That being said, we once bought a less than 900 square foot house (circa 2000) in an area we liked because it was where we wanted (locaiton), the price was right and there really weren;t any turn key properties that didn;t need some work (older, established area with a view).
Within a year we added about 1000 square feet (we kept the old living room and a couple bedrooms) with completely new kitchen and baths, etc.
We lived in it for about half the renovation (until both the kitchen and only bathroom were knocked out of commission).
Although it took twice as long and cost about 50% more than we originally planned, for us it was definitely a worthwhile experience.
Unfortunately (from an emotional perspective) or fortunately (from a financial perspective) we sold this property in 2005.
Our current house was essentially a turn-key purchase. We weren’t necessarily looking for something that didn’t need some work, we just stumbled into it in the area we were looking.
So, my suggestion is find the place you want (location) and be flexible on whether you get something turn-key or something that needs work.
