Buying my first property

Hello, I'm not usually a poster here so pardon me if this is not the right forum, but this is really a HUGE decision for me and I really want to take the correct path

I'm 23 and if everything goes according to the plan I'm getting my Human Resources diploma here in Buenos Aires (Argentina).

I've been saving and selling most of my collectibles (I had some really rare MTG cards) and I want to buy my first property, to live on my very own place. Now, I've been watching a lot of flats, since they are the cheapest ones, and I managed to find a semi-good deal in a 2 years old building, it's a 2-room apartment, pool, and it's in the middle of one of the most "cool" neighborhoods, where all the bars and expensive discos are at. The bad thing is that it is a small apartment, but it's in impecable condition, and it only has $1200 of condo fees per month (which will hurt but I can pay for it)

So it looked like that was going to be my new home, but then I saw an ad of this 60-year old horizontal-property in a much more residential neighborhood (the one my friends and family live in). The good thing about it is that it's like two thirds of the price of the apartment, and it has no manteinance fees. The bad side is that it's in HORRIBLE condition. I've been trying to calculate, and all the repairs and paint and stuff will bring me more or less equal to the apartment. But, on the good side, it's a house, not an apartment, and it's 3 rooms instead of 2, + a small semi-floor that could be a fourth room.

So my question is, do you think the effort to put it back into an acceptable state will be worth it? I don't plan to live here the rest of my life, but I think if I manage to get it to a very acceptable level I'll be able to make it worth a lot more.

that was the entrance of the building

here's how the apartment looks like, the stairs lead to a room in an improvised upper floor

it really looks like shit

Will you be renting the house or mortgaging it?

the walls really need a lot of work

Don't pay condo fees you might as well just rent so you can move whenever you want. And usually in places like that there are restrictions if you ever want to rent it out sell it or have guests over that stay the night. It seems like at this point in life you want to live in the more poppin part of town and aren't settled yet so it would be better to rent unless you are buying to rent to someone else to make a profit

paying it full price, no mortgage, it will be completely mine.

the living room also looks like shit

You should get it thoroughly inspected to make sure there isn't toxic mold or anything like that but looks like all you'd need to do is paint it

I get your point about renting, but renting isn't really cheap here, and I rather spend the money now to have something of my own

I think it depends on how long you are planning to live in the house but if you can fix it up and the market doesn't go to shit, it'll definitely get you your cash back when you sell it and move out.