An O.C. house under $500,000? Bring your toolbox!

Touring a small brick house on Logan Street in Santa Ana, Rudy Navarro took it all in. The lopsided flooring. The cracks in the walls. The lone bathroom.
At the front of the house, a real estate agent told a visitor about “electrical and plumbing issues.” In the backyard, pocked with bald spots, pieces of rusty fitness equipment and other discarded belongings were strewn about. There was no garage.
Navarro, 73, was unfazed.
“It’s got a lot of potential,” he said, sn