House or Land?

[kasar]

After building our dream house 3 years ago, we finally felt settled and "home". We love our house - we should - We picked out every paper towel holder, every door knob, every light fixture. The only thing we don't love is our lot. It was the last one in the neighborhood that we wanted so we grabbed it when we had the chance.

Now, the neighbors have decided to sell their house. It's on the best lot (5 acres, tons of trees, backs up to conservation land). We looked at the house last night and while it's really nice, it's not really our style. It's much "grander" than our house, bigger and lots of extras but it's very different from the house we're in now.

We have some serious thinking to do. I'd like to wait a bit and take our chances that it's over priced (which I think it is) and they'll be desperate enough to take our low-ball offer. If we could get it (much more house and land) for the same price as our house I would do it but not at the price right now. I do happen to know that they want to sell quickly. Wish us luck with our decision, whatever it is!

 

[jocon]

My in laws just built there dream house in Halifax, MA in a beautiful neighborhood. They picked out the lot and everything in the house too. This is a tough decision, but would you really want to live next to the new owners of your home? That can pose many many problems....even if the house is in tip top shape. My advice would be to stay where you are and then down the road build again...with the perfect lot of your choosing!

 

[mom2boys]

I'd probabably stay put - especially if it was my dream home that I had painstakingly choosen every detail of. You mentioned the other house isn't really your style. Will your furniture "fit" in the new house or will you have to buy all new stuff?

 

[Rajah]

I'd also stay in the house.

 

[frannn]

That way, you will feel like it was meant to be if you get it. If not, you will still have your wonderful dream house!

 

[FINFAN]

DH always tells me he wants land, not a postage stamp lot. I say, who's gonna take care of the Ponderosa spread while you travel for work? Not to mention the taxes on that little 'ole property.I agree it would be REALLY tough to live next door to you current home that you love...not to mention the new owners possibly making comments about what they like or dislike,hearing changes they may nmake, them bugging you if things go wrong w/the house...hey, it happens. I say take the plans for your current home and start looking for another lot if you really want land. It may not be the same subdivision, but if you really want more land, it'd be worth it.

 

[kasar]

I should have mentioned that in our area there are very few, if any, large lots like this left. Seems like they're squeezing houses into every available piece of dirt around. So, this may be a one time opportunity. The old real estate saying, "the only thing they can't make is more land" is true in this situation.

I feel like we're in a no-lose situation - if we get it, great. If not, we're still happy. I think we're really lucky and if this is our most pressing issue for a while, we're doing pretty good.

My advice would be to stay where you are and then down the road build again...with the perfect lot of your choosing!

While I have no problems with moving again (I actually enjoy moving every couple of years and starting over fresh), I don't think I'd EVER go through building again! LOL!

Will your furniture "fit" in the new house or will you have to buy all new stuff?

It would with some decorating. Most of the changes would be cosmetic but there are a few things that I would want to change eventually. It's a really nice house and it's not like we would be "suffering" too much! LOL

 

[Lisa F]

Personally I would stay put. If you are able to get your neighbor's house that is much larger and on a much larger lot than yours for the same price as your house, that doesn't bode well for property values in your area. I think it's unreasonable to expect that you will be able to upgrade that much without having to pay anything for it, and you can't really have it both ways... you can't buy your neighbor's house for a low price and then expect yours to sell for a high price. If nothing else, whoever buys your current house will have trouble getting it appraised for as much as they buy it for if comparable houses in the neighborhood (ie the one you just bought next door) are appraising for much less (adjusted for size of house and lot, of course).

I guess it's just me, and possibly this is why I will never be rich, but I don't think I would ever be able to want to benefit from someone else's misfortune and outright hope that my neighbors are desperate enough to sell their house for a loss so that I can snap it up at a good price. Presumably they paid more for their lot than you did and they paid more for their larger house than you did for your smaller one so if you bought it for the same price as yours, it would mean that they are losing money on the deal. I love to get a bargain as much as the next person but it would take a lot of the fun out of it if I knew I was getting a bargain at the expense of my neighbor. I guess if the situation actually happened, I would have to think long and hard about whether I took advantage of it, but I don't think I could bring myself to hope for it to happen.

 

[Lewski709]

I'd move if I had kids small, like mine age 5 and 1, who will use the land. We like our house well enough, but the lot is no bigger than a square of toilet paper. It stinks!!!

The taxes won't be much more on the next door place, you have an idea already being there about the cost of taxes and I know if you call the city they will even tell you the current cost.

 

[kasar]

Lisa F: You make some good points but maybe I should clarify. Their house was built about a year and half before ours and in that time property values went through the roof. We paid about as much for our house as they did. We've both made profits - they certainly wouldn't be taking a loss. We're not out to get them - we'll make an offer that we think is fair and they have the option of accepting it or waiting for someone else. At the same time, we'll make our house as attractive as possible in the hopes of getting top dollar (something that they have not done).

In all fairness, I should say that my house is nicer (to me - think Pottery Barn and their's is more L.L. Bean - just as nice but different styles)! Ours has been maintained better and it has some extras that are very desirable right now. Even though it's smaller space wise, it has many things that the other one doesn't have (2nd floor laundry, sprinkler system, central vac, bright open spaces, etc) The value of both houses will, of course, depend on what people want. Again, we're happy here. We're just looking at the land and privacy aspect of this other house as being desirable right now. It probably will never come to pass, but it's fun thinking about it.

The other house: More land and privacy (set back off road with woods in back), more sq. footage (although bedrooms are smaller), backs up to DD's best friend - very important!, darker feel, been a bit neglected (easy enough to fix), more entertaining space, awesome kitchen

Our house: Less land, little privacy, smaller but maybe smarter with the layout (bigger bedrooms, more closet space), bright and airy, all the extras above, it's "our" style, crazy neighbors behind us who drive us nuts (not enough to move away, but still....)

 

[my3kids]

What about investing in the services of a landscape architect and changing the lot you have. The difference a true professional can make can not be underestimated. You can create the view and outdoor living space you desire while staying in the house you love. And, it would be a lot less than the cost of moving. Flip through some landscape design photos like in Sounthern Living. Gorgeous, tree covered, path lined, pond filled, natural habitats....whatever you want can be created.

 

[Lisa F]

Whew, I'm glad you didn't take that the wrong way! I know as a buyer, you tend to focus on different things than a seller. Unfortunately, when houses are being evaluated for worth (for an appraisal or something), the style in which they are decorated and even some of the finish details don't have nearly as much to do with the value of the house as the square footage, number of bedrooms and baths and lot size. Regardless of how "high end" vs. "low end" the decorations are (and even some of the finishes), chances are very good that a house that is larger than yours and on a larger lot will go for more money, regardless of what it cost to originally build the house.

How much land is your house sitting on right now? If that large lot is 5 acres, you must not be on a postage stamp yourself!

A smaller house that is well laid out will always feel more comfortable than a poorly laid out larger house. The size is not nearly as important as many people make it out to be (which seems to contradict what I said above, but unfortunately that's how appraisers look at things). It sounds like you may still have quite a nice sized lot, even if it's half the size of this neighbor's lot. Personally I would never give up a house that was well laid out for my needs for another house for a larger lot, especially if my neighbors are not on top of me... but that's my priority. We can barely afford a house on a 1/4 acre lot where we are looking to buy.

 

[battricia]

If you don't mind my asking, how much land are you talking? And is it at all possible to ask them if you could buy some land from them to add to your lot, instead of buying the whole house and moving? I'm not sure if there is enough land to do that, but if there is it might be an option, and you might be able to offer them a bit more money than what the land is worth, that way they'll be making money on the land they sell you, and the house they sell someone else?

tricia.

 

[doxdogy]

It would be land for me. We are getting ready to sell our house and head up to Yulee to leave on about an acre of land.