Hi everyone,
I was wondering if I could please get your opinions on this situation...
My husband and I are first home buyers. We've got kids. We live in Brisbane and have saved up a 20-30% deposit and are looking at both houses and townhouses to buy as owner-occupiers.
We're currently looking at a townhouse which is almost new, has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 toilets and a decent-sized backyard (not easy to find with townhouses but there are some out there!)
We are also looking at an old house (about 40 years old, made of brick, lowset) on a large 700 square metre block with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom/1 toilet. It has a modern bathroom and kitchen but the rest is in its original state.
Both properties are going for the same price and are in the same suburb.
The pros of the townhouse are that the whole property is quite new and modern, no renovations needed and there is more than one bathroom and toilet, which is what we feel we need. There is the security of living in a gated complex which also has a swimming pool and games room that we could use. The cons are the ongoing body corp and no land value or prospect of ever developing the property externally.
The pros of the old house is its land value and no body corp and the possibility of extending the property or developing. The cons are only having one bathrooom and toilet and the fact that we might have to add another bathroom onto the property sooner or later because one bathroom and toilet is going to become inconvenient pretty quickly. I guess another con would be the cost of renovations that we would have to do.
My husband and I are toying with the idea of buying the old house and doing renovations and perhaps extensions over time. We hope that the land value (this is a suburb where land is quite valuable) and renovations would make the property's value go up more quickly than with a townhouse.
We have tried looking at houses which already have more than one bathroom and are new or at least renovated but it seems they're out of our budget.
My husband and I have been discussing our options to no end and even researching the cost of extensions, etc. but I just wanted to get the input of you gurus before we make any final decisions.
Thanking you in advance.
I was wondering if I could please get your opinions on this situation...
My husband and I are first home buyers. We've got kids. We live in Brisbane and have saved up a 20-30% deposit and are looking at both houses and townhouses to buy as owner-occupiers.
We're currently looking at a townhouse which is almost new, has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 3 toilets and a decent-sized backyard (not easy to find with townhouses but there are some out there!)
We are also looking at an old house (about 40 years old, made of brick, lowset) on a large 700 square metre block with 3 bedrooms and 1 bathroom/1 toilet. It has a modern bathroom and kitchen but the rest is in its original state.
Both properties are going for the same price and are in the same suburb.
The pros of the townhouse are that the whole property is quite new and modern, no renovations needed and there is more than one bathroom and toilet, which is what we feel we need. There is the security of living in a gated complex which also has a swimming pool and games room that we could use. The cons are the ongoing body corp and no land value or prospect of ever developing the property externally.
The pros of the old house is its land value and no body corp and the possibility of extending the property or developing. The cons are only having one bathrooom and toilet and the fact that we might have to add another bathroom onto the property sooner or later because one bathroom and toilet is going to become inconvenient pretty quickly. I guess another con would be the cost of renovations that we would have to do.
My husband and I are toying with the idea of buying the old house and doing renovations and perhaps extensions over time. We hope that the land value (this is a suburb where land is quite valuable) and renovations would make the property's value go up more quickly than with a townhouse.
We have tried looking at houses which already have more than one bathroom and are new or at least renovated but it seems they're out of our budget.
My husband and I have been discussing our options to no end and even researching the cost of extensions, etc. but I just wanted to get the input of you gurus before we make any final decisions.
Thanking you in advance.