Well, option 1 would be my friend buying a house. So there's only speculation to if it has a garage or not. most likely because the city he is looking in almost all have garages. Option 2 does, but it needs to be cleaned out. He refinished his entire basement so it's filled with, well, everything that is needed to do that.
It's not a bad neighborhood, but it's not as good of a neighborhood as option 1 is. The city he is looking at is primarily a bunch of old retired folk... which is a downfall, because there is virtually NO nightlife.
And I want to pay my loans off ASAP, just like my car loan. Which is why I think #2 would be much better financially, but #1 is would be better for peace of mind.