I am having trouble deciding what the best thing to do when it comes to moving into a rented property. I will try to explain my situation as brief as possible. My father (61) is coming to live with me in November 25th. He is moving back to England from Italy & he has poor mobility & finds it hard to climb a lot of steps. He has a couple of thousand pound in savings to live on when he comes back. It is likely that it is going to be a few months before he can get any financial help from the government & then he can look at some form of sheltered housing or something similar. I am now living in a one bed apartment & I have my 11 year old son stay one to two nights per week & this place is already too small so I was planning on moving anyway. I have no savings therefore I am unable to save for a mortgage deposit in time for my father coming. The apartment I am in is fully furnished so I have hardly any items that belong to myself apart from pots, pans, TV’s, bedding etc. I have all the essential things just not furniture such as beds, sofa, washer, fridge. I need at least a 2 bed, ideally 3 & it has to be either a bungalow or a ground floor flat due to my dad’s mobility issues. What I am struggling with is whether to go with fully furnished or unfurnished & how much rent I can afford. I like to keep a spreadsheet for my monthly outgoings & I have 2 separate sheets with 2 options. To get a place that is suitable I am looking at between £600 to £700 per month rent. At the moment I have these 2 options.

1) Furnished bungalow 2 bed but the loft is converted into a small bedroom at £595 a month. Looks ok but furniture is not to my taste & dated. Drive, garage & has 3 small steps leading into the house. Not sure if these will be a problem for my dad, my dad said 3 steps would be fine. The house has a washer, fridge. - Fee's & deposit approx £900

2) Unfurnished 3 bed detached bungalow, relatively new, very modern inside. 3rd bedroom is pretty small. Has a ramp leading to the inside for a wheel chair. £700 a month. No washing machine but has an integrated fridge. Drive & garage. - Fee's & deposit approx £1330

In my budget I take into consideration if I will ever need to take out a loan for a car when mine becomes uneconomical to fix which it will sooner or later & I need a car for work so I factor this in as worst case scenario. I factor a loan repayment of £120 a month. So the below disposable income in both options would be plus this £120 for as long as I do not need to replace my car which could be weeks or months. MOT is due in April & I have been told it needs a lot of work.

Option 1 would leave me with £400 a month disposable income or money to save. For holidays, xmas presents etc. This is basically what I have now as I have just finished paying a loan so I am £225 a month better off. I wouldn’t need to buy any furniture & I will have enough money for the deposit & fees by the time I need to move.

Option 2 would leave me with £300 a month disposable money but I would have to buy furniture & I think the fees are a little more expensive so I could basically be broke for a good few months while I paid back the money I would need to borrow for furniture, kitchen appliances plus I would need an extra £300 towards the fee's & deposit.

I know it appears to be only £100 difference but with unforeseen expenses like car tax or car repair bills, school trips for my son etc I am worried that £300 a month may not be enough & also I may have to support my dad for a good few months.

I really like option 2 as it is more modern & I would have to buy furniture but it would be to my own taste & choice.

I am really struggling to know what to do for the best in this situation. I basically have a month to decide. Any advice please?