How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

Our house is a ranch Levitt (the one you enter through the kitchen). 4 bedrooms (some smaller than others). Small kitchen. Small LR. No DR. 1 garage. No basement. Big 90 x 110 yard.

I am missing a place to eat. The kitchen is really not an EIK but we make shift. The LR is 12 x 16 so we can't put a table in there.

I don't want to convert the garage. Closets are almost inexistent so I need it for storage and resale value.

We could expend the garage on the front and I would think blow out the kitchen too like a few feet. I would take the back of the garage and use that as the DR while still having a garage on the front.

I could also blow out the LR in the back, and extend the house in the backyard.

BEFORE we go into such project, I really want to compare to what is on the market. Same number of bedrooms, LR, garage and my must have i.e. the dining room so I can really compare. Whether it's better for us to move and buy a bigger house or stay and expend. What I could get for my house and how much a bigger house would be. Of course, I would have to take into consideration moving costs, closing costs, etc...

So, how sould I approach a REA? Should I be upfront about the plan? I don't want to waste their time but we could possibly buy another house if we found it was more financially advantageous for us to do so. On the hand, we may found that we should just stay where we are and expend.

Should I even tell my story to the REA? And just act like I want to buy a house?

TIA

Message edited 7/28/2010 12:13:28 PM.

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

IMO, don't tell a REA anything, because they will continue to bother you in hopes of making a sale.

DH and I were knowledgeable on what we wanted and costs involved, so we searched on our own and called REA of a listed house we wanted to see to make an appt.

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

I would be a little vague about it and just tell the REA that you feel that the house you're in now may be too small and you are considering buying something bigger if you can afford it. This gives them an incentive to stay within your price range so they know if you can't afford it you'll just stay where you are now. HTH!

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

with me being in a lot of Levit ranches and seeing the different layouts..

i actually love when the back is blown out so thats where the living room would be.. and the dining room next to the fire place where the living room was.

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

Sophie - if you like your location, I would stay put and blow out the back. Your backyard is huge and it won't take away from it. I also have a great REA if you need a rec.

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

My brother's BIL and SIL recently sold a Levitt ranch in Wantagh- I can do some poking to see what they got for it- I think they were asking $379 at one point. NO garage, and since they have no kids the larger downstairs BR was their dining room. They also had to totally redo the kitchen and bathroom.

Otherwise, I like the idea of extending out the back. At one point we were going to move back to the area and looked at several Levitt ranches where this kind of extension was very nicely done.

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

I wouldn't attempt a move in this market - def go out the back or rework the layout. I am local to you and used a local contractor to recommend. You can do a decent sized room for $30K. For the $$ to move, you are better off taking a home equity loan and raising your mortgage payment and taxes a bit - probably under $300/month.
FM me if you want that info

Re: How would approach this situation with a REA? LONG!!!!

As you know, I have a friend who lives in your exact model home. She did not want a house that had no dining room. The previous owners had converted the larger downstairs bedroom, the one next to the stairs, into a dining room. It looks great and it flows nicely. After several years in the house, my friend recently dormered the upstairs and added a bedroom. She was able to find out from her neighbors which contractors specialize in new layouts for Levitt houses. I can put you in touch with her if you would like. I've often said that you'd like each other!

Do not hesitate to call a real estate broker. Part of their job is to sell you on their services and you are legitimately looking into whether you may want to use their services.