$500,000...Seriously?!?

Thanks for sharing.

I know Mustangs! They got a deal. (Bayshore worthy)

olychick, it looks like that kitchen has been redone recently.

But at the same time, the ornate furnishings and earthy color scheme don't mesh with Joanna's country style at all.

Um, it's not a "country style" house at all! Would be a real shame to see that beautiful old stately home shiplapped-up and decorated with rusted crap.

What's wrong with it as is??

The kitchen and bathrooms are dated and the dining room with those wall to wall mirrors and pilasters is a disaster, but the other public rooms with built ins, fireplaces and paneling are gracious and understated....I have a feeling that will morph into trendy finishes and reclaimed wood.

It's a pretty house. Love that paneled library. I hope they will shift their usual style a bit to fit the more formal and classic style of the house. It will be interesting to see what they do.

It's a lovely property, but guess that it will be unrecognisable internally by the time Joanna has finished with it! I'm in the UK (where we've recently been able to watch Fixer Upper.....do love Chip, btw!) and something similar to that near me - in a fairly moderately priced part of the country - would be about $2.4 million!!! $500k would get you a bog-standard, characterless house of about 1200sq ft on a tiny plot. I've not visited Texas, but guess that Waco is not as desirable as other parts, as some of the houses shown in Fixer Upper are just sooooo cheap it's crazy?!?

and ship lap. Don't forget the ship lap.

Waco is desirable, it just located in a less expensive area in the US. Even where I live in Oklahoma, houses that sell for $400K would easily sell for 1.5Mil in California or NY.

My only knowledge of UK housing is from Escape to the Country. But I think that the housing prices in the States is way more widely varying. To an extreme not seen in the UK. I've lived in the Midwest, the northeast, and the midatlantic and even in this small area the prices are extremely different. In the south, especially in areas not as desirable, the prices can be very very much lower. Also the wages paid in getting work completed in these area is entirely different and a fraction of what I'd pay in the Philadelphia area.

Waco is about half way between the Dallas-Ft. Worth area and Austin. Baylor University is seated there, but it hasn't had claim to a whole lot more. It is growing, but it is a much smaller city than Houston, Dallas, Austn, San Antonio, Ft. Worth or Corpus Christi.... Wikipedia has it listed 23rd -- behind a number of suburbs of the larger cities. The values are lower than other larger cities, for sure.

Surely even Chip and JoAnna don't see this house as a fixer upper. It is beautiful just the way it is. The guest house could use a re-do. That wouldn't keep them busy for long though.

This house has a certain character and dignity and to see it utterly changed would be a sad thing. This is not a little ordinary house where you rip out things and start over. Why buy something with historical charm if that's not what you want? I suppose we'll have to see what their plans are since they don't seem to know themselves what they're going to do with it. If it were mine some of the furniture, like the dining room set, would be sold, and I'd try for something classical and less fussy. I love the Chinese chest by the window in the living room.

I watched a recent episode where they said they were going to make the big house a B and B and they picked a couple to run it for them. They then redid the house in the back of the big house for the couple to live in and run it from.

They just redid a house as a B&B in a town near Waco. Maybe that's the plan for this one, too. It fits the scheme -- grand home for the B&B with a back house for a live in manager.

cjking -- we were typing at the same time!

I think I need to move to Waco if you can by homes at that price! Wow! If I were to buy a home like that in the Seattle/Tacoma area I think it would be at least 3 times as much.

"Dated" is in the eye of the beholder. Hopefully any renovations are only to tweak its efficiency as a B&B. Anything more is just wanton extravagance. The home is a gem as is.

Dated is determined by current design by leaders in the field, shelter magazines, and the market.

Someone on a Fixer FB page said they are not going to live in it. Not sure where she got her info, but she seemed sure about her comment.

If they want to expand their remodeling repertoire this would be a great house for it.

Wow, I really like that house. A few things are dated, but not much at all. The mirrors, yeah. I like her style, but I'm a little tired of it. It does do well in farm houses, though. Not sure about this one, but maybe she stretch her wings a bit and try something different.

I'd take it, though not in Waco, and would start decluttering. The mirrors in the dining room and the ivy in the kitchen ceiling first. Other than that, I'd be fine.

Thank you for sharing. This house is lovely! While I can see that It can use minor updates, overall it is a gem. In my area it would probably run $1.5 to $2M and would be on smaller plot of land. A similar style but much newer home, slightly smaller and without the separate house sold for $1.4 last year on a 1/4 acre. Agree with the others, hoping that they do not change this home to match their usual styling.

If I were to buy a home like that in the Seattle/Tacoma area I think it would be at least 3 times as much.

Yeah, but rest assured that life in Waco would be vastly different than it is in Seattle/Tacoma. As lascatx pointed out, Waco's claim to fame (aside from a couple of notorious events that don't have any bearing on what we're discussing here) is being the home of Baylor University, which is a private Baptist entity. There are less than 150,000 residents in the city proper and a little over 1/4 million when including the wider Waco metropolitan area, but compared to over 7 million in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, you can start to understand why housing costs in Waco are fairly low.

That is a beautiful house full of charm and character. I can see where a few minor tweaks could make it even more glorious but I shudder to think what the Gaines' may do with it. It certainly doesn't need countrified.

I think Chip, Joanna, and their family are so very likable. I don't care for what she does to most homes though. She makes them look all the same with ship lap, metals, and words on the walls. I am hoping that this home is maybe Joanna entering her grown up period and she will toss aside her country style and allow this home to shine in all it's stately glory.

I swear if I see one quotation on those lovely walls I'll go bonkers!

The Today Show had a gorgeous spread yesterday and indicated the couple 'hadn't decided' what to do with the house yet. That's quite a lot more square footage than they live in now, and obviously quite different décor, but still a lovely house (or would be without the fake ivy and some of the ornate furnishings). But still a lovely home and property. I like Joanna's simple style, but hope she doesn't apply all of it to this house.

I don't think they will leave the farm while the kids are still so young. They love the farm life and their old farm house is a beautiful and comfortable place.
She doesn't do just one style, that's what they want on the show. She did a mid century modern and didn't do ship lap! It was a beautiful house. The style she does a lot of on the show is very popular and in for the area of the country she is working. It's actually in the country. I would take any of the houses they have done. I like living in the country in a house that fits that style and function.

I live in the country and my house looks nothing like those white and gray interiors. Aside from a good mud room and sturdy mats at the doors I'm not sure why a house in the country would need to look "country."

Well I didn't realize that we couldn't all have our own opinions and share them. Sorry! I happen to like a country house and I like hers too. I live in a mid century modern which I love, doesn't mean I can't like other styles and designs.

What a lovely house and I adore that wood cornice in one of the rooms. Would love to have that.

If I were to buy a home like that in the Seattle/Tacoma area I think it would be at least 3 times as much.

I think another thing that affects home prices in Texas is the property taxes. As Texas does not have an income tax, the property taxes can be much higher so I think that can play into the home prices as well. Of course, property taxes vary widely in a state as large as Texas, too.

live in the country, in Tx, less than 2.5 hours from Waco. kswl2, a
house in the country doesn't "need" to look country but a lot of people
in this part of the country LIKE that look and feel and lifestyle.

Also, I
haven't see the pictures of the house they bought but what on earth
does it matter what they do to THEIR house. I wouldn't buy a house and
then NOT "make it my own" :)

Raven akin, I took this statement "I like living in the country in a house that fits that style and function" to mean that a house in the country has a style and function meant for country living.

Was that not your meaning? Obviously you are entitled to any opinion you have! but your comment read more like a statement of fact. I was merely pointing out that some people live in the country in non- country type houses that function just fine :-). My apologies if that was offensive.

Haven't we all had our personal idea of our 'dream home', especially when we were younger? The Gaines were not wealthy when they came to HGTV, and with 4 kids, may have been 'making do' with Joanna's clever style, and repurposing of wood, and various thrift store items. IMO, this may have been their dream home, very traditional in style, and quite possibly may never have envisioned it being theirs some day. They may surprise everyone by only doing a few upgrades, and NOT painting everything white. I feel Joanna knows where and when to draw the line on that as all the houses they've redone have been fixer uppers, and not stately homes needing very little.

Property taxes on this home are $8500/year

still a bargain

Yes, taxes in Tx are 'meager' in comparison with other states. Min e are a few hundred under that, but i'm in Austin, and my home has less sq ft, no acreage, or outbuildings. For what it is, it's a steal!

We live on a acre, 1800 sq ft brick house with a two story 24x30 shop. Our property/school taxes were $1600 last year. We're in rural east Texas.

In our Dallas-Fort Worth suburb, our property value just shot up almost 32% to over $8,300 on a house that's a bit over 3,000 sf. Never thought I'd see taxes go as high as they have this year, with an average 14% increase across the board. Some of us got hit at a considerably higher percentage. Lots of protests will be filed before the end of May, I'm sure!

It's a great house. I wonder if the property is big enough for their animals? Their current house has 40 acres. This house has 2. The article about their farmhouse said they have more than 60 animals.