Which house would you rather buy?

misses625

The first house is large, beautiful layout, but needs updating and paint.  In the long run, though, it would be a great investment and a fantastic house once the work is done.

 The second is smaller, and "move in ready" but would need new carpet eventually. 

My only concern is having a lot of painting to do before the new baby comes, but the first house would benefit us more in the long run.  Which one would you prefer? 

oparcm

I would go for the first choice if the value of the home would be worth more over the years.  It will also give you more space and a good layout can't be beat. 

femmegem

What kind of updating does it need? I'd probably go for the first, but DH and I are forever fixing up houses.

belle204

If the price is right, the cost of updating it will be worth it and you don't mind doing it/getting it done, I would say #1.

misses625

Updating.....well it needs paint in most of the rooms, both because the previous owners smoked and the colors are hideous (bright pink with lime green trim, for example).  They took the closet doors off, so we would need to replace those, and the kitchen needs updating, but that can be done later.

Jen2124

#1...I'd paint a house regardless.....that isn't really even "real" updating, imo. I would not want someone's old paint even if the colors werent' bad.

 From what you described, #1 seems like the obvious choice.

Mrs.JDD

#1 until I heard the smoker thing...I am a psycho about the smell of cigarettes, though.  Someone at work was just saying that they have lived in their house for years, replaced the carpet, etc. and still, on damp days, she can smell stale smoke.  Maybe it's an exaggeration, but I personally would not buy a house that the previous owners had smoked in.

grja

# 1 and just hire a painter. If you have the entire inside painted at once you should be able to get a good deal. We had our whole house re-painted and we got an awesome deal. It was so worth it to have someone do that up front. We didn't have to worry about moving furniture, etc.

lsufan

I would have said #1, because paint is easy and relatively inexpensive to fix. ?But I don't think I'd buy a house where the previous owners had been smoking. ?It seems to me that smell would be nearly impossible to get out.