need to upgrade our house

Hi!

I was looking foe advice regarding moving to a bigger house or trying to add an extension or dormer.

We bought our house when the market was much higher (of course!) and we still owe 300,000 on the mortgage. We need a bigger house now that we are expecting our 3rd. child.

We aren't sure what our house is actually worth right now. We need advice from a professional. So who do you talk to first? A real estate agent? A mortgage broker? Where do you begin??


TIA!

Re: need to upgrade our house

I would first talk to a real estate agent to find out (roughly) what your home would likely sell for in today's market. A realtor who knows your area can show you information comparable homes in your neighborhood that have sold in the past few months, and can help you figure out where your home fits in.

You may want to talk to a few agents, since valuing a home does have a subjective component. Real estate agents are often asked to provide CMAs, or comparative market analyses, which is what you would want. They do it as complimentary service in the hopes of getting future business.

Once you have an idea of what your home is worth, you will know whether it's even possible to sell. You may have equity in the house, but if you bought high, you may have to take a loss. And then you would need to figure out if you could bring money to the closing table to satisfy your debt to the bank and pay the fees involved, or whether you'd need to do a short sale (if you even qualify for one).

If you decide you can't or don't want to sell, then I would get estimates for the work you want to do (dormering or extensions), and then figure out how you can pay for it, which again, may depend on whether you have any equity in the house.

Where are you located? I would be happy to do a CMA for you... FM me or feel free to contact me directly ([email protected] or 516-587-7618) if you want to talk to me about your situation more offline.

Re: need to upgrade our house

I would talk with a realtor. The thing I would think about is will renovating your current home over price it for the market when you want to sell. I am in a similar position as we purchased our home in 05. I completely feel for you. I would think about taking a loss on your current home to get a larger home at a better price.

Re: need to upgrade our house

Thanks for the advice, We are in East Islip.

I want to move to a larger home with less work needed. My husband wants to stay and renovate, but I think it will put us way over the neighborhood price. I need an expert to explain that!

Re: need to upgrade our house

Ugh I feel your pain!!

We had a realtor come in (Beth, who is a vendor on here, and I would def recommend her!!).

We also got quotes for an extension and looked at some houses to compare what we could buy. We still have time to decide so we are going to wait until next year but we are leaning towards and extension. Mainly bc we have a huge property that we won't get if we move and we love our neighborhood. Also after we are done our house will be exactly how we want.

And don't forget to factor in closing costs for sale and purchase!

Eta; it's good to think about over building- for us most of the neighborhood has extensions and if we do an extension it's our forever home anyway.

Message edited 1/22/2012 8:37:05 PM.

Re: need to upgrade our house

We too have a very large piece of property. But the house needs at least 3 big reno jobs to be what we need. A dormer, a first floor extension and the basement needs to be finished. Its just so small, on a giant piece of property. I just don't think I can even live through all those jobs and honestly, wouldn't it be cheaper to move? Those jobs are huge costs I'm guessing. $200G+?? right?

Re: need to upgrade our house

I would be happy to sit down and talk to you guys about your options

I work in the area- my office is in smithtown

FM me and we can set up an appointment

Re: need to upgrade our house

You're a great candidate for the List it or Love it show. :D

I would get an appraisal from an agent (free!) and tally how much it cost to renovate to get it to the level you want of the new home...

If your current home is worth 300k now, and it cost 200k to get your home to the level of the new home (say worth 600k) that you're eying, then it makes sense to stay and renovate. You'll be saving 100k. :)

Re: need to upgrade our house