Domania.com In The News

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August 2000
By Nancy A. Herrick

House Beautiful's Home Remodeling & Redecorating

Improve or move?

Should I stay or should I go? It's a question most homeowners have asked themselves: Does it make more sense to stay put and remodel, or to move to a bigger or better house?

One consideration is whether making improvements to your current house will elevate your investment beyond the standards of your neighborhood. For example, if you live in an area of three-bedroom ranch homes, adding a master bedroom suite complete with a sauna may increase your investment beyond what the local market will bear. Recouping the cost may be difficult even years down the road.

To determine local real estate values, and what level of improvement the market will support, consider the following factors:

the assessed value of your home, compared to that of your neighbors' homes. To establish these values, check records at city hall or the assessor's office of your municipality.
the sale prices of houses in your neighborhood. Visit www.domania.com to see recent sale prices for houses on your street (note: not all areas are represented).
a real estate agent's market analysis of your residence. To determine an asking price, the agent will check what is known as "comparables." These are homes that have recently sold or are currently on the market that are similar to yours.

Using these figures, you should be able to tell how the value of your house relates to that of others in your neighborhood. If your house is already valued at the upper end of the market, extensive improvements could drive the price up too high.
Also keep in mind the costs of moving. According to the American Homeowners Foundation, a national nonprofit consumer organization, the average cost of moving is approximately 8 to 10 percent of your current home's resale value. So, for a $200,000 home, the cost of moving may be around $20,000.

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