My dilemma:

Have I got the courage to buy another house?

The facts:

We have a property � 2 bedroom terrassed house � in UK, which we rent to a couple and make enough to cover mortgage repayments. Should be done paying this in 6-10 months.

We have a 1 � bedroom detached cottage in rural Denmark. We have no mortgage on this place � it was bought cash with money DH inherited. We�ve had it for almost 3 years and paid about �18,000 for it. Cheap even for Denmark � especially as the only work needed doing was cosmetic.

Now, with baby No. 2 on the way, we�ve outgrown the house. We�ve talked about converting the workshop into 2 (very small) bedrooms. Could be done � pending planning permission � for about �10,000. Money, we would never make back if we sold the house, but money we would have to spend to make the house big enough for our growing family.

But... we�ve seen another house.

I�ve taken some pictures - � I�ve put them back to front (not on purpose) but go have a look and tell me what you think.

It�s on the market 395,000 Danish Kroner � that�s just under �36,000. It�s a 145 m2 4 bedroom detached former farmhouse with 1 sitting room (formerly 2 but now 1 open plan), a large kitchen diner, a large utility room, 2 bathrooms (both need completely renovating), and the potential of converting another 100 m2 (more sqaure metres than our current house) in the loft, potentially adding another 3-4 bedrooms. There�s a cellar as well � about 10 m2 � for potatoes and carrots and paint pots.

The whole house needs a massive redecorating job, but the vitals are in order � i.e. double glazed wooden windows about 10 years old, gas central heating, walls intact and roof in good nick.

There�s a greenhouse (oddly attached to the house), and a conservatory (again, oddly placed).

There�s a big garage, a big workshop, and a massive big barn building. I reckon the barn needs pulling down, but the workshop and garage should stay � always useful space and apparently in fairly good nick.

The house comes with about 3 acres of land � an acre or so of which is occupied by the buildings and the garden.

Location? Well, it�s a farmhouse, so rural. Our current house is a 50 yard walk to the local shop. This other property is about 3 kilometres to shop. BUT � and it�s a big but - it�s only about 1 kilometres (2/3 of a mile), from a town much bigger than where we are now. It�s got a pharmacy, shop, post office, doctors, bus links, school, pram and cycle shop, mechanic, and so on. Still a very small town, but much more town than here. And it�s only 6 miles or so from where we are now.

But we�re having another baby. I�m not working and although we have about �2,000 after tax every month, that�s all we have for everything. I should mention that living costs are somewhat higher over here in Denmark. About 1/3 of the money we get go to bills. But that�s only because we haven�t got a mortgage. We�re saving up to afford the planned workshop conversion and repairs to the roof and other bits and bobs that need doing to our current house. So, we�re not poor, but another house, which, although cheap to buy will need much money spent on it � dare I??? Should mention that the current house will be neigh on impossible to sell. Certainly, it�s not a question of selling before buying another house. We would have to buy, decorate and repair the new, and then, possibly, rent out this house � or rent out whilst putting it on the market to sell to cover costs.

What would you do?

The thing is, if the house was already done up, it would cost an arm and a leg � like in England, house prices over here have soared and although my little island has the cheapest prices in all of Denmark, a renovated farm house with all the trimmings is still worth money. And we�d never be able to afford � or maybe more to the point � never be happy � buying a house already done up but to somebody else�s specifications.

*sigh*

Sorry for going on and on. Well done for making it all the way through.

... but haven�t we all got The Dream of a rural idyll that we can do up and put our very own stamp on? So, who�s got the balls to do it? Do I?

HELP!