Who's right, the wife or me !

Micro

We have to move house soon ( need more space ! ) but cannot agree on something fundemental.
We have a budget of 300k.
My wife wants a fully finished house
I want something that requires work and has potential.
My point is that buying something that is not finished will allow us to buy something bigger.
My wife says that she doesnt want the hassel of having to do a house up.
My point is that whilst I appreciate there is considerable work involved in doing a house up it is worth the effort in order to get closer to a house which is closer to our dreams. Plus a house which has potentail means that in years to come we could extend etc.
WHOS RIGHT ??

Raggie

you said its your wife.. and you have to question who is right?

having been married for longer than I care to remember.. I can not recall my wife ever being wrong.. !!! lol..

or at least ever admitting she was wrong.. !!!

as for the subject of what to buy.. your on your own with this.. .. lol..

Micro

Raggie - spot on !!!!

mymatebob

As Raggie has said I think you will find it is your wife who is correct. This is a universal truth that you would do well to learn if you are not to be subject to a life of misery and "I told you so" ringing in your ears every five minutes

tanith

I'd say its how good you are at actually tackling the work.. if it were me and I knew it was going to drag on and on and I would be living in a building site for months/years then I would agree with your wife... from a financial point of view you are probably right but it all depends on what chaos you are prepared to put up with...
You don't say wether you have kids but if you do that only makes the decision simpler in my view... I'd buy a house thats perfectly livable but has the scope to be upgraded if you so desire in years to come...

redmel1621

I don't think it's a case of who's right or wrong. it's a simple case of opinion!

The best thing is to come to a compramise, Firstly you need to decide hw long you are planning to move into the new house for. If it is just a stop gap of say 5 years or so and then you will want to move again, into a bigger house I would definately say go for one that has 'potential' if it is a move for a long time and you want to be settled and to settle in quickly I wouldn't worry too much about current potential to improve and add value as in another 20yrs or so house prices will probably be at least one and a half times what they are now maybe even double... So in the words of Sarah Beeny, "if you did nothing to the house you would still make a profit"

I personally would never move into a fully finished house, as I like a bit of diy and decorating anyway, also I like to be able add my own touches etc. With the knowledge that any money spent will be value added to the property!!

Can you not go round te agents and see what is out there that is very livable, with no required work.... but with room to improve if you wish...i.e the main house is done but you would be able to extend or add a loft conversion, or landscape the garden etc, at a later date.

Good Luck with whatever you decide...

Mel x

MrsE_2

While there are merits to your suggestion & I can see your point.

You know the answer.....

Your wife is right!:rotfl:

PasturesNew

I think these days there is less opportunity to find houses that need work doing to them where your gain outweighs the cost/effort you put into it.

This is because of all the property !!!!!! programmes on the TV. Because they make it all look easy, it means the houses don't seem to lose so much value just because they need a bit of work.

But, there are some houses out there where it would work in your favour. So, I think the answer is that your wife at the moment is mostly right, but there is still a chance that you might find the right house at the right price that you could turn around to your benefit.

Your best bet to find such a house would be at auction, not probably at the Estate Agents.

For a list of auctions, you can find some local to yourself and see the prices houses went for, look here: http://www.property-investor-news.com/auctions.htm

margaretclare

I agree. It's not who's right or who's wrong. It's a different perspective.

Micro

The posts made me laugh !
The reality is that we will prob stay in the new house for 5 yrs or so. Need something that is livable as we have a 12mth old boy but I think that if we bought a house that we could work on ( DIY and professional (as we both work )) then any improvements will add value to the house meaning when we sell we are going to be closer to the house of our dreams as we will have made more than just house price rises ( which are relative anyway )
A fully finished house means that we live in someone elses ideas and will not maximise potential

LilacPixie

We isn't is obvious?? The wife is always right.

That being said i'm having a similar 'difference of opinion' with my husband at the moment.

He want to buy a property at auction that needs gutted 3 bed single garage 1920's with huge garden but it needs totally modernised, rewired and is not even habitable while that work is being done.

I on the other hand want to buy a more finished home that maybe only needs decorated or evena new kitchen/bathroom time job which we can do while still living there.

I'm not scared of getting my hands dirty but with a toddler and another on the way the idea of taking on such a huge huge project just screams madness to me.