Houses, again, sorry - head or heart?

If you can realistically afford the second house then why not go for it? If its a case of 'over time we'll be able to do x as we get the cash' then i'd think carefully about what you're taking on as it may well be miserable to live in until its renovated.

I guess t comes down to being able to afford to get the work done, and also having the time to do it. If you can, and it 'felt' better, then go for it

Hmmm, good points, thanks. The cash would be there at the outset, albeit in the form of a lower deposit, and we may even be able to not move into it for the first month while the major work is done, if the timings go to plan (because that's going to happen, isn't it?!).

It would probably take us months and months to get it totally up to scratch though, especially working round a baby.

The other house is just so much more sensible, but, hmmmm.....

For me Id go with the do-er upper, if it felt right. Id rather put my own stamp on a place and know that the work has been done right and to my own spec. If the cash is there to do it and you can live elsewhere when the major stuff is being done then it would be a no brainer for me, Id buy it and forget the other one as I know Id probably not be truly happy there as it was second on the list.

When we started looking about a year ago. We were in a similar predicament as you.

One house about 100 years old, been empty for 6 months, needed gutting and everything doing. OIRO 115k. It actually felt like home

Another house, about 20 years old, been empty a month, needed paint and the garden doing. OIRO 90K. It could do.

We decided to put an extremely stupiedly low offer on the one we loved (the first one) an offer of 89,950. To our surprise, astonishment it was accepted.

When we came to signing the papers at the solicitors, our solicitor advised us not to buy it, as there was so much to do. (This was back in December)

We are still renovating, the house we fell in love with last year. And thankfully my father is letting us live in one of his rented houses, rent free. The cost of the renovation has already gone over budget, we're over halfway there. Its draining, tiring, stressful and expensive. But in the end, we will have a house we both adore.

To me, its got to be heart, if you use your head, me thinks you may regret it later on.

I know you're right, I'll probably regret buying the run down one in the short term, but regret not buying it in the long term.

Asking price is £160k, agent has told us that's more than they advised putting it on for (but obviously didn't tell us what they thought it should have been). It's a repossesion. I was thinking first offer of £130k. What do you think, too high, too low? £120k? Let's assume £20k for renovations. I haven't actually sat and worked out everything, but I've watched enough Homes under the Hammer, ha ha.

Are you first time buyers or chain free? If so, and if you have your mortgage in principle in place (which is fairly quick to get) I'd go even lower and proceed your offer with all the blurb that you are committed to a quick move, are chain free, solicitor in place, funds in place, etc.

They can only say no but it's worth a shot.

We went for a bit of both.... we could only afford this house in this area because it was a wreck, so from that point of view it's a sensible investment and gets the kids into nicer schools. BUT, my God, it's been a nightmare.... it's not that the work is very expensive or even difficult, it's just getting the time to do it all. So we've been living in a 60s timewarp for a year and a half and I have to admit it's starting to get me down. I can see the potential which makes it even more frustrating and it will be a fabulous family house if we ever get it finished!!

If you can afford to get all the work done in one big push at the start then I'd go for it, otherwise I'd consider how long you will have to live with it the way it is, and how motivated you would be to get on with it ?

For me, it is all about the ability to get the work done at a pace that you can live with.

When we bought our current house, it needed and awful lot of work doing. Our original plan was to live in the house while the work was done on a room by room basis. After about 30 mins, that plan was in the bin and we rented a place and got a full time contractor in to do the work complete with the services of a full time project manager.

Things just seem to take so long in the building trade and if you need anything bespoke (we needed bespoke staircases and bespoke timber sash windows) the lead times are very very extended. What we also learnt very quickly is that if anything beyond normal decorating needs to be done in an individual room, then the works affect the whole house in terms of things like electricity, water, warmth!!, smell, dust, noise etc.etc.

I would normally say that you need to go with your heart when it comes to the place where you are going to live but unless you are prepared for the very real difficulties that major work brings with it, then your head, on this occasion, might be the better route to follow.

If you go for the renovation property then go in to it with your eyes open.....it will take far longer than you anticipate and will cost far more. It is a nightmare to live in the midst of ripping your house apart and it gets very depressing.

If you think that you can cope with all that....then go for it!!

We're two years into our second renovation now....and never ever again....my marriage couldn't take it.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Our situaiton is complicated.

We've got 2 houses, got a buyer for the empty one. That sale could well go through quicker than our purchase, so although we're not chain free, we could be by the time purchase completion comes round. We can live in the other house until some work is done, and then rent it out when we move into the new house.

We've got a mortgage offer (we've already been through all this and it all collapsed), transferrable to another property subject to survey. So we've got the solicitor there too.

I know what you mean about living with it and finding the time to do it. I'd definitely want the rewire and damp sorting before we move in, but my idea is to do the cosmetic work over a longer period.

Gah, it's a tough one!

The house we bought we've had it...

rewired, damp proof course, ripped out kitchen, ripped out utility room, ripped out fireplaces, ripped out the bathroom, installed period coving and cupboards, stripped wallpaper (5-7 layers on some walls) and chimneys swept. Thankfully we're getting to the painting stage now so the end is in sight I reckon another 3 months max. But its been a long slog of nagging contractors. Our marriage has taken the strain, as has my parents - who have helped us with finances.