What are those starter homes? I've got 500k in liquid assets, a respectable salary and no debts. I'm looking at the housing market and see two options: a junk

What are those starter homes? I've got 500k in liquid assets, a respectable salary and no debts. I'm looking at the housing market and see two options: a junk house in a sketchy area for 600k or a decent house for 1.2M, but I'd have to give up financial security and live pay check to pay check. If there was a smallish decent condo for 200k, I'd write a check today.