DH and I like the house and neighbourhoon where we live now. But, we bought the house knowing that it needed work and that we would cash out and move when we were done.
I'd say we're 50-75% done the upgrades. So far we've upgraded the electrical service and box, replaced our old furnace and air conditioner with new high efficiency models, updated the bathrooms and painted the main space and replaced the broken stove and dish washer.
If we stay here, I could find projects each year for us to do for a while. But, there comes a time when the renos start to be your own taste and might not translate to a higher sale price. I think we're at a good spot now that with some "minor" upgrades (more electrical work, kitchen paint and counters, refinish the floor in one room, new front door, staging) we could sell and make a great return.
So, we've started to look for houses. There have been a few houses that have come up for sale near our favourite neighbourhood in our price range, but these have sold quick and for well over asking price.
Last week we decided to look outside our desired neighbourhood but still within city limits to see what we could get for the same price elsewhere. We found a house that looks great on paper and in the pictures posted with the ad, so we're going to take a look tonight. It's got a lot more features than we have now which would be awesome, but the old adage location, location, location is holding us back.
We've pulled the recent sales report for the street and found out that even though the asking price of the home seems reasonable in today's market, it's well above the other sales in the neighbourhood. I would find it rude to ask for the price drop necessary to get the house to market value. If we love the house, we'll deal with the awkwardness as it comes. If we're not 100%, I think we'll let someone else step up to haggle or pay the big bucks.
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