Are You House Hunting?

[sunnygrl]

Talking to another forum member about housing. They are in the market. Started me wondering.
I've been in my house for nearly 11 years now. The one before I lived in for 16. My realtor friend told me the average home owner for the USA moves every 7 years. We've already broken the average.
I'm getting antsy. Our house was built in the mid-late "70's. I like it, but it needs some major updating. (Still has the original oven!) So, do we remodel or sell? Each has their own difficulties.

1. Do you own or rent?

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

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)

4. Buy or rent?

5. Remodel or move?

6. Land/acreage with existing house or subdivision?

7. City (urban setting) or not? Our city of Chattanooga is going through a huge urban renewal. It's offering incentives for people to move into downtown. There's also a huge swell in condo's being built.

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

[Ginger]

1. Do you own or rent?

We own. A townhome. But it is a nice, newer townhome, with only 33 units in our complex, everyone is great and has a very community feel. There are always kids playing hockey, biking, water-fighting...we like it here. And I have my own gardner! Okay, he's everyone here's gardner, but I just like saying that.

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

No, but we have some major reno plans. Jorden's room is very small, with no window. Ours is very big, with ensuite and walk in closet. We plan on reno-ing the top floor, which is a wide open "loft" room currently used for children entertainment and my office, putting up some walls and an ensuite bathroom and making ourself a gi-normous master bed. and giving Jorden our room, his will be an office.

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)

Ours is SOOO over the top! housing costs in my 'burb are much, much higher than in other areas of the city and Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD). We are on a peninsula...surrounded by beautiful beaches, and are a tourist destination of sorts. People want to live here...so housing prices are through the roof. Eg. our townhome was $299,000 for almost 2000 sq. ft., about a 10 minute walk to the beach, though. My friend's HOUSE in Surrey, about 15 to 20 minutes from me was just appraised as $264,000 for 2600 sq. ft of house on a large city lot, big backyard, etc. The same house as hers here in White Rock/South Surrey would be at least $400,000.

4. Buy or rent?

Had this topic on the board in the past....I read an article from Steve Ryberg about the positive aspects of renting vs. purchasing, as long as your money is being invested in other avenues. Complicated it was.
5. Remodel or move?

6. Land/acreage with existing house or subdivision?

Again, we live in a townhouse which I never thought I'd like, but I love it now that the kids have so many friends, etc. And I am quite a social person, so I love that I can open my door and talk to any number of people at any point in the day. HOWEVER, if I could afford it, I'd move us 20 minutes away to the farmlands and have some acreage to have a garden (that I'd never have time to tend) and some more peacefulness, and be able to build Jorden a much desired mountain of BMX trails and jumps.

7. City (urban setting) or not?

In the past, I've never been one for the city. I spent a lot of time in the inner city as a child/youth and didn't see any of the positive aspects of that. However, lately John and I have talked about a yearning to perhaps even try renting an apt. in the downtown core for a summer, just to feel what it's like to be walking distance to all the action, the great restaurants, the shows, concerts, etc.

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

I am! However, we've only been here 6 months. I am a mover...dunno why, really. We have moved many, many, many times, always at my urging. But I think I am finally settled for now. Mostly.

[Seakony]

We are in the process of renovating the house to sell and buy another home with a pool already installed with bigger rooms. We can't seem to decide to what part of town to live in. I like the east side of Dallas because it's more laid back, less traffic, no bus system, and lots of back roads to take when the highways back up. Hubby wants to move further north to get closer to work. Too much traffic , too pretentious, to darn far from my hangouts and friends. The city of dallas is out of the question....worst city council and mayor in the US and most elections are rigged. School district really sucks..and property taxes for stupid projects.

I would not rent. I would rather make my own house payments than make them for somebody else.
If your neighborhood is still holding up nicely and the home values are good, then think about staying. Our hood is changing thanks to the low interest rates that makes this area more affordable....but ya gotta have a car to live here..no mass transportation... the main thing is we just need a bigger house. We have been hear 20 years...thats 15 more years than we planned on but the market fell after we bought and then other things just got in the way. We have very little crime ( I run the crime watch) and all the neighbors are nice but we have to keep putting lots of money into the house...It's a money pit and we just want bigger rooms or at least another bedroom.

Do your research... it will be the biggest investment you make.

[sunnygrl]

Thanks, guys.

I don't know if I just have the "wander lust" for new things or just plain ol' discontent.
Ginger, I think there are a bunch of people like you who move quite a bit in their adult lives.

Research certainly is a big key. You raise some other questions, Seakony: such as school choices, changing neighborhoods, community politics. All good questions that should be addressed.

Our public transportation isn't all that great. Wish it were better, but people are too in love with their cars and being independent.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by sunnygrl

Ginger, I think there are a bunch of people like you who move quite a bit in their adult lives.

yah, I may the one who sways the median, though!

15 times since my first child was born, so in 11 years, if I include the move to Mexico. and a little of this

[emc]

We just bought a new house, found it on 6/25, signed the papers on 6/27 and we close 7/28. What was I thinking? So, now I have been packing, tossing (it's amazing what you accumulate) and giving things away. We are moving from the City to the Suburbs into a development no less. My cowokers keep asking if we will be allowed in. Housing prices here are ridiculous. It is shocking what people are asking for dumps. We have been in this house for 13 years and we were content, but since we signed the papers, I can't wait to get out of here. Too much noise, neighbors too close, the list goes on and on. Like Seakony said "do your research". One last note, I had been casually looking at houses for months but being in post Playa depression put me into a frenzy. Oh well, at least it took my mind off of Mexico for a while.

[Rissask]

1. Do you own or rent?

We own. A two story split, 1640 sq feet, 3 BR, den, 3 bathrooms. Ten years old, paid $151,000 for it 3 years ago; just had it appraised at $205,000. Prices have gone way up recently here.


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

Possibly. We are half heartedly looking for a Victorian style character home in a certain area of the city, and have been for awhile- if one comes up that is perfect, we may make an offer.

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)

Not here so much, in Saskatoon, it's a smaller city and this province has a lower cost of living than others in Canada. In Calgary, Alberta, prices have risen 50% in the past year, it's ridiculous. Not sure how people just starting out can afford a basic 1200 bungalow for $350,000. 30 year mortgages?? And as Ginger mentioned, BC and Vancouver especially is NUTS!

There is only the two of us, so we are thinking we should downsize. I know our house is also an investment though, so we wouldn't downsize to something that won't give us much bang for the buck in the end either.

4. Buy or rent?

Buy, defintely- property always rises (with few exceptions), and rent is throwing your money away. An exception would be someone who moves around a lot and would lose $$ overall with realtor fees, etc.
But people who rent must ensure they are also investing wisely; and many don't- so at least they have their house as an asset.

5. Remodel or move?

Depends. If you love your house, and plan on staying, then remodel. If you won't recoup the money by remodeling, don't.
My mom and stepfather just spent $15,000 on (mostly unnecessary) renovations in a 50 year old home in a small town where house prices are quite low. He is 73. Dumb move.

6. Land/acreage with existing house or subdivision?

We bought an existing house in a suburban area that still newer, because we wanted 1) lower stress
2) mature landscaping 3) less work (didn't want to have to build a deck, build a fence, etc.).
It would be nice to pick out your floor plan and finishing, but everyone I know who has built a house ends up wishing a couple years later they had done things differently anyway!

7. City (urban setting) or not? Our city of Chattanooga is going through a huge urban renewal. It's offering incentives for people to move into downtown. There's also a huge swell in condo's being built.

I would love to live in a condo with river views near downtown here. *sigh* DH would like an acreage. We compromised, as couple have to do! If it's safe and you like urban life, go for it!

<!-- / message -->

Our public transportation isn't all that great. Wish it were better, but people are too in love with their cars and being independent.

Yes, that is a big reason why we would love to move to this older area of the city- we could walk to the river and trails, we could walk downtown, walk to get a paper,etc. Everything is so remote and spread out where we live now (white bread suburbia) that we have to drive to get anywhere! We have nothing for public tranportation here except buses- but there is a sparser population and everything is very spread out, so a train system would not be cost-efficient.

[James A.]

If you have a hankering to move, the future may end up showing that now was a good time to. Mortgage interest rates are still incredibly low, from a historical perspective. That could help you on both ends: you might be able to afford a more expensive house, and yours might be more salable.

Disclaimer: Do not interpret the above as sound financial advice.

[lulabell]

We lived in a very small (1000 sq ft) house for 27 years. I bought it for $27,000 and sold it 3 years ago for $110,000. We accidentally found the house of our dreams. We have almost 1 acre of land,4 bedrooms,4 baths, and a great glass sun room, lots of trees and a pool. We paid an incredable price $172,000.We have done some work and now the house is worth $250,000.This neighborhood is not well known, if it was I am sure builders would be buying up the properties and building big homes. We are off a main street in Northwest Houston and only 2 exits off the beltway ( toll road around the city). We got the best of both worlds, city living with country amenities.
Life is good we are content, although I have been dreaming lately of living in a place that has seasons. In Texas we just have 2, summer and August. We shall wait and see what the future brings.

[Ginger]

Originally Posted by mrsbosco

We lived in a very small (1000 sq ft) house for 27 years. I bought it for $27,000 and sold it 3 years ago for $110,000. We accidentally found the house of our dreams. We have almost 1 acre of land,4 bedrooms,4 baths, and a great glass sun room, lots of trees and a pool. We paid an incredable price $172,000.

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!!!

[lulabell]

We are very lucky here. This house we bought had been on the market for many months and the people needed to sell, so we got a deal deal.We own a small custom iron fab shop and work for high end custom home builders and wealthy home owners, so these houses are top dollar, usually about 2 mil and up, so I don't know all the ins and outs of realty here, but I know you can buy a 3 bed, 2 bath with a nice yard and double car garage for under $125,000( in a good neighborhood). I do think we get a lot more home for the money here.

[Maverick69]

I'm only in my 2nd house in 19 years . No plans to move. I own it . Currently renovating the kitchen. Own my cottage at the lake. Therefore I buy condo in PDC! Yeah baby, yeah .

[Seakony]

Housing in Texas is cheap. But it also all depends on Location, location, location. Our house is worth 40,000 less on the east side of town than on the north side of town. Here it has alot to do with how far you are from the airport.

Also alot of new developements now have associations. They can be nice but you need to be careful...sometimes the dues are just way over the top for what you get. But it's also nice if the association has rules that says you can't paint the trim Fuschia. There's always that one neighbor that has no sense of color or horrible taste in landscaping.....like growing corn in the front flower beds. I would gladly go buy them some fresh corn if they would just chop that stuff down.
It took me a long time to sell My parents home because the next door neighbors yard was a mess. Who wants to live next to that? The other neighbor had 3 huge dogs in the back. I finally put up a wooden fence (had Chain link).
also...some people are really into mulching when they mow. all it takes is a few weeds and then they are spread all over the yard... Bagging is best for contolling weeds.
Always check out the neighborhood in the evenings... If theres 6 cars parked out front of a house then you can assume alot of people live there. We have rear entry garages but everyone parks on the street. Only in america do we park a 30,000 vehicle in the street because the garage is full of junk. (I can get one car in my garage and Slim uses the driveway) Yep..junk.

We had hoped to have been out of here 2 months ago...and the interest rates keep going up...that sux. But there are certain things you have to do to make you home sellable....or the banks will not write a loan on it. The only alternative is to give it away to an investor. Also keep in mind that taxes and insurance goes up all the time so don't buy more house than you can afford....find your comfort zone....that way you can still take those vacations....even if you lose your job for a while.

[Rissask]

Originally Posted by Maverick69

I'm only in my 2nd house in 19 years . No plans to move. I own it . Currently renovating the kitchen. Own my cottage at the lake. Therefore I buy condo in PDC! Yeah baby, yeah .

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

[playawannabe]

Originally Posted by Rissask

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

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!