Graham's house reconsidered

So we have another option to buy Graham's house. Not that we were eager for it before... that's why we said no. But for some reason, at a lower price we are intrigued by its potential. So what are the pros and cons?

PROS:

• it's cheap. At 160,000 euros, we are freer to rehab, and freer to make mistakes we don't regret, than if we spent double the same money.

• with a lot of work, it could be very nice. But cottagey nice, not spacious nice.

• it's got tons of land. Almost a hectare, which is 2.5 acres, give or take. It's mostly terraced, which gives the garden some nice vertical exploring factor, and very green. Plenty of room for veg, and for a playground if we want one.

• it's got a separate outbuilding which would be a perfect guest house.

• it's old.

• it's very definitely quirky.

• it needs work, which means we'd have some control over the final house than if we found the perfect place pre-made, and the outbuilding is a complete gut redo.

• it gets broadband.

• it's in a town we know, with friendly helpful people we know, and teachers Kepler knows. In fact, it's in town, so we could get around easily on foot.

• it's in the south of France, which means better sunlight and proximity to the sea and Montpellier.

• it would be a cinch to rent out when we move out, and we could even potentially rehab the outbuilding into a gite which we could rent out when we're living without guests.

• if we bought it, we could begin the process of getting on with our lives.
  

CONS:

• cottagey nice, not spacious nice. The house itself it relatively small, maybe 1.5 realistic bedrooms in the house itself, not including the outbuilding. Maybe it's expandable, but we'd need to consult the Mairie to find out. Also, it's a small-footprint, vertical-format house. I prefer open horizontal space.

• it doesn't get very good evening light because it's on the wrong side of the hill.

• the walls are thick and solid stone; there's little rehab flexibility in important ways.

• Lodeve. I've already expressed some reservations about Lodeve, and this would lock me into a town I'm not in love with. The general architecture, the market, the vibe. Unsure.

• few rooms means no office/work space, unless we can expand the house in some meaningful way.

• there's no garage. forget about a classic citroen. Nor is there any way we could get a London bus onto the property.

• there is supposed to be a lot of construction across the river, in our view, to make a new "entryway to Lodeve" development. Who knows what this might be?

• it's not our dreamhouse. It would be a compromise. There are so many amazing properties elsewhere in France.