At $299,000, a Big Bear fixer gets you a four-bedroom, two-bath house on a 5,000-square-foot lot that has been taken down to the studs — no drywall, no electrical hooked up, and a hole in a waste line in the downstairs bathroom. What you also get is the expensive stuff already handled: original tongue-and-groove cedar ceilings and beams in great shape, a level brick fireplace with no cracks, a roof with granule life left, newly installed air conditioning and a tankless water heater, and most of the replacement windows, ducting, doors, and electrical sitting inside the house waiting to be installed. That combination — structure and systems solid, finishes gone — is the version of a fixer worth looking at.
By Rachael Smith | September 27, 2026
Most of the fixer-uppers that come across my desk in Big Bear are not really fixers. They're tired cabins with old carpet and a dated kitchen, priced like they need a full renovation because the word "fixer" is in the remarks.
This one is the real thing. It's off Sugarloaf and Division, right where the line divides Big Bear City and Big Bear Lake, and it's been on and off the market for years through a few different owners. I walked the whole property on camera so you can see exactly what "down to the studs" looks like before you decide whether you want that project.
Here's the way to think about a house like this. You're not evaluating how it looks. You're evaluating which of the four expensive systems are already sound — roof, foundation and framing, plumbing, electrical — and how much of the rest is cosmetic labor you can schedule at your own pace.
Cosmetic work is the cheap part. Structural surprises are what blow up budgets.
Walk in the front door and your first reaction is that nothing is finished. All the drywall is off. There are no light bulbs, because there's no power running. Watch Rachael walk into the gutted main level at 2:04 and you'll see what I mean about having to use your imagination.
Look up, though, and the story changes.
The tongue-and-groove cedar ceilings are intact. The beams and the large headers are all in great shape. That's original mountain-cabin character that you cannot buy back once it's gone, and stripping the drywall off the walls exposed it instead of destroying it.
The original brick fireplace is still standing, and it's in good condition — level, no cracks I could see, good depth, with a nice mantle above it. A failed masonry fireplace is a five-figure problem in a mountain home. This one isn't one.
Then there's the inventory sitting inside the house. Whoever started this project bought materials before they stopped:
That last one is the detail I'd flag hardest. AC and a tankless unit in a Big Bear cabin are upgrades most buyers pay for after closing, and they're already in.
Outside, the roof still has a lot of granules on it, so there's life left. The exterior needs sanding and staining — you can see it peeling in places — but that's a weekend-crew job, not a structural one.
Now the honest part.
The downstairs bathroom is the problem area. The toilet placement is tight — tight enough that I'm not sure how you get in there with the fixture positioned the way it is. A barn door would help.
But the bigger issue is the pipe. There's what looks like a sewage or water line with a big hole in it, and that may well be the reason the room got torn open in the first place. Watch Rachael find the damaged line at 7:53. I'm guessing at the cause, and guessing isn't good enough on waste plumbing. If you're serious about this house, a licensed plumber walks it before your inspection window closes.
Beyond that, the punch list is long but predictable:
One thing that genuinely surprised me: where the addition meets the original house, you can see the roof layers stacked up in cross-section. There are about five of them. That tells you how many times this house has been re-roofed over its life, and it's a detail your roofer will want to know about.
The upstairs is further along than the downstairs, which is common — people tend to start where they plan to sleep. Bedrooms two, three, and four all have beautiful walls and great windows.
The primary is downstairs, and it's the largest bedroom in the house, with a sliding glass door out to the yard. It isn't en suite, but the full downstairs bathroom is close enough that you can shower on the main level. For anyone thinking about aging in place or hosting guests with mobility limits, a ground-floor primary in a mountain cabin is rarer than it sounds.
Fixers like this one don't come up often in Big Bear, and when they do, they move fast to the buyers who already know how to evaluate them. I tour properties like this every week on my YouTube channel and break down what to check, what to budget, and what to walk away from. Subscribe here so you see them while they're still available.
A fixer only makes sense if the math works. Here's the order I walk clients through.
Start with financing, not with the renovation budget. This is the step people skip. A conventional lender needs a habitable house — working power, water, and heat. A home stripped to the studs with no electrical connected doesn't qualify. That leaves you with cash, a renovation loan like an FHA 203(k) or Fannie Mae HomeStyle, a construction loan, or seller financing. Seller financing may be available on this one, which is worth a conversation, because the financing structure decides your timeline and your timeline decides your carrying costs.
Get a contractor's number, not your own estimate. Walk the house with a general contractor before your inspection period ends and get a written scope. The materials already on site reduce that number, so make sure the bid accounts for them rather than assuming everything is a fresh purchase.
Add carrying costs for the full build timeline. Property taxes, insurance, utilities, and loan payments run the whole time the house is empty. Permits in the mountains take longer than people expect, and winter shuts down exterior work. Budget more calendar than you think you need.
Don't forget the tax bill that shows up after closing. California buyers get a supplemental property tax bill after the assessor reassesses at your purchase price, and it catches renovation buyers off guard when cash is already tight.
Then compare against finished inventory. This is the check that keeps you honest. Look at what a move-in-ready cabin costs at this price point — what $379,000 buys in Lower Moonridge is a useful comparison. If your all-in number on the fixer lands near the price of a finished house, the project only makes sense if you specifically want to control the finishes.
Location is the argument here. From this property you can walk to the convention center, and you're two miles from the grocery store, two miles from the lake, and four miles from the ski slopes. That's central. You're also close to snow play, the airport, and dining — the things that make a Big Bear property rentable and livable year-round.
The right buyer here has cash reserves, a contractor relationship, and the patience to spend a season on it. If you do handyman work yourself, this is close to a dream setup — the structure and the character are intact, the materials are on site, and the sweat equity is real.
The wrong buyer needs a cabin for this winter, has no cushion in the budget, or has never managed a renovation. Half-finished projects are how houses like this end up back on the market a few years later, which is exactly what has happened here more than once.
That's also the honest read on the price. The buyer pool for a gutted house is small, because most buyers want something usable and most lenders won't finance studs. It's listed by Julio Saldana with Realty Plus, and I think he priced it well — there just aren't many fixer opportunities like this one right now.
If you're weighing a fixer against a finished cabin, the broader tradeoffs are worth reading through first: what you really need to know before buying in Big Bear Lake covers the ground most out-of-area buyers miss. And if the appeal here is the original character rather than the discount, buying an older mountain cabin walks through what to check on a vintage build.
The takeaway on this property: the bones are good, the character is intact, the systems that usually kill these deals are mostly handled, and there's one plumbing question that needs a professional answer before anyone writes an offer. That's a better starting point than most fixers give you.
I walk properties like this one on camera every week — the good, the overpriced, and the ones I'd tell you to skip — so you can see how a working agent evaluates a house before you ever set foot in it. Subscribe to the channel and you'll know what's worth your time in Big Bear before it's gone.
Want pricing, property details, or a private showing on this one? Call or text me at 909.744.2190.
About Rachael Smith
Rachael Smith is a top-producing real estate agent with RE/MAX Big Bear, specializing in mountain homes, short-term rental investments, and luxury properties in Big Bear Lake and surrounding areas. With over a decade of experience and hundreds of homes sold, she helps buyers, sellers, and investors make smart, strategic real estate decisions. Through her strong online presence and data-driven approach, Rachael connects clients with opportunities both on and off the market.
RE/MAX Big Bear | DRE #01923537 | 909.744.2190 | rachaelsmithrealestate@gmail.com
