The Pros and Cons...

Well... we went and looked at our first house in person!  And now I am more confused than before! 

(This isn't the house- it's just a house that looks like it has it all!!)

It is a great house. It has four bedrooms, two and half baths, basement, gas fireplace, two car garage, and really nice entrance and a fenced in backyard.  Plus it's in a great neighborhood, that has a pool, tennis courts and backs up to a park.  All things in the "pros" column. 

(This is also not the house- just my fear of what the house could turn into!)

But (you knew there had to be a "but" right) it needs some work. Immediately we would have to replace all the carpet, and the kitchen floor, buy a refrigerator, stove, washer and dryer and there are probably a few other hidden things that could lead to more expensive immediate fixes. All things in the "cons" column. 

The house is banked owned- so all the repairs are on us, along with closing costs. So it's a lot of money upfront. But because of the condition the house, it is priced lower than the other houses in the neighborhood, so if we move forward and get this house we would have immediate equity in the house.  

So here is the question- is it better to try for this house and put some money immediately into it, or look for a little bit more expensive house that is more move in ready?  It's a question I do not know the answer!

I keep going back and forth. I know the house can be a great home, but I do not want to stretch ourselves too thin and get in over our heads. 

Maybe I am being too conservative but right now we are holding off.  We both like the house and love the neighborhood, but are uncomfortable with the amount of money we need to put into it right away. I do not mind painting and doing a little bit of work but I think this one might be a little more than I am up for! 

So we will keep looking and maybe if the house is still available we might go back to it but I think we need to see a few houses before we are ready to make any decisions.