Buying A Home
leighks1
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Time to move?
I bought a house 9 years ago when I was single. I love it and it's a great 1 person house! My husband and I got married last year, and as much as I love the house, it's a little small for 2 people. My main concerns are there is only 1 bathroom, and when we host our families for holidays/ get togethers, everyone has to smooth into the small living room or kitchen. The house is in really good shape, but there are some things I would like to do, such as update the kitchen and bathroom, finish the basement, enlarge the driveway to accommodate 2 cars. These things would be nice, but we have so far managed to live without them. If we put $ into the house to do that, we would continue to live here. My husband likes it here and says he wouldn't mind staying, but I'm ready for a change. I'm indecisive because I have an emotional attachment to the home it has become, it's in a great suburban location, and the neighbors are for the most part great- but- we are in our late 30's, and if we move I don't want to take out a mortgage that we pay with our social security checks! I would like a larger place with more room and I've always wanted a little bit of land for some chickens maybe and a huge garden. Any advise on how to decide when it's time to move? Btw we are not planning on having kids, so that's not a factor in the decision. Thanks!
Re: Time to move?
My Aunt & Uncle bought a small house, and the house grew as their family did. Originally about 1,000 square feet, it is now over 2,000 and on a double lot (and that doesn't include the boat barn, carport, or greenhouse/studio space he built). But even listing the price low for the massive size of the house/yard, being surrounded by small & cheap houses is making it very difficult for him to sell. His particular experience with over improving his house for the neighborhood is a bit extreme. Finishing a basement seems like a much more reasonable upgrade than doubling the actual size of the house (he also added a bathroom....so that's an option if you really want a second). Plus, if you do decide to sell far down the road, it is possible that some of your neighbors will decided to make similar upgrades (although, it's not guaranteed).
If you do decide to stay in your current house and upgrade it, make sure that the upgrades are things that you really want. You won't recoup the costs of expansions or improvements, so make sure you're doing it for you to enjoy & live in. My Aunt & Uncle loved and used every square inch of their house, and even though they're having a hard time selling, I don't think they regret it. The only reason why they have to sell is because they're getting too old to take care of such a big house, so they're downgrading.
You really won't know what your options are until you start looking for your potential "dream" home. Whether or not you are even able to find your perfect house with permission for chickens, 2 bathrooms, hosting space, and in your price range will be a big deciding factor on your Stay or Go dilemma.