Engineer Poured $100K Into Renovations After Buying A $650K House — Dave Ramsey Says, 'You Don't Want To Admit This Screwed Up'
- - Engineer Poured $100K Into Renovations After Buying A $650K House — Dave Ramsey Says, 'You Don't Want To Admit This Screwed Up'
Casey B. RennerFebruary 9, 2026 at 11:01 PM
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A real estate bet built on optimism and online advice unraveled faster than expected.
Calling from Denver, Chris told "The Ramsey Show" that buying the largest house he could afford and later quitting work left him questioning whether to sell.
The 37-year-old engineer said he bought the home for about $650,000 with just 3% down, expecting house hacking to make the mortgage manageable. A few months later, he left his engineering job, believing savings and rental income would cover expenses. That did not happen as planned.
"I realized now uh two major mistakes in a row," Chris told hosts Dave Ramsey and Jade Warshaw, referring to buying the largest house he could afford with minimal down payment and later quitting his job.
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When The Backup Plan Became The Only Plan
When house hacking did not cover the mortgage, Chris switched to short-term rentals and lived in the house during renovations. While the property operated as an Airbnb, he stayed with friends and helped care for their children.
Chris said the Airbnb covered the mortgage in 2024, before running a loss of roughly $10,000 to $15,000 last year. By that point, he had put about $100,000 into renovations, bringing his total investment to roughly $750,000.
"Sometimes, if you wake up from a nightmare and you’re standing knee-deep in the swamp, the best thing to do is to return to the last time there was solid ground and retrace your steps," Ramsey said.
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‘Preference Is No Longer The Point'
Chris said returning to a traditional engineering role felt difficult after time away and said he no longer felt suited for a nine-to-five schedule. He added that he believed he was entrepreneurial and wanted flexibility in how he worked.
"Right now, you’re not really in a phase where you can do exactly what you prefer," Warshaw said, as the discussion turned to income pressure and limited savings.
Chris said Zillow valued the home at about $615,000 and Redfin placed it closer to $580,000. He said selling would likely require accepting a loss.
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The Cost Of Waiting Without A Cushion
Chris said he had about $10,000 left in non-retirement savings, leaving little room to absorb further losses.
"You just don’t want to admit that this screwed up," Ramsey said, as the numbers came into focus.
Warshaw advised him to get a formal pricing opinion from a real estate agent.
"In the meantime, you have to work and you have to do the things that close the gap so that the math maths," she said.
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