When my wife and i were looking to buy, we were in a bit of a rush as our co-tenants had moved out and we faced paying for the entire rental by ourselves. We spent 2 months frantically searching for a place and eventually ended up where we are now. Though the area is good, parking sufficient, and everything we’ve done so far to improve the place has been fine, there are many other problems that slowly cropped up over time. Walls started cracking, bathroom ceiling started leaking, floor tiles start to pop up.. the list goes on. Its come to a stage where we’re deciding (again) whether to move, or to invest more money making good the home.

Thing is, we realised that short-term, especially when faced with a sense of urgency (in your case, the possibility that you might not find another ‘nice’ old house in a short period of time), we tend to be impulsive and make that emotional ‘buy’. We also realised that we could have done much better if we had invested a bit more time and effort in researching. However, whatever i’m saying will probably fall on deaf ears if you are really dead set on the property. But before you do, just ask yourself these 2 questions:

1. Is there a possibility that a nicer, more solid house, that suits you exactly, could come into the market in the future?

I’m sure the answer is ‘yes’ since there is always that possibility. Which brings you to the next question..

2. Can you live with yourself if you miss this ‘opportunity’ to buy this particular house?

Since i’m sure it won’t be the end of the world if you do miss the opportunity, why not try talking again to the seller and letting them know that you really really like the place, but you just cannot afford it at this time and therefore will have to decline if he doesn’t reduce the asking price. Then just wait a few months and see what happens. Best case, he calls you up because he remembers you and he has yet to sell it off. Worst case, he doesn’t, and you live to find another much better property at a much better price.

Hope that helps.

PS. I’ve decided that we’ll stay here and save our money and eventually build our own home. That way i have full control over every aspect of it and it will also cost much less.
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Also, if you’re having to pay more than you expected, just make sure you aren’t going to stretch yourself too thin, financially speaking. Take into consideration the cost of property insurance, property taxes - and private mortgage insurance if you don’t have 20% to put down. You need to make sure you can afford to take care of problems as they come up, and problems do happen even with new homes.

DO NOT do any of the creative financing like an interest only loan or an adjustable interest rate. So many people are losing their homes now because they bought more house than they could afford and used creative financing to be able to get their house.

Another thing to remember, is that buying a real fixer upper can put a huge strain on even a good relationship (especially if you have no idea what you’re in for).

Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Hard to say what I would do without actually being in your position.
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However, the risk factor is not to be ignored.
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