Homes for Sale

When a friend of mine was planning to buy a house, there were several variables that he was looking at. Whether it fit in his budget and the EMI calculation, the locality, the builders and proximity to work (which was flexible) and family (which was avoidable). All the jazzy, new age, promising buildings lacked in the four of his very basic requirements.

After several months of hunting, he found a house. A cozy, lived in house in a plush green, quiet society. He had to wait for several months before possession. Paperwork was endless, sometimes it was the bank else it was the society. He is an owner now and the days of flooring, wiring, painting, chipping, crafting has begun. 

It gets me thinking, had he bought the newly constructed house - he would just have had to move in and fill it up as he wished. But then, this way he gets to make his home the way he wants with the hard work and imagination even though its time consuming and one doesn't know how it will look by the end of it.

Am grappling with this for myself - new place or renovation? 

Or is it back to just paying rent.