Consider Your Lifestyle, and Forget About Resale...

Houses are not investments--they're homes; places we live, raise families, grow memories. How we live in our homes, how we create our home environments, is something unique and best when consideration for resale value does not drive our creating.  That idea iscontrary to the popular cliche "Think Resale". I believe thinking resale and thinking of homes as investments are two ideas which will fade away in the consumer's new attitude toward home ownership---and that will be healthy.

There are some home buying ideas which will always make sense. These are a couple: Buy within your means. Buy the best location available in the neighborhood you want. Keep your mortgage to 15 or 20 years. Compare properties to the homes that have recently sold to best determine a price to offer.

After that, doing what you want to fit your lifestyle is smart. The more you make the home what you enjoy, the more likely you are to be pleased with the home for a long time. Buying today and resisiting home improvements because you fear the impact on "resale" just means you will live in a house that is not you until something better comes along. The costs of moving up, down, or sideways once factored in more than offset home improvements which somebody might say are not condusive to resale or won't be recouped.

This property in Blackhawk is an exceptional example of what you can do when people start wtih an optimum location, don't overspend, then improve a property for their lifestyle. They took an ordinary home in a special neighborhood, on a spectacular lot, and made the house a home. The houses I like the most are the ones that are designed or renovated for the owners. Size is irrelevant.

This property in DeForest was built for the owners. They raised their children, entertained guests, and enjoyed hobbies from here. The location in the neighborhood is terrific; the yard is mature, and the tranquility is superb.  Price is irrelevant.

Next time you hear "Think About Resale" ask why you should try to design your home for somebody who you have never met, who has never seen your home, and who if they ever do see your home, may not like it anyway. Logic says don't worry about somebody who doesn't exist, and focus on your family, and your lifestyle.