The Expert Podcast

So who wants to live in Montana or Wyoming for $200,000 or less? Obviously, the real estate market is on fire, but there are still places around the country where you can get a house for 200 grand, get a mortgage payment about a thousand to 1,200 bucks depending on what rate and taxes you have. And we’ll look at a few today like we normally do. Don’t forget to put comments below to tell us where you’d like to look at next, what kind of houses that you want us to find in that $200,000 range, and what your thoughts are on what we have found.

Remember, these aren’t designed for you to buy these exact houses, but just to give you an idea of what kind of life strategy you can put together for having a home that you own for a fixed payment of about a thousand bucks. Here we go.

Butte, Montana. Decent-sized town, nice little place to live, raise a family. 2,400 square feet, four bed, $200 grand. Looks like it’s got an empty lot next door—I don’t know if it’s part of the house. It says biggest yard of the neighborhood. It may be right over here on the side, gives you a little breathing room. Is it completely updated? Nope. Like most of these, you’re probably going to want to do some things. I’m not a big fan of the wallpaper—you’re probably not either. Kitchen looks usable, serviceable, looks like it needs a refrigerator. But it’s not the worst house in the world. You could live here and be at a low payment and fix it up at your discretion. Butte, Montana has been referred to as a good Zoom town where you can work remote and have a nice place to live.

Next, look at this house. This one is in Idaho, just over the line. Julieta, I believe it’s how it’s pronounced. Decent-sized yard, hills in the background. Another Zoom town-type area. Nice views from the front yard of the mountains. Is the inside updated? Nope. You probably want to update this as well—put some closet doors on instead of the curtains. It’s got hardwood floors. Kitchen is not too bad—looks like the floor in the kitchen has been redone. But here you go: you got a $189K house, 1,000 square feet, good to go.

How about Wyoming? This house is $200 grand—Byron, Wyoming. A thousand square feet, four bedrooms, but it’s a cute little bungalow. Looks like it’s on a corner. Looks like you have some hardwood floors. Not the worst kitchen in the world—it’s got the subway tiles behind it. Again, 200 grand.

What else we got? How about Billings? Billings, Montana is actually a cool town to live in. It’s on the other side of the mountains from Bozeman. You got this interesting little bungalow with the architectural style above the door. Not the worst condition in the world. You have paint, crown moldings, hardwood floors. Everybody wants to know what the kitchen looks like—let’s see if we can find it. There’s a bathroom… here’s the kitchen. Not the worst kitchen in the world—it’s got this weird elevated fridge. But this is a ‘40s bungalow style, right? You got the fake wood on the wall behind it. At least they tried to decorate it. So here you have a house—its curved walls are kind of unique as well with the bump-out. $200K on the nose.

Last one in Wyoming. This is $118K. This isn’t the best house in the world, but at $118K, you can have a payment well under a thousand dollars a month. Three bedroom, 1,200 square feet. Condition? It’s not terrible, not great. Hardwood floors, the walls are painted, looks like new carpet. Serviceable kitchen—laminate countertop and cabinets probably. But it’s a house—100 grand, basically.

So as always, use these as an example to prove to yourself—I like this little log planter—to prove to yourself that you can own a home for a price that is less than your rent. It’s a fixed payment. Not going to get evicted, you’re not going to get rent increase ever, because your payment is fixed and you own the house and you build equity. If you can work from home or if you can find work in any town, these are another set of examples.

Remember, tell us what areas you’d like to look at. We’re going to do a video later this week of houses that are over 5,000 square feet that are under 200 grand. We’re gonna do another one—houses over five acres that are under 200 grand. So make sure you get notifications for those videos. Put some comments so you can tell us what you want to see next.