mortgage.
[Lucais] Your ranch style house...
It's a good price.
I really liked that downstairs space.
It's got a really nice backyard,
but there is no ensuite.
There is that additional space in the basement.
I would have to rip up the entire kitchen and redo it.
It would allow for a week for me to personally the most projects.
Which I don't really want to do much of.
It is kind of a mind rattling decision.
Yeah.
[doorbell rings]
[Lucais] Can these even come off?
Yeah, you should be able to just pull that out.
We chose the ranch style
because although it does require some work and some projects.
It already came with the finished basement.
It really gives us that separation area.
The great backyard for Colb
with a house coming in righ at 240,
we can put that equity right back into the home.
What are you thinking?
I'm just gonna fix the ceiling here.
Oh, okay.
We've already started work in the living room,
putting up a wainscoting, we started painting that roo
I think I did compromise a little bit more with us choosing this house.
But I am happy that Clark is able to get
a lot of projects that he can get his hands on to.
This is where the light switch is,
so basically half in the wall about right there.
Mmm-hmm.
And we got to take it all the way up.
I cannot wait to get my hands on the kitchen.
I plan on ripping out all the cabinets,
basically starting with a clean slate.
Take the refrigerator, put it on the opposite wall
open up that wall into the living room,
put in a butcher block countertop.
It is going to look so amazing.
[Lucais] I just, of course, don't want to put in the wor
but I know what we're capable of.
We can make a place look amazing and feel amazing.
So I'm very excited to see that actually come into play
and get the final results from that.
I know that it will be a while
until we have time to do the ensuite.
And I'm perfectly okay with that.
Just have faith in me, I promise I'll get us there
Finding a home and being in a home,
being able to have that level of stability, right?
And being able to go into a place and call your own means a lot.
I am absolutely happy that I hit the wrong state.
[laughs]
It was a mistake applying to a job in Montana.
However, I'd say it's been the best mistake of my life.