Unrenovated space (without money to reno) or smaller mint cond apartment?

Do you anticipate ever having money to reno? If yes, I would go for bigger.

Get the bigger space and renovate as you have the $$$.

That depends. I have no experience with renovation and I doubt I could do a good job myself. It would take a long time for me to save the money to do a decent renovation if the costs that have been tossed around on other threads are accurate. I would probably consult with my architect friends, and if they gave me a number I couldn't achieve within a year or two, I would choose the smaller space. Reluctantly, of course.

Big apt, unrenovated. Perfection isn't everything.

If the larger space is what you want, you can always play 'urban pioneer' and renovate piecemeal once you've moved in. Do the basics first (paint, floors and, if you can swing it, kitch) then renovate bathrooms once you're in.

Caveat--it's a major PAIN to reno while living in a space. But, if you have more than one bathroom, and can close of an entire area while it's being worked on, it can be done.

Remember that you don't need to renovate with top-of-the-line stuff either--there's no need for sub-zero Miele products in your kitchen, for example.

Also, there's a lot you can do to spruce up a bathroom without doing major demo work--replacing old stained grout and doing a deep-clean of the tile floors can work wonders in brightening things up.

My parents have done pretty well in real estate and my father always recommends "the worst condition in the best location." So my question would be, which apt has the better location? Both being the same, I would take the reno, as Squid said, you don't have to spend a ton of money.

no doubt i would go for the bigger place. ah hem, in this instance size does matter. i agree w/ others that say upgrade as you get the $. you don't have to do the whole renovation at once. you can definitely do piecemeal, as time and $ permits. the way i look at it is, you can always improve a big apt to make the finishes nicer but you can't increase the size of a small apt that is already nice.

lookingforhome - BINGO

It depends on how bad the large space is, keep in mind that gut renovation is expensive. It costs $100pf, at least, plus SIGNIFICANT extra if you want to go stylish.

I don't know your family situation, but for me, I'd take a nicely renovated 1100sf over a 1400sf wreck.

Hey, thanks everybody. I was asking more speculatively than concretely, since I'm not in the market yet. Family situation is one 4 year old and one baby on its way. In good school areas, we would have to wait for the cheapest 2/2 (conv. 3s, meaning with separate dining area) to come down another 15% to be able to buy. To get my taste buds on I've gone to a few OH and saw a really nice 2/2, listed as 1200 sqft, real area 1070. That was the one I had in mind, opposed to a combined apt. with a somewhat awkward layout in apparently bad condition but with easily 200-250 sqft more, asking the same price. I haven't seen this second one, except in pics.