First off let me say I'm buying this house with my boyfriend; that is not up for discussion. The first house was remodeled by a "flipper". Its about 1,000 square feet, 3 bedrooms, and completely new on the inside. To sum up, the person made brought a large home look to this house - cathedral ceiling in the living room, stainless steel sinks and appliances in the (large) kitchen, washer and dryer (all appliances are included), and it has 1 and 3/4 bathrooms. New carpeting, all white walls, granite tile in the kitchen (very cool looking). We'd be able to get it for around $82k, because it has NO GARAGE at all. I think he made a mistake buying that house and fixing it up with no garage, I think thats why he hasn't been able to sell it in a month so far. The other house is $94, first time owner, and in immaculate condition but still looks 50'sish. 1300 square feet, 3 bedrooms, living room, larger rec room in the back, one bathroom, and a small kitchen. Very basic, more on the neutral side but not entirely. The downside to this one is its near an off-ramp to a highway (although I don't think you can hear it very much). There is only a one car garage, and would need to be replaced. My boyfriend likes both but his argument for getting the 1,300 square feet home is that it has that extra space. I just don't see paying $10k more for what amounts to an extra room. I realize that we can make offers for less money on the houses, but given that the larger home has been kept in great condition for what it is, I don't see them coming down on the price so much. It hasn't been on the market for very long either and the houses in the area are selling for the same price. If you couldn't tell, I like the other house better :P

I see no descriptions.....but the economy is not doing so great, and its a great time to buy a house, I would nagotiate on both, and see how low the prices can get....but if I was equally torn, I would decide based on location and surrounding neighbors.....go meet them......

Personally, I'd go with the less expensive home. With the extra $10k you can add the garage.

Why don't you discuss this with your Realtor? They should have the experience and market knowledge to help you decide which home will be a better fit for you.

Well the extra space would be nice, I think you should take the one you LOVE... and bargain down. Maybe ask the sellers to pay for closing costs. Then you can build the garage you want. Everything boils down to the inspection too. Keep that in mind.

It really depends on your needs. It sounds like the house that is 1300 square feet needs some fixing up. Do you have the money to do so? If not go with the other house. Even though it has less square footage you could either add on later, or it is a starting point for you both and in a few years you can sell and get something bigger if needed. Keep in mind it takes about 5 years to build equity into your home so don't buy a house now thinking that in just 2 years you are going to be able to sell it for $10,000 more than it's current market price. Also, for the one with no garage if you buy that one and add a garage the value of your home will go up.

I don't trust flippers. I'm in construction. I know what horrors people do and what we have to fix later. There are too many things they take the cheap route and often without permits. Too much of what they do is just to look nice but underneath it's just waiting to go bad. If I liked the house and intended to live their for awhile myself, I would rather buy the bigger well-maintained one and bring it up to modern standards my own way, with quality work. You could even consider the bigger house as your own flip if you can get it a bit cheaper and take time doing it right, rebuilding the garage and seel it in a few years.

I don't know your area, but if you have the room to build the garage, the house with 1 3/4 bath would be the one I would recommend. A house with only 1 bath (unless there is room to add one later) may not be as easy to sell later. It seems that the extra square footage might be more desirable, however I would also look at desirability for a future buyer. It is very difficult these days to sell a home with only 1 bathroom.