<prompt> Human: Im am going to sound incredibly stupid, so ELI5:Ive met several people throughout the years tell me that when they purchased their new house it needed a lot of work done and theyve spent 20-70k right off the bat to get their house updated or fixed the house the way they wanted it. How do people afford to do that? Did they all save beforehand? Did they get home improvement loans in addition to their mortgage? Thanks for educating the dummy. EDIT: Thanks for the replies! I really learned a lot; wish I knew these things a few years ago when we bought this house. Knowledge is power.  <response>: Purchase a house under your budget or put only a small down payment. Then use the savings to invest in home improvements.Often times these types of houses can be great values especially if you can do some of the work yourself.It would be tough to get a loan right off the bat, as you likely would not have much equity at this point only your down payment- closing costs. 