Are You House Hunting?

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by playawannabe

Regina Beach - my grandparents lived there - I spent a lot of my summer there as a child and young teenager. My cousin owned the fry shack on the beach. Good times, good times!

hey, small world. Well, small country anyway.
Here is something funny, I grew up about an hour south of Regina (near Fort Qu'Appelle) and I have never once been to Regina Beach.

[tgd156]

www.zillow.com

[sunnygrl]

Originally Posted by Ginger

Wow, Houston is a cheap place to live!!! I wanna move there. Curious, is it like this all over Texas? Or perhaps its different in different areas of Houston?

Our house we last sold went up by $100,000 in four years here. Had we bought it 27 years ago, we'd have made upwards of $200,000. In Vancouver city, 27 years ago you could have bought a small house for $60,000...that same house would now be worth upwards of $500,000!!!

Have often thought of this. But I have to remember just as my house might appreciate so is everyone elses. We bought our very first house in 1979 for $21,000. Took out a 30 yr mortgage. At the time I think the interest rate was nearly 12%. We did re-finance several years later. Sold it in '95 for $55,000. But, everything else had gone up too. So we basically stayed the same. It would be great to make a $200,000 profit, but then I think, well, housing has gone up everywhere. It seems to me, anyway, that when I sell, I'm still just making a horizontal move into something similar or maybe a little better than what I had, instead of a vertical move to another level of housing altogether where it would be a lot more bucks. Do you get what I'm saying? For some reason I don't think I'm expressing myself very well.

[jsotherj]

Originally Posted by sunnygrl

Have often thought of this. But I have to remember just as my house might appreciate so is everyone elses. We bought our very first house in 1979 for $21,000. Took out a 30 yr mortgage. At the time I think the interest rate was nearly 12%. We did re-finance several years later. Sold it in '95 for $55,000. But, everything else had gone up too. So we basically stayed the same. It would be great to make a $200,000 profit, but then I think, well, housing has gone up everywhere. It seems to me, anyway, that when I sell, I'm still just making a horizontal move into something similar or maybe a little better than what I had, instead of a vertical move to another level of housing altogether where it would be a lot more bucks. Do you get what I'm saying? For some reason I don't think I'm expressing myself very well.

I understand what your saying, so I guess it depends on whether you would rather have something different or stay and maybe make what you have worth a little more. Does that make sense?

[sunnygrl]

Originally Posted by jsotherj

I understand what your saying, so I guess it depends on whether you would rather have something different or stay and maybe make what you have worth a little more. Does that make sense?

About as much as mine did! Yes, it did.
So if your house sells for several hundred thousand dollars, to get another house that's better, newer, bigger, etc. There's a good possibility that even though you "made" money on your initial home, you're still going to have to have a bigger mortgage if you trade up, so to speak. I think you catch my drift. :p

[jsotherj]

Originally Posted by sunnygrl

About as much as mine did! Yes, it did.
So if your house sells for several hundred thousand dollars, to get another house that's better, newer, bigger, etc. There's a good possibility that even though you "made" money on your initial home, you're still going to have to have a bigger mortgage if you trade up, so to speak. I think you catch my drift. :p

zactly

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by sunnygrl

About as much as mine did! Yes, it did.
So if your house sells for several hundred thousand dollars, to get another house that's better, newer, bigger, etc. There's a good possibility that even though you "made" money on your initial home, you're still going to have to have a bigger mortgage if you trade up, so to speak. I think you catch my drift. :p

I understood you.

We sold our house for almost a $100,000 profit margin. But we ended up going from a house to a townhouse when we bought again. Our house sold for $265,000 and we bought our townhome for $299,000. BUT, we ended up in the area we wanted to be in, which had inflated housing costs due to the area being trendy, being near the beach, etc. So although we made a large profit, we gained a much higher mortgage. But what looks like a lateral move as far as dollars go, really is much more in that our new home is in a much more desirable area and so has more potential for growth in profit.

Now I don't know if I"M making sense.

[Seakony]

Yep..It boils down to location again. We plan to move up and have a pool but I figure we will tire of the pool and downsize again when we get older...maybe retire to the Texas hill country. We still want the convenience of good shopping and medical facilities but a whole lot less traffic.

[MsNSol]

Location is why I am 13 weeks into a 8 week reno. I am tired and happy to see it all coming together. I agree with seakony re buying and paying my own mortgage. I'm in a reno because of the house, location, neighbors and view of the lake now called the "red neck riviera" Prices here have sky rocketed and given I am here for another 15 years....just made sense to do the reno and enjoy the benefit of it and a mature 30 year old neighborhood.

[louden48]

I'm the other peep she was talking about. We owned a home in Abilene before being transferred to San Antonio by my husband's job. At the time we moved, our youngest ws a month old. We had to make quick decisions and ended up in a neighborhood that was less than desirable and had horrible neighbors right next to us, to boot. About 3 yrs. ago I found a nice house, larger house in a *much* better neighborhood with amenities (pool, sports park, etc.) and we moved in. All the while, we are renting...we still had a house in Abilene (Read: Money Pit). Nevertheless, we went without renters for somewhere around 6 months and had the house on the market (I'm not mentioning all of the bad things that happened to us with different renters during the past 4 yrs.). Sadly, we sold the house and broke even on the sale...but were way upside down on the investment. After having to pay the fed. gov't both this year and last we are TIRED of it and desperately need to buy another house. I've been looking off and on since March and occasionally find houses we're interested in but what it boils down to is that 1. I hate to move and 2. I feel like I'm so busy all the time with running the kids around I don't have time to get things pack, sorted, moved, etc. Ya know? Jeff is almost always at work and I'm left to do all of the other things (parenting, pay bills, etc). Don't get me wrong, I know that his job helps us afford the trips to Playa but I'm exhausted with the house search and more than exhausted with the income tax we pay every year! With that being said, I will now attmpt to answer some of the questions my friend has asked...(sorry for the rant!)
1. Do you own or rent?
We rent...just turned in my notice that we are going month-to month which will make me get out there and find another house to buy

2. Are you planning to move soon? (Within the next year)

YES!!!! I'm sick and tired of the very rigid homeowners association and Property Management company! Not to mention the neighbors that have since moved in after our other wonderful neighbors moved away (transferred out by the military).

3. Do you think housing prices in your area are over-the-top or within reach of an "average" income for your city? (I know some cities are cheaper to live in than others)
I think they're average. Let me tell you, it is a lot easier to own in this neighborhood. The homeowner of this home makes a good bit of money off of us each month.

4. Buy or rent?

We rent a 2300 sq. foot two story home

5. Remodel or move?
MOVE!

6. Land/acreage with existing house or subdivision?
We want land...at least and acre or two. The kids raise animals for 4-H and it would be nice to have a couple of lambs on the property, as well.

7. City (urban setting) or not?
Rural setting...but close to the city. We currently live outside of the city limits (less taxes), however, we are about 1 mi. from the city limits. San Antonio is a large town with a small town atmosphere. If I didn't have to drive all over town for my job, I'd pretty much shop, eat, use recreational facilities within a 10-15 mile radius. The current subdivision we are looking at is about 2 miles farther outside the city limits. It will allow our oldest to start middle school at the place she was planning to start and would mean a change in elementary schools for our youngest who will begin Kinder in Aug.

8. What do you think? Are you happy and content where you are?

You know, when we first moved to San Antonio I didn't think I would like it. I knew what big city life was like, I grew up in a suburb of Dallas. It was shocking to go from growing up and living in a large city like Dallas, moving to a small rural setting like Abilene (West Texas). It took me quite awhile to get used to that place, but I went to college there, married there, worked there, bought my first house there, had both of my children there. I can honestly say I loved that little town! When we moved to San Antonio, it was a little shocking but not as shocking as I expected. We assimilated into the community and began making a home for our family. Now, I can't bear to think of leaving this town. We have almost everything we want within a 30 minute drive of our home...except maybe relatives who baby sit.

Any advice out there from y'all? I'll try to keep you posted.

[Seakony]

We are looking for a newer but already established neighborhood. We want the pool already installed. 1. cheaper than building, 2. not having to deal with the headaches of building. We also want to make sure there are not many apartments or zoning to build apartments in the area. After about 10 years the places tend to go downhill.
We also want to get a nice school district but with alot less taxes..we have no kids. We are even looking at communities of over 50 residents only but there are only a few around. Just would be nice not to hear the BOOM BOOM BOOM going down the streets all the time.

The Mayor of Dallas has decided not to run again...If they could get rid of the rest of the crooks on the council we may consider North Dallas.

[Maverick69]

Originally Posted by Rissask

What lake? Long Lake? Regina Beach? Not Katepwa? (our farm was ten minutes from there )

Yes Ris , your fears are true . Katepwa Lake. We been there about 8 years. Developed our lake front from bald ass prairie. About 50% done on the new place. MAJOR renovation an a farm house we moved in. This is a year round place now and will be our retirement home for the summer. PDC in the winter. With that being said, thats at least 10 years away. Freedom 53 you know.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by Maverick69

Yes Ris , your fears are true . Katepwa Lake. We been there about 8 years. Developed our lake front from bald ass prairie. About 50% done on the new place. MAJOR renovation an a farm house we moved in. This is a year round place now and will be our retirement home for the summer. PDC in the winter. With that being said, thats at least 10 years away. Freedom 53 you know.

that is so funny! I am from Abernethy originally. Used to hang out all the time at Katepwa. is it green yet?
Sask really IS one big small town. I know tons of people who have cabins there, we likely know some of the same people, the McCalls, the McKinnons, the Bates'....:p

[denisea]

1. Do you own or rent?

We own. This is house #3 for us. We've been here a little over 7 years.

2. Are you planning to move soon?

Very high likelihood that we'll be moving some time within the next 6 months.

3. Do you think housing prices in your area are over-the-top or within reach of an "average" income for your city?

Housing is below the national average where we live. Good if you are buying. Unfortunately, real estate does not appreciate as quickly here either as compared to other areas of the USA... so not so good if you're selling... though enough that we will still make a profit when we sell. Of course, purchasing a house well below both tax and appraisal value that was just coming off a relo and needed some minor cosmetic work but located in a hot suburb also helps increase the property's value. Location, location, location... it's definitely key.

4. Buy or rent?

Definitely buy.

5. Remodel or move?

Currently remodeling in anticipation of having to put the house on the market. Relocation is looking more and more like it will become a reality out of pure necessity.

6. Land/acreage with existing house or subdivision?

Current house was an existing home on a half acre lot. Odds are high that the next house will be another existing home only with less acreage.

7. City (urban setting) or not?

Currently in suburban setting. Having owned a house in the country, then in an urban setting, and now in a suburban setting, our next home will likely be located in an urban setting or possibly a suburban setting... but definitely not in a rural country setting.

8. What do you think? Are you happy and content where you are?

Yes, we're fairly happy and content where we are... mostly. Our next move will likely be one of necessity rather than one of desire. This home is the longest we've ever lived in any residence (that includes apartments and homes that we rented before buying). Prior to this home we never lived in any residence longer than 3 years... and it's become quite the joke with us, our friends and family over the years. As a result of moving often, I've learned not to become attached to houses... for us home is wherever you hang your hat.

[sctx]

Originally Posted by denisea

Very high likelihood that we'll be moving some time within the next 6 months.

our next door neighbor wants to sell ....maybe Keith could finish painting the eaves where Lana couldn't reach 3 years ago