I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but the commenter is likely referring to US cities and their stock of abandoned, unlivable, or otherwise city-owned house

I’m not sure if you are aware of this, but the commenter is likely referring to US cities and their stock of abandoned, unlivable, or otherwise city-owned houses. You can find houses for sale by a city where the asking price can be as low as four figures. Sometimes those houses even come with the full list of required repairs and an estimate of the costs. Spending $20k to buy a house that needs $60k in repairs can work out for some situations.