We are looking around at our house and wondering.
Should we? Shouldn’t we?
Are we capable of making this work?
How much medication would I TRULY need?
Seriously, it’s a big decision. Especially now, in this economy. Do we stay or do we go?
We love our little house. In all honesty, people balk when I tell them that we literally did a quick walk through of the space before we put an offer on it, but that’s all we did. I walked in for the last ten minutes of an open house – we had both planned to go, but Jack had gotten sick on the drive over, so Bryan took the boys home and I went alone. I saw the kitchen, saw the wine fridge, noted the bedrooms were perfect – a master, a boy’s bedroom in space theme, and a nursery – and told the realtor I was finished. She asked if I had any questions, and I said, “Nope, thanks. You’ll be hearing from me soon.” I’m sure she thought I was crazy.
But Bryan and I had been METICULOUS about our first purchase together. We had made two other offers – both on bigger homes, but both houses needed LOTS AND LOTS of work – and ultimately had not been able to reach an agreement. (Um, we’re not going to pay you above-market-value on a home that has an obvious foundation issue or a kitchen from 1960.) So after MONTHS of planning every waking moment around open houses, I knew this was our home.
I called the realtor back and asked her to hold the open house for another half hour so we could switch kids, and Bryan did the same quick walk through. That night, we made an offer.
And we’ve LOVED this little house.
But we quickly outgrew it. Kids grow up, and although the big, bulky baby items leave the nest, the kids seem to quickly absorb the empty space with stuff. Three dogs, 1 (and a half?) cat, a snake, two boys, Bryan, and little ole me.. is too much in our house. Not to mention the fact that we can’t comfortably have company.
So. We’re at a crossroads. Do we sell and move? Or do we expand on our current home? And we’re not sure.
Our local housing market says they’re okay. Sure, that’s what the reports say, but I can personally report that there are three foreclosed houses two streets over that have been FOR SALE for – literally – years now. I can’t speak for the condition of the houses, but.. that doesn’t bode well. Also, that afore-mentioned cadre of folks/animals that live here? That’s a lot to juggle in and out for showings.
Not to mention the chaos of moving is giving me hives just thinking about it. OCD and moving are oil and water, my friends.
So do we build on to our existing home? I’ve often contemplated the idea of adding a second story to our home. It’d give us just enough space to grow into. And honestly, I love our kitchen SO SO MUCH that I’d almost be okay with the constant flow and chaos of construction happening in our home. But I know nothing about that world. NOTHING. I’m way more versed in the world of real estate – buying and selling – than I am about construction. My knowledge of construction and renovation is centered solely in that movie The Money Pit.
AND THEN THERE’S LOCATION. We’re not deeply rooted in our neighborhood now. If we had our druthers, we’d love to move to the north end of the city (or even the county!), where there’s a bit more .. diversity and acceptance. (And people will not boycott my Halloween candy because of the Obama sign in my front yard.) But the houses north are generally more expensive AND smaller. (I guess diversity comes with a price.)
Has anyone built an addition on to their house? Would you do it again? Would it drive me out of my mind? I imagine that while it would probably be just fine, when it comes to preservation of my OCD-sanity, moving may just be easier.
Thus endeth this incredibly mundane and pointless post.
The house next door is in foreclosure, simply because the people who owned it are crazy. (It’s a gorgeous house.) We looked at it before buying our house and the floor plan is open, with a big rec room above the garage. Good school system too. Just sayin’.
My parents built on to their house when I was 14 and my little sister was born. They renovated it again a few years ago busting out walls and creating new rooms. If you LOVE your house, you can probably weather the renovation shenanigans (It always costs so much more than you’re quoted. Always.) but if you’re up for change it’s a good time to go looking.
The BookMamma wants you to read ..Weekend Roundup Extended 4th of July Edition
Adding a second floor to an existing house might be a structural nightmare (or impossibility depending on how your house is constructed). Living in the middle of a construction site will also make you a crazy person. And in addition to it Costing more than you expect, it will take longer than you expect Too. Then consider the 1000s of decisions you have to make. This starts with a design idea, finding a contractor (yikes), then choosing fixtures, windows, doors, heating/ cooling options, and the 80 billion finishes for the interior. Then the contractor doing it wrong and having to redo it. Etc, etc.
So unless you are madly in love with your house, my suggestion would be to just move. Give yourself lots of time to look and decide where and what you want. I’d think a week or two of moving stress would be far better than months of construction.
I’m not OCD. That said, we’re nearly 6 years into a remodel. While the big stuff is in, we’re having plumbing issues, a ledge is sitting in the garage waiting to be finished, the backs of a cabinet facing an open space haven’t even been started yet, the countertop to my new bathroom cabinet is still laying in the yard (one can do that with recycled granite), and the list goes on and on. If that stuff doesn’t bother you, and you have the time and patience for a remodel, then by all means, re-do your abode. However, if my list would drive you nuts, then you’re probably better off moving.
We’ve done two pretty big remodels and we just moved — and between the two experiences I can say that moving is WAY LESS CRAZYMAKING. I mean, moving blows, but remodels are … endless. And hugely messy. And insanely intrusive. And cost a billion dollars more than you think. And they consume you, with all the decisions you have to make.
That SAID, we are totally in the process of buying an older home with the intent to “fix it up,” so clearly we are stupid.
Sundry wants you to read ..The house next door
I think moving would be the wiser optipn for the space you want vs. the hassle it would be. But I cannot support a move to the north side of town, away from your running and NOBO friends!!! Noooooo!!!!!!
I don’t know about the Huntsville market in general, but I will say that our house was on the market for 3 weeks. I don’t think the market here is like the market in the rest of the country, at all.
We moved from the north end of town (Madison), to the south end of town. Email me if you want to chat, because I have OPINIONS on diversity and open-mindedness and all that fun stuff around here. Especially today.
(Also, my parents added another story onto their house when I was growing up, so I got to do the living in a house while doing major remodeling thing, so I can chat about that too.)
Odds are you will never regain the costs of a remodel. Find something you like and then work out a plan like selling or renting your current home. If you are going to use a realtor, make sure it is someone you trust and discuss your plans with them. They may have some “fresh” ideas you haven’t thought about, like property management so you are not bothered with the “bad” part of rental. With the real estate marked being where it is, when you find something you like, don’ be afraid to make an offer that is way below the listed price, you may be surprised!
Ummm..yeah I would try to sell and then move. Remodeling sounds hellish!
Daddy did that HUGE renovation to his house (2 baths, the living room/dining room, and the kitchen). I think just those rooms (although they changed the pitch of the roof which is big) cost… well A LOT OF MONEY. Suck it up. Price your house to sell and get the heck out of dodge, Besides, you will endure constant showings for a few weeks. It will either sell, or things will calm down with just occasional showings here and there until it sells. John and I sold in 6 months with a newborn and new jobs. I wouldn’t want to hit the replay button any time soon, but when you see my new house you will agree that it was WELL WORTH THE TROUBLE. My vote is to sell!
Just completed an addition/remodel in your city! Added about a thosand sq ft. We’re very happy with it!! I woulnt suggest an upstairs addition. It’s a lot more pricey and more difficult to live in. If you don’t love where you are in the city i wouldn’t recommend it though, but if you guys are in a popular part of town then it might be worth it to do it and then sell a few years later. One of the biggest problems i had with the addition is that we had to come up with 20% of the financing up front. It probably would have been easier to just buy, but who knows how long it might have taken us to sell, and that just wasn’t an option. You guys are more than welcome to come check it out!
I have a serious house fetish. When we are even sort of thinking of it, I am on the MLS constantly. When we aren’t in the market, I am on the MLS less often but still more than a normal person. I go to open houses for fun.
Steve and I have bought 2 houses together and did both the way you did – quickly. The first we looked at several and they were okay but the second we walked into the one we bought, we knew it was home. We were sad to leave but had to change states for job reasons. This time, we shopped casually for 2 years. I knew every house in our price range on the MLS. We saw a couple of dozen houses over the 2 year span – mostly open houses but a few that I was really curious about from the listing. But this house, I had a house crush on it from the second I saw it on the MLS. But we weren’t in the market seriously at that moment. We had re-upped our lease and were going to wait another 8 months. I wasn’t going to make someone clean their house so that I could take a look when I wasn’t serious. Then I met my realtor and mentioned my crush. She said it was actually empty so we came to see it. The second I saw it, I knew it had to be ours. It was everything that all of the others weren’t. My realtor didn’t believe us that after a 10 minute walk through we were going to buy it. But we did.
Michelle Smiles wants you to read ..Summer status
Construction is hell. And crazy messy to live in. We redid the kitchen and both bathrooms of our home in Five Points while living in it. And we didn’t have kids yet.
When we sold that house we had 4 indoor cats, a young dog, and an infant. We put it on the market on December 17 and showed it three times on Christmas Eve. We got an offer on the 26th and closed less than a month after putting it on the market.
Moving is hard. The logistics of showing a home with pets and kids
Elaine wants you to read ..Grace
Sorry. I apparently posted prematurely.
Logistics of showing with pets and kids and jobs is really hard. Logistics of trying to keep your sanity during a construction process is way worse. WAY worse.
And construction always costs twice as much as you think it will and takes twice as long.
Jerry and I chose never to build again… And yet. Here we are. Not by our own choice, obviously. But we are reminded why we hate it so, and our contractors and insurance company have been awesome this time.
Elaine wants you to read ..Grace