Which home would you choose? Update- we put in an offer!

Dh and I are thinking of putting an offer in on a home. We are stuck between two homes.

House 1 needs a lot of cosmetic work and well as a new kitchen and bathroom. Both rooms are functional but ugly!!! It's in a great area and is priced well below a lot of the other homes in the town. We actually did not think we could even afford this neighborhood because everything else is way above our top limit. It has a brand new roof and burner which is great. We are putting down a large down payment so we don't have to pay pmi but that leaves us with little money to remodel. We do love the house and location.

House 2 needs less work. Eventually we would redo the bathroom because it's sort of outdated but not horrible. The major difference is location. It's in a neighborhood we have been mainly looking in. A neighborhood we knew we could afford. The house is a tad larger than the first but doesn't have the character the first has. This house is 20k less than the first which means a lower down payment.

I think we like house 1 more but we would have to live in the house with the ugly kitchen and bath until we save up money or we could buy house 2 and have the updated kitchen and a lot less work. It's really hard to choose.


Update:
We just put in an offer on house 1! Dh and I talked endlessly and have decided house 1 is going to be our home if our offer is accepted of course. While house 2 is updated we really love the location of house 1. I'll have to live with a kitchen I absolutely hate for at least 2 years while we save. We are lucky we have free labor because my brother is a GC and is going to help us do some of the smaller stuff that will hopefully make the house look more modern! Thanks everyone for your input!

Message edited 2/21/2014 12:24:45 PM.

Which home would you choose?

Cosmetic work is just that - cosmetic. If the house if functional right now it does not need to be done. If house 1 is priced below other homes then when you complete the updates, you will most likely have more equity in the house.
As for buying a house and redoing a kitchen, we bought our house a year ago. I hate our kitchen. It functions and everyone else loves it, but I hate it. I said that I wanted to live in the house for a couple of years before I redo it so I can get an idea of where I want things. I change my mind every day as to where I want things. So I am personally against doing anything major like that when you first buy.
Given the info you gave, I would go with house 1 as long as it fits your needs and you are not compromising size and function.

Which home would you choose?

I can tell you what DH and I did, we went with house 1. You can't change location. You can change the kitchen and bathroom. And then, in the end, it's the house that YOU want. We've been in the house for 2 years, and we are about 2 months away from finishing the kitchen reno. It's been a HUGE job, and we've done it over the course of about 1 year, maybe a little more (for many reasons, partly because DH started a new job after we started the process and we had to take a break in work), but I wouldn't do it any other way. We LOVE our neighborhood.

Re: Which home would you choose?

i would go with house 1
to me, neighborhood is important and if its a great neighborhood and you are getting a good price it is worth it. do the cosmetic repairs in a few years; no need to rush into it.

Re: Which home would you choose?

1 cosmetic can be fixed. Location, location, location!!!!

Which home would you choose?

100% house one. :)

Which home would you choose?

Im not so sure. I know people who bought fixer uppers on the high end of their budget and regretted it. It is no joke having to save up enough money for kitchen and bath remodels after putting all your money into a downpayment. It is also hard to live in a house you dont like -- and then in a house under renovation. Btw the waiting period where you have to deal with the rooms you hate, the money being spent to later fix them, the hardship of getting the work done, etc the stress is huge. You wind up living to pay for the home and work on the home, instead of just living. Maybe house 1 and 2 are both not the houses and you should keep looking?

Re: Which home would you choose?

House 1 without a doubt!

Which home would you choose?

I would go with house one. You can do renovations but you cannot not change location. Are there changes you can make to the rooms you hate that would make it easier to live with them like painting or removing wall paper or carpet? The upside of having to renovate is you get exactly what you want.

Which home would you choose?

Location, location, location, always!

Re: Which home would you choose?

Message edited 2/20/2014 5:34:26 PM.

Re: Which home would you choose?

Re: Which home would you choose?

Message edited 2/20/2014 5:43:25 PM.

Re: Which home would you choose?

It's hard to say, because there are a lot of subjective, personal preference factors that go into it.

As a buyer, you are always going to have to make tradeoffs, unless you are custom building a home and have a limitless budget. Otherwise, I tell my buyers it's usually about the "2 out of 3" rule -- Of location, price, and condition, you can -- many times -- only get 2 out of 3. And then the question becomes which 2 are most important to you.

With house number one - you are getting location and price, but not the desired condition you want. With house number 2, you are compromising a bit on location, but getting a house in your desired condition and price point.

So I guess, if I were you, I'd try to figure out which trade off you want to make - location or condition. Is the location of house number 1 so much more desirable for you? Why? (Is it better schools? better commute? just a more upscale neighborhood? more convenient? near parks/beaches? better resale value?) I think you have to examine your lifestyle and figure out whether you could be happy in location number 2.

Also, I would consider your tolerance for doing major renovations. Some of my clients are in construction or have family members who are, so taking on major renovations are less daunting. Other people panic at the thought of having to re-tile a bath or take down wallpaper. So I think you need to be realistic about your circumstances (money, time, resources, overall tolerance for renovations) and how much you can take on. If you can't tackle all of the work in house 1 at once, would you be happy living there as is. I think upgrading cosmetics and finishes is one thing, but it sounds like the layout is lacking for you, too (no dining room/not a big eating space) and that may be a bigger fix to tackle down the road. Is it liveable for you now? Or would you be miserable without dining space?

What might be the best choice for someone else may not be the choice for you! I think you just have to look at all factors and ask yourself which house will make you happiest and suit you and your family best. Which tradeoff is the smaller one for you to make, and which one would require you to sacrifice more? Location or condition?

Good luck!

Re: Which home would you choose?

Re: Which home would you choose?

I totally agree about location. We searched and searched so we could find a home in our desired location of only 700 homes.
However, it sounds like the first house is pretty old and I know so many people that bought older, very outdated homes that got completely overwhelmed by nessecary, expensive things that came up quickly. Like the old fashioned electric wiring system or the cast iron plumbing that started to go bad. These surprises were so costly so quickly one couple we know have been living in 'the worst house on the best block" for almost 10 years and aside from a small fortune in repairs you can't see they haven't done anything they dreamed of doing to make it what they wanted. They really resent the house, the ever rising (already insane) taxes they are paying.

Everyone's situation is different. I love fixers. Our house had no interior doors, trim, flooring or Sheetrock when we bought it. But my husband is a builder and we had money set aside to take care if it right away.

Good luck!

Which home would you choose? Update- we put in an offer!

house 1! we are in regret now, underwater and can't move our location. love the house, tho. we did renovations. you are always going to do cosmetic fixes so might as well get a discount for having to do them!