Dilema?

"Backup" house ... it is currently contingent.

HOUSE #1

HOUSE #2

Keith, Mason, and I went out yesterday to look at six houses. At the conclusion of the evening we walked away with three possibilites. However, one of those possibilities is currently contingent, so our offer would be a "backup" offer on the house. We have two more homes to see next Friday. Here's where the dilema comes in ...

Without considering the house that is contingent, that leaves us with two current possibilities. House #1 is AMAZING! I am totally in love with this house. It was built in 2007, so virtually a brand new house. It is a spacious ranch, and with 1436 square feet and 9' ceilings it feels very roomy. It needs nothing done to it. Move in and your done. Cute curb appeal, beautiful entry hall, hardwood floors throughout entry, kitchen, and dining area. A beautiful upgraded kitchen with stainless appliances, very nice cabinets, brushed nickel knobs, and it is large. The eating area is large as well with beautiful windows. It has three bedrooms plus a bonus room (for a play room) and two bathrooms. It has all white six panel doors and white trim, which I love. Out back the yard is a good size, it is fenced with an adorable storage shed or playhouse for Mason. The two children's rooms share a connecting bathroom, which is too cute, and there is a master suite. With all those pros are there any cons? Well, these would be the cons. Though the backyard is privacy fenced, it backs up to Gantz Rd. (which is a very busy main road), so you have traffic noise when you are out back. You cannot hear street noise inside the house however. It does not have a basement, which gives us limited storage space. But I told Keith with a two car garage, we can install floor to ceiling shelving and store things that way, plus we have the shed. Last, the schools. Because of the cutoff, we are still in Southwestern City Schools with a Grove City address, they just aren't "Grove City" schools. But like I said ... I LOVE THIS HOUSE!

On the other hand, the second house ...

This house is a little older, I think it was built in the 80's. It is a ranch as well with 1198 square feet. It has three bedrooms and one very small bathroom. The curb appeal is very nice on this house as well, it is very charming and homey on the outside. The selling point on this house is location. It is in an established neighborhood in Grove City ... so Grove City Schools. It has a large fenced backyard with a shed, and it backs up to Big Splash water park, and a Park. So both are in walking distance. The school is in walking distance as well. It has a two car garage as well. All three bedrooms are very good sizes and all have walk in closets with closet organizers installed. A newer front load wahser dryer comes with the house (which we need!), and all mechanicals are under 5 years old. Here's what stinks! It was an older couple who lived in it, and it needs updated! I'm talking, bathroom (a complete job), kitchen counters, flooring in kitchen, entry, and bathroom, and painting the entire house and ceilings. As well as light fixtures and a ceiling fan will need replaced. Eventually we would switch out the appliaces to stainless as well. Another thing is, the previous owner's husband had bad allergies and took out all of the carpet. There are laminate wood floors throughout the living room, hall, and two of the bedrooms. The other bedroom was used as an office and there is laminate tile floor in there. I feel we would have to carpet at minimum the bedrooms, if not the entire living area. OMG! It's alot of work that I didn't want to do. It could be fun. We can make it our own. And honestly, if we update everything ourselves, when we go to sell it, we will make some money! Resale on this house would be better and easier than resale on house #1, based on location, location, location.

So that is my dilema. Do I go with the perfect move in ready house that is exactly what I want, or do I go with the perfect location and put some elbow grease into the house over time? What do I do? All of your opinions matter to me, and I value your advice. Please tell me what you think!