I would not recommend getting this fixer upper as your very first bike, unless you have the time and money to invest in it.
I've done fixer uppers before,
but I have the mechanical experience, time and money to take said bike from a pile of parts, to a legal, safe, road worthy machine.
The cost factor is the most misleading, it always takes more than you think, especially the smaller items, as they will nickel and dime you to death. So if your thinking it will be cheap think again.
The other side is mechanical ability, or lack there of it. There are many threads here, as well as any other forums, that start out the same way, with aggravation, frustration, following endlessly posts.
So if you need a bike now, buy one that is ready now, spend the extra money now, and it will save you money in the end.
If your looking for a long term learning project bike, then pick it up, but even for $600, it's over priced as far as projects go.