We end up settling for a fixer-upper, which at times feels like a nightmare rather than a dream come true.

我们最后只能住进一栋破房，这有时感觉像一场噩梦，而非什么成真的美梦。

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Five years ago, my husband and I found ourselves faced with the opportunity to own a "fixer-upper" house, with the potential to make a profit if we ever decided to sell it.

五年前，我和我的丈夫有了一个拥有一栋“待修”房子的机会，而且如果我们要卖掉它的话可能会赚钱。

youdao

After moving into your dream fixer-upper, you start hearing your child whispering when they're alone.

搬进梦想已久的新居后，你总听见孩子一个人自言自语。

youdao

As each quarter reported plummeting home values, the size of the home I could afford grew from a one-bedroom mobile home next to an industrial plant in a dangerous part New Brunswick to a four-bedroom fixer upper with no floors or structural support in Piscataway to 1945 three-bedroom colonial with brand-new carpets, freshly painted walls and a fenced in backyard in a safe neighborhood in Middlesex.

FORBES: Buying a First House in the Midst of a Financial Crisis

What makes this deal different is that it is not a turnaround or a fixer-upper.

ECONOMIST: A $5 billion luxury purchase

Around the same time in 1995, McCaw went for Nextel, a fixer-upper with bad wireless service and a collapsed stock price.

FORBES: "We're On A Collision Course"