To buy or not to buy? Opinions needed!

[Clueless Morgan]

I've been looking to become a first time home buyer for about a year (I've been looking for about a year) and I've found a place I'm seriously considering but I need opinions from people who have been here before!

Here's the run down:

It's a ground floor condo, 2 bed, 2 bath, about 1000sqft. It's got a patio off the dining room with a small lawn I'd probably be able to use (though I wouldn't own it and couldn't keep things out there) and additional storage space off the patio. There is not an attached garage, nor a deeded one (it was sold to someone else in the complex) but it has a deeded parking spot and I might be able to get the garage back.

It was built in 1984. It's going for $110k and is a short sale.

IT NEEDS WORK and it would be what I consider a flipper; I'd live in it for 3-5 years fixing it up and then (hopefully) sell it for a profit and move up.

The absolute things I would do to it:
Paint every room
Put laminate in the living room (currently it's carpet) and both bedrooms
Paint all doors and door frames (the wood makes the place look even darker to me, I'd paint them white)
Paint kitchen cabinets and put pulls on door and drawers
80% sure I'd put new (painted) wood baseboards throughout

Wishlist items (contingent on money, ability and HOA limitations):
Would love to add additional wired lighting in living room, halls and shared bathroom
Replace all sinks and vanities and at least one toilet (that's powder blue)
Replace countertops

Concerns:
I know the microwave/hood is not vented properly
There's a condensation problem with the living room window (didn't check the others)
Unsure how the bathrooms are vented
General concern about dry rot in bathrooms
I'd be on a pretty tight budget, hence whatever I can do to fix this place up with paint and laminate floors (my parents told me they'd install the floors as a house warming gift) might be the extent of it...

Floor Plan - Not perfectly accurate (I drew it from memory but it's reasonably close). The master bath/closet situation is atrocious but otherwise I think it's a pretty okay place.

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Living Room - needs overhead lighiting which I'm unsure whether I could install (or have installed) per the HOA agreement and it's a bit dark. It's south-facing, ground floor, but there are tall bushes outside the window and trees across the drive so I think it would stay pretty dark. There's also a condensation issue on the window (condensation on the inside face of the glass) so I'm worried about rot in the wall underneath.

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Kitchen/ dining - I couldn't afford a major remodel in the kitchen, but I'd for sure paint the cabinets and put pulls on the doors and drawers, hopefully I'd be able to afford putting in a new sink and new range (??) and a major bonus would be if I could replace the counters.

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Shared bath - Not totally awful; I'd want to replace the powder blue fixtures and in a perfect world would want to put an additional light over the tub because it's pretty dark in there. The washer/dryer are in the closet.

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Master bed - Dark (though it might be the paint), north facing with a walkway right outside the window and stairs to the second floor unit outside the west wall (the wall behind the TV).

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Master bath - truly awful, teeny tiny, and the closet access and layout sucks ass.

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Second Bedroom - A good sized second bedroom.

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Okay, let me have it, peeps! ADVICE!!!

[Minimalist]

The question with real estate is always: "Location, location, location."

Neighborhood. Traffic. Schools ( even if you don't need them a future buyer might ).

Do a search for comparable units in the area that are advertised as having been upgraded and see what the prices are. Recent sales are better than real estate listings as the sales give the actual price rather than a wish.

Subtract your cost from the recent sales prices for comps and see if the difference covers your improvements. Remember to factor in that you will have lived there for 3-5 years essentially rent free if you proceed. You can calculate a reasonable cost savings for that by multiplying your current rental costs by 12 and figure out how many years it will take.

[Clueless Morgan]

The question with real estate is always: "Location, location, location."

Neighborhood. Traffic. Schools ( even if you don't need them a future buyer might ).

I live in the next neighborhood over currently (about half a mile from this place) and have cousins that live in the townhouses next to this community - the neighborhood in general is good and my cousins say the condos are quiet and well-maintained.

The complex entrance is off a very busy road but the unit itself is as far away from the road as you can get - maybe a quarter mile. You can't even hear the road from the unit. Behind this unit is a single-lane drive as part of the complex, then the complex property line and then an apartment complex behind some trees. It's not the greatest view or anything but there's not a unit peering directly into this one, though I don't know how often the drive behind this unit is used.

Good schools, but no middle school is listed.

Do a search for comparable units in the area that are advertised as having been upgraded and see what the prices are. Recent sales are better than real estate listings as the sales give the actual price rather than a wish.

How do you do a search for recently sold properties? Meh, screw it, I'll just ask my Realtor.

Subtract your cost from the recent sales prices for comps and see if the difference covers your improvements. Remember to factor in that you will have lived there for 3-5 years essentially rent free if you proceed. You can calculate a reasonable cost savings for that by multiplying your current rental costs by 12 and figure out how many years it will take.

Not currently paying rent; I'm living with my folks and they're letting me save the equivalent of monthly rent to my down payment fund, so there's that.



Oh, forgot to mention that the HOA fee is about $195 and that covers exterior maintenance, landscaping, commons, water, sewer, garbage and my total mortgage (assuming 5% which is higher than what I'd probably get) plus HOA fees would be about $790 a month.

[Cato]

I'll pick up where Min left off.

Nobody has a crystal ball, but you have to be real honest about how long you plan to be there. This makes a big difference in choosing to rent space or rent money (buying).

Don't convince yourself that if life throws a curveball that you'll just rent the place to keep up with the mortgage...huge pain in the ass.

I will be 44 next month. I've bought my last two homes. I made $20k on the first having been there less than three years. Last month I got a chech for $13.72 after being there for almost a decade. I know that the next 20+ years to retirement will require some moving so the next property I buy will be where I plan to retire.

Always a tough decision. Keep Min's analysis in mind and never forget when you buy you are renting money for awhile.

Almost forgot, DO NOT borrow the money for your down payment cleverly disguised as a PMI loan.

[Minimalist]

Living off a busy street is not always a bad thing. Especially if you are away from the main road so it is quiet.

As far as the comps go, take a look at this.

http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?c...d=23756029