We moved into the house we're at now and have been here for a year. We replaced all the carpet, floors in kitchen and master bedroom, repainted the entire house, new gutters, water heater, and other various things that needed fixed. We got a good deal on the house due to all the remodeling that need done. The garage will only hold two small cars such as my Fiero and Z24, her Aztek will not fit ( it's too tall ). There are some little things that are kind of annoying like the pine trees with all the needles getting into the gutters not to mention the pine cones that constantly need to be picked up before mowing, but the neighborhood is established ( 30+ years old ) and the neighbors are quiet, but nice. No heavy traffic, the school is less than ten minutes away, and I can ride my bike to work to save gas and money.

Here's the other situation:

The house we might/could trade for is in my father-in-laws neighborhood. In fact, it's right next door. The house has been a rental for the past eight years and is a wreck. Its a shame because it is a really nice home. It is however 300+sq ft less than my current home, but has some major perks to make up for it. To start it has a huge two car attached garage with work benches, shelves, and a storage space above the garage that spans the entire length of the house. Yard is land scaped very nice and has a banana tree beside the back deck. Long front porch and the house is also brick like mine. It has an even bigger detached garage for ME with all kinds of storage above. The yard is nice and flat where mine is sloped.

One small other drawback is..........the neighbor next door. I met him yesterday and he's one of those that nitpick others around him. I don't see myself getting along with this guy too much.

Before we moved where we are now I was majorly hesitant to do so due to it being in a "community" type area. I was raised in the country where you couldn't hit the next house with a rock. So far so good with this area that I'm in. Though my father-in-law's area is very quiet I'm still not sure to procede with the possible swap.

Paul

quote Originally posted by kyunderdawg: We moved into the house we're at now and have been here for a year. We replaced all the carpet, floors in kitchen and master bedroom, repainted the entire house, new gutters, water heater, and other various things that needed fixed. We got a good deal on the house due to all the remodeling that need done. The garage will only hold two small cars such as my Fiero and Z24, her Aztek will not fit ( it's too tall ). There are some little things that are kind of annoying like the pine trees with all the needles getting into the gutters not to mention the pine cones that constantly need to be picked up before mowing, but the neighborhood is established ( 30+ years old ) and the neighbors are quiet, but nice. No heavy traffic, the school is less than ten minutes away, and I can ride my bike to work to save gas and money. Here's the other situation: The house we might/could trade for is in my father-in-laws neighborhood. In fact, it's right next door. The house has been a rental for the past eight years and is a wreck. Its a shame because it is a really nice home. It is however 300+sq ft less than my current home, but has some major perks to make up for it. To start it has a huge two car attached garage with work benches, shelves, and a storage space above the garage that spans the entire length of the house. Yard is land scaped very nice and has a banana tree beside the back deck. Long front porch and the house is also brick like mine. It has an even bigger detached garage for ME with all kinds of storage above. The yard is nice and flat where mine is sloped. One small other drawback is..........the neighbor next door. I met him yesterday and he's one of those that nitpick others around him. I don't see myself getting along with this guy too much. Before we moved where we are now I was majorly hesitant to do so due to it being in a "community" type area. I was raised in the country where you couldn't hit the next house with a rock. So far so good with this area that I'm in. Though my father-in-law's area is very quiet I'm still not sure to procede with the possible swap. Paul

I don't know that I can help you make your decision, but here's some things you should consider:

1 - What is the value of your home, compared with the value of the home you're considering trading for?

2 - What is the potential growth value of the new home, versus the home you're considering trading for?

3 - What kind of schools are in the area of your home, versus the ones in the area of the other home?


These are all things you might want to consider.

For example, in 10 years, the home you have now MIGHT be worth nearly twice what it's worth now, while the home you're considering trading into... might have grown little if any value.

You have to think long-term with homes, and a lot of people don't do this. That's why so many people are in the situation that they're in now. They bought really high with no concept of what the neighborhood might do in the future.

The school is really good and she can walk to it. The value of the homes so far in each area are roughly the same. They are going between $135,000-$160,000. We got ours so cheap because of all the renovation work that needed to be done. Where we are now it is three minutes from Wal-Mart and another five to eight from the main parts of town in either direction. Over there it's just a few minutes longer drive.

Edit: Our home is a two bedroom w/two full bath and a large den w/beautiful cherry built in cabinetry that runs 3/4 of the way down one side. The other is a three room, two full bath with all of the storage I mentioned. I might see a problem selling my house in the future. Not many people will want a two bedroom home.

[This message has been edited by kyunderdawg (edited 07-06-2013).]

You've already mentioned one neighbor you might not like. How well do you get along with your father-in-law?

Will that relationship withstand constant contact? For years?

You've posted this as "trading houses", but also mention possible difficulties selling your current house. So, you're not actually trading are you? Just moving? But, yes, a two bedroom house will be a more difficult sale than a three bedroom.

I assume you can do ALL the renovations and repairs yourself? Including any you haven't seen yet? And have factored in the cost and disturbance to your family?

At least you haven't made the mistake of buying a ONE-bathroom house, like I did.

quote Originally posted by Zeb: You've already mentioned one neighbor you might not like. How well do you get along with your father-in-law? Will that relationship withstand constant contact? For years? You've posted this as "trading houses", but also mention possible difficulties selling your current house. So, you're not actually trading are you? Just moving? But, yes, a two bedroom house will be a more difficult sale than a three bedroom. I assume you can do ALL the renovations and repairs yourself? Including any you haven't seen yet? And have factored in the cost and disturbance to your family? At least you haven't made the mistake of buying a ONE-bathroom house, like I did.

I get along great with my father-in-law and always have.

I posted "trading houses" because it might go that way. Its up to the owner of the house being rented. He has two other homes in that area as rental property and has talked about selling one or two of them. Just don't know if it's going to be this one. The other homes don't have the perks this one does though.

We can do almost all renovation that needs to be done to it, but the fact that both houses are close to the same value, I would ask him to replace the nasty carpet and heating unit. The rest is a cake walk to me. Not to mention all of the work and money we've put into this house......he wouldn't have to do anything to mine.

The trade would make it easier on us for a possible future sale of ours. I'll admit our home is a strange set-up, but it works very well for us since it is only my wife, daughter, and I.