upgrading home in 5-7 years- make improvements or put toward new home?

[SMKR]

Depends on the neighborhood. If you live in a fairly new neighborhood that has new houses still being built, then save your money. If its an older already established neighborhood, then i would put some of it in the house but not all. Maybe work on a few of the bad areas (such as outdated kitchen, bathroom, etc) and save some of your money.

home was built in 1997 in the front of the subdivision, but now it has expanded and although there are not any new homes being built, the back o the division has 2-3 year old homes.

putting the 20k toward principle now will save him money... but with out knowing the balance, length of loan left and interest rate there is no way of knowing how up....

just did a 30 yr re-fi for 4.6% 2 months ago
balance is $230,200

There's a lot of factors involved in this decision. What's the house worth now? Is it "liveable"? If you spend $20k, will it look like you did in 7 years? Some things can be totally outdated in 7 years.

on the tax rolls for $261k
yes, very liveable, just builders carpet still, 1997 kitchen, and no backyard but a concrete patio.

Depends where you live and the age of your 'hood.

Personally I would update the kitchen (not a $20K update) and just put the extra cash in some sort of CD or high interest account that you can touch in 5 years.

It's a decent neighborhood in west flower mound. Our home is definitely one of the lowest valued homes in the neighborhood if thats a good thing.

[Vertnut]

Carpet won't look new in 7 years. An updated kitchen should still be OK in 7 years. People love outdoor features when looking at purchasing a home, because they envision themselves spending time there. Whatever you decide to do, you will enjoy it for 5-7 years. I wouldn't call any ot it a "waste".

[Lone Sailor]

If you know you're going to sell it in 5-7 years then I would hang on to it, just as SVT Lurch has recommendation.

[FATHERFORD]

Wife and I are fighting this decision right now. We are wanting to move, but can't find the house we want already built. We could build, but I Don't like the idea of my house note being more then a 1/5 of our budget(right now currently sitting at 1/10). Our current house is a 1997 house, and for the most part does everything we want it to do. We are thinking about doing some more modern updates in the kitchen, such as new counters, doing some back patio/sidewalk work, and I might build an outdoor kitchen. This won't add a lot of value to the house, but when we do sell it will be a huge selling factor to make our house stand out.

[Lone Sailor]

Wife and I are fighting this decision right now. We are wanting to move, but can't find the house we want already built. We could build, but I Don't like the idea of my house note being more then a 1/5 of our budget(right now currently sitting at 1/10). Our current house is a 1997 house, and for the most part does everything we want it to do. We are thinking about doing some more modern updates in the kitchen, such as new counters, doing some back patio/sidewalk work, and I might build an outdoor kitchen. This won't add a lot of value to the house, but when we do sell it will be a huge selling factor to make our house stand out.

What happened to this house?

http://www.dfwmustangs.net/forums/showthread.php?t=18371

Wasn't really looking to move(was even about to put 50k into my current house), but found this gem. The house was built in the 70's, and has the wood paneling and crappy bathrooms to prove it. It was an estate sale that has been sitting empty since last november. I ended up making a DFWMustang low ball offer (well under 100k off asking price) and they took it. This will be a solid 5-10 year project, and another $100k worth of work for me to get it they way I want it, but it is a great foundation to build my dream home.

Specs:
3 acres
4000 sqft
5 car garage
30x50 metal building/motor home cover

Living: 15x18
Den: 21x24
Dining: 13x19
Kitchen: 11x12
Breakfast: 6x7
1st Bed: 18x15
2nd Bed: 13x13
3rd Bed: 11x13
4th Bed: 11x13
Study/Library/Mud Room: 9x11
Extra Room: 30x34
Utility Room Dim: 6x7


First order of business before the wife and I even move in is to redo the master bathroom, kitchen, and paint the wood paneling walls.

The well house needs to be rebuilt, and fix the sag in the 5 car garage. The sag in the garage is because the previous owner just built the support 2 inches shorter then the rest! Nothing a bottle jack and a new support can't fix.

the house/garage just had it's entire foundation stabalized with a lifetime warrenty.

Then it's just "little" stuff here and there.

[FATHERFORD]

What happened to this house?

http://www.dfwmustangs.net/forums/sh...ad.php?t=18371

At final inspection...pipes started bursting in the walls etc. The house sitting empty in the country for nearly a year did some damage that could not be easily seen.

Sucks, but oh well.

[Lone Sailor]

At final inspection...pipes started bursting in the walls etc. The house sitting empty in the country for nearly a year did some damage that could not be easily seen.

Sucks, but oh well.

Ah, better safe than sorry. Good luck on your search for another.

[majorownage]

1. Put your 20k in gold.
2. ???
3. Profit

[Vertnut]

At final inspection...pipes started bursting in the walls etc. The house sitting empty in the country for nearly a year did some damage that could not be easily seen.

Sucks, but oh well.

This is a big problem with foreclosures...unforeseen issues that cost more than you can save on the purchase price. Out where I am, septic systems that sit idle for years, need MAJOR repairs and even replacement.

[Real Estate Nate]

wife and I want to upgrade to a bigger/newer home in 5-7 years and are wondering if it is better to take a budget of $20k and put it toward updating our current home to increase the resell value or keep it and put it toward a down payment on the home we purchase a few years down the road- which would you do?

Does your wife cook well?

[KBScobravert]

We just did the outdoor living area/kitchen thing. It was worth it to us.

If you are going to be there for 7 years, I would put this $20k in the house and resave it later. That said withstanding you have zero debt and enough saved to cover expenses should you find yourself unemployed or other unforeseen disaster.