< Return to Talk
06.03.20, 12:12 PM General Topics
37 replies
Seeking real estate advice. We've outgrown our current home and are looking to buy a house between 2500-3500 sq ft in the town we already live in. In our town, 1.3M gets you a house that hasn't had updates to the kitchen or bathrooms since the 40s. Renovated houses are closer to 1.8M. we can afford 1.8M but it feels like a huge amount of $$$ for a moderate-sized house. Would you buy a unrenovated house and do the work yourself or buy one in move in condition for a lot more $? Dh and I both work stressful jobs, have 2 school aged kids, and he is getting an MA nights. I feel like a renovation would be incredibly stressful. [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 06.03.20, 12:12 PM Flag
 

Dear UrbanBaby community,

Thank you so much for being a valued member of the UrbanBaby community. We wanted to inform you that we are shutting down the site on July 6th. We are grateful for your participation and support that has helped make UrbanBaby such an important resource to parents for many years.

If you have any questions or concerns, you can email us at urbanbaby-support@cbsinteractive.com.

Thanks so much,

UrbanBaby Support

»
Based on what you described, buy move in. It's not worth the stress doing the renovation yourself. $1.8 mil seems a lot for a moderate size house but if that's the price range in your area, you will be able to sell at the same range in the future. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 12:16 PM Flag
»
In my world we’d be moving to another town. But it doesn’t sound like you’d want to live with the renovation mess and you’d have to pay for all the work to be done. Expensive and stressful. Ante up more money. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 12:42 PM Flag
»
I would happily move to another town but I don't want to uproot the kids. Also, my parents live 5 min away. The other option is just staying put in the house we bought for $70k 10 years ago. It is not updated but it is liveable and it will feel bigger when my oldest goes to college in 5 years. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 01:05 PM Flag
»
Correction: 700k! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 01:06 PM Flag
»
Can you do renovations there that make it a better fit? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 01:19 PM Flag
»
Hmmm. How small is the house? How old are you? Will the house work when you’re empty nesters? 5 years is going to fly by. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 01:41 PM Flag
»
We are both 49. Dds 13 and 10. Current house is 2200 sq ft, 1 full bath, 1/2 bath, tiny, tiny closets. 1 bath is challenging w a teen and preteen girl. We don't really want to renovate this old house on a tiny lot. We will likely move out of this very expensive burb w excellent public schools when last kids is out (10-12 years). [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:07 PM Flag
»
np. Is there a way to add one bath? That will improve your lives quite a lot and the resale value of the house. Buying a house just for 8 years seems wasteful. Also, it seems yours is on the lower end of an expensive suburb, these are in short supply and it may be easier to resell. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:14 PM Flag
»
We would likely hold a new house for 10 years to give youngest a place to come home to the first couple of years of college. Is owning a house for 10 years wasteful? Looked it up and average length of home ownership is 8 years. It is true that our house is very desirable bc of its "low" price point of approx 1M. We could add a full bath in the basement. Not much room anywhere else. And our "cozy" kitchen is from the 1940s. Moving just seems much easier than renovating but I guess I have a hard time spending the $$$. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:32 PM Flag
»
It all depends on your financial situation and only you know how that purchase affects you. Just plan for different scenarios - prices falling down, how much of a hit can you take? Can you stay there while your kids are in college if selling doesn't make sense? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:47 PM Flag
»
Ok, 10-12 years to live cramped is hard. I understand why you’re considering moving. It’s just that $1.3-1.8 million dollars just sounds like a big spend right now. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:29 PM Flag
»
OP: yes, I think you are right. For now we will stay put and watch the market. I will spend any extra time I have getting rid of anything and everything we no longer need and use, which will help with the tiny closet situation and our overall sanity. That way if we do move in 6 month or a year, the whole process of selling and buying will be much easier. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:57 PM Flag
»
I was just going to say that too :) Do a big kondo, comprehensive house cleaning. Lighten the clutter and possession burden. Repaint the entire house. Keep your eye on the RE market. You have a really nice budget to jump on a house if you see one you loooove. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:36 PM Flag
»
also, you can have custom closets and shelving built. do a real evaluation of your space and add storage wherever you can. consider hooks for coats and bags too. we have several and it really makes a difference. we did tall built-ins in our dining area and then had a custom table made that's narrower than normal to accommodate the built-in. this wasn't free, but it's way cheaper than moving. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 12:19 AM Flag
»
Stay unless you really want a larger house even after DC's are in college. I've done a bathroom remodel myself and had my kitchen remodeled. It's a lot of work and is stressful. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:14 PM Flag
»
Renovations are stressful. Depending upon what needs to be done, you may not be able to stay in the house. Its noisy, dusty, power and water may need to be shut off at times, and you have other people in your home. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 12:46 PM Flag
»
Spending 1.8 million at age 49? Ugh, I do t like it. Will your property taxes increase dramatically? It just seems like a huge expense too close to retirement age. You have a 2200 sq foot house, that’s not small. I’d spend $100k to update kitchen and add another bath. Ask around to find a designer who can help you with issues like closets and updating./refreshing your home. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:56 PM Flag
»
+1 sound huge to me. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:36 PM Flag
»
If the town is good and in demand then I would just spend the $1.8 if it gets you what you want, think of it in terms of what other things cost not that it is a moderate house. And I don't think houses this size are "moderate", why would you really need more than 3500? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 02:58 PM Flag
»
Op: I only mean it is moderate for this town which has many grand older homes and erormous new builds which take up the whole lot. I have zero interest in owning a huge house. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:30 PM Flag
»
Which is good bc those big houses are between 2.5-3M [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:33 PM Flag
»
np. If that's the price spread in your town, I would think even a 1.8mm house is a good investment. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 04:12 PM Flag
»
Op: I agree. I think a well laid out house if 2500-3000 sq ft is ideal. DH is all about ""value" which means he wants a lot of house for his money. So he's excited about bigger, more impressive looking houses that need work. That sounds like a nightmare to me. We did see one 2800 sq ft 1.5M house that I thought was perfect from the outside. Beautiful renovated kitchen. But no main floor bathroom, no tub, and master bath. For 1.5M I feel like that's too much to do without. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 09:02 PM Flag
»
No master bath and no bath for a $1.5M home is big no. I say go with a fully renovated home under $1.8M. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 01:17 AM Flag
»
a 3,000 sq foot house is enormous. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:35 PM Flag
»
I would buy a house to renovate but then outsource to a good architect/interior designer and general contractor. You will still end up ahead and you will get exactly what you want in the house, rather than having to live with someone else's renovation plus pay a premium for it. I live in a similar kind of neighborhood and we chose to buy older and renovate. I wasn't working at the time so I was very hands on with the builder, but if you don't have time you can delegate. Renovations are stressful but it is temporary and then you have your dream house afterwards. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:03 PM Flag
»
No to renovations when you have a family and need to live there. There’s a reason why renovations are at a premium and there’s very few people that can do it and profit (usually those that are DYI and already work in construction and also have another place to live). [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 03:49 PM Flag
»
What "town" is this? Los Angeles? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 05:43 PM Flag
»
UMC Boston burb [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 06:30 PM Flag
»
Which house is in the better location? [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 08:25 PM Flag
»
We are only considering houses that our walkable to town, school, library, and the commuter rail. Those neighborhoods are pretty comparable. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.03.20, 09:03 PM Flag
»
You'll get a better return on the home you update yourself but it will cause stress. No one can tell you if you are up for that project or not. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 12:08 AM Flag
»
don't do the renovation. we did a bunch of updates to our new construction condo for a couple of months prior to moving in and it was so so much work. moving is stressful enough without a total renovation. of course, even in the 1.8M home, you might want to change things, so I'm wondering if you can find something in the middle where you do some work, but not tons. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 12:16 AM Flag
»
If you have stressful job then I wouldn’t do a renovation. It takes double the time of the estimate they give you. I’d find a house that you like well enough that’s move in ready and buy that. I would only do the renovation if one of you have a flexible job and have a lot of time on your hands. It’s just too stressful otherwise. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 12:40 AM Flag
»
This! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 03:17 AM Flag
»
Why is no one putting this in terms of financials? It's all relative. For some $500K is out of reach, for some $5mm is fine. OP doesn't say their income and free cash flow. Even $1.8mm can be reasonable depending on income. So if it that is not a stretch, sure buy a home that is more comfortable. [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 01:42 PM Flag
»
I'm kind of stuck on the fact that OP "outgrew" a 2200 sq ft house. I have about that size and 2 school age kids and it's plenty of room! [ Reply | More
]
General Topics 06.04.20, 02:50 PM Flag
Refresh » New Post »
Select Category
close [X]

close [X]

Select a Category (only 1)

category
Stages
Regions