Buy a new house or keep this one?

I'll just throw in the 2 cents of a guy who has been around death lately and likes doing things that make him happy:

There's something to be said for loving where you live. You're going to spend a lot of time there. I'd rather be happy to come home to a nice comfy spot with creature comforts that make life more enjoyable (bigass garage if you like to wrench, nice kitchen if you like to cook, etc.,) than a place that sucks and is too small, all so I can brag to my friends about how much scratch (that I never plan on spending) I have in my bank account.

I don't think I'll be sitting on my death bed going "You know, I really regret not staying in that 2 bedroom thousand square foot E36 M3hole where the kids were constantly at each others' throats and I had to wrench on cars outside."

YMMV. Just food for thought. You'll not often find me spending lots of money on junk, but if it's something I'm going to see/experience/live with every day, a few extra dollars a month is money well spent.

poopshovel wrote: I'll just throw in the 2 cents of a guy who has been around death lately and likes doing things that make him happy:

QFT.

Remember the past. Plan for tomorrow. Live for today.

In many ways, the secret to happiness is finding a way to balance these three.

z31maniac wrote: I may have made us sound miserable in our current house, but it's more like annoyed. And then more annoyance comes when we know we could have more.

I am the one who used the word "misery". Mostly for dramatic effect.

But annoyed doesn't sound too fun either.

z31maniac wrote: ^I think with the bathroom remodel, we'd break even after associated costs. We'd only keep this house as rental if we stayed here long enough to pay it off, then use the income from it to help offset a newer, nicer home. Curmudgeon, unfortunately $145k wouldn't quite get what we want. Our ultimate neighborhodd to build in would likely cost us $250-260k, 1 acre lots, min sq ft requirements, etc. It would be "affordable" given reasonable standards, but we just don't want to spend quite THAT much.

Oh, I understand that. I was just pointing out that (IMHO) you would be better off in the long run to head for a different neighborhood with more expensive houses rather than to put the same amount into a house in a neighborhood of less expensive houses. You'll come out ahead in the long run and that's what SVreX is saying also.

poopshovel pointed out another very important aspect: livability. That's important for something you will have to look at and live in every day. I have not had the 'pleasure' of experiencing it, but to buy a house and in five years hate the damn thing is just not a good move.

You had me at Ferrari. Do that plan, whatever it is.

F355, black wheels, some Challenge parts, GRM-style mods mixed in... I demand to know what you are waiting on. I expect updates immediately if not sooner.

We just did this last year. Our old house had some things we didn't like (sloping lot, small back yard, and no garage), and the location wasn't ideal. We had remodeled the entire house, but any addition would have required moving the septic and variances, and the neighborhood wouldn't have supported the addition from a resale perspective.

We'd been saving for the move for the last five years and finally had enough saved to pull the trigger. We sold our old house in May, moved in with the in-laws for a few months, and then moved here in August. Not a day goes by that I don't say, "I'm so thankful for this house and are so glad we moved."

Provided you can swing it financially (and it sounds like you can), I'd give looking for a new place serious consideration!

P.S. And I was especially thankful tonight to be replacing a bad ignition coil in my garage instead of outside in the 30 degree weather

Thanks for all the input folks.

I spoke with the sales guy in our ideal neighborhood build, some good info. Going to meet with him maybe this weekend or next week and go over everything and make sure we really want to go forward with it.

If not, we will likely look for a larger, older home that has been nicely remodeled in a desireable neighborhood.