I agonized about writing this post since I try to keep my blog light but the more I thought it about it, the more I knew that someone out in blog land would have the same situation and maybe some advise for me.
A couple of weeks ago I checked Zillow.com, a real estate website that lists suggested appraisal values for homes along with real estate listings and I was shocked to see that my house value dropped again to an all time low.
According to Zillow, in the past three years my house value has dropped 30%. It's really a sick feeling to know that I'm paying a mortgage on an asset that depreciating faster than a car value. When I purchased my house some years ago I saved my hard earned money by cutting out the non essentials and putting down a sizable down payment. Now all the money I invested is gone and I'm now underwater. It really hurt to write that.
I know countless people are in the same situation but it is still a SUCKY situation. It seems like my house value will probably take a long time to even get back to the value it was three years ago. So for the past weeks I've been mad at my house, yup I've been upset at my house aka the money pit for weeks.
I know I've rambled on but here's my current issue, do I sink money into a house that's losing value by the minute or only do routine maintenance? I seriously have a couple of rooms that are begging for a renovation. Would I be throwing good money after bad or it is worth it to remodel during this housing crisis.
Hi Michelle! I'm sorry to hear about your dilemma. I've been in the same situation myself. Is this your forever home or is it just an investment? If it's your forever home and you're in it for the long haul then I say go for the renovations! You've done a beautiful job decorating and I'm amazed at your budget (wow!). If you bought your home solely as an investment and don't plan on staying long, I would keep the renovations to a minimum and wait for the value to go up again-it will with time. Hang in there.
ReplyDeleteHi Angela, I really don't think this is my forever home but I do see myself here for many more years. When I bought it I really didn't see it as an investment but that was before the value plummeted and reality kicked me in the butt. :( I'm trying not to be one of homeowners who over improves for the neighborhood. Decisions, decisions. Thanks for the advise, Angela, I have to really start digging deep to find deals to make sure I don't spend too much money.
ReplyDeleteYou are right. It really sucks. Our home value dropped 30% as of last fall and my husband and I decided to just sell it. We lost our butts on it, but we couldn't wait like sitting ducks as it continued to plummet. Especially since we purchased in a very nice part of town, and people were buying the same house as us for so much less than we did. We decided to buy a condo in town, and it really has been the best decision we ever made!
ReplyDeleteAmanda, I wish I could sell mine. I'm really happy that you were able to buy a condo and sell your house. There are foreclosure houses in my town that's now selling for $100K less that the value of the other homes, it's really a bad situation.
ReplyDeleteOh, I really loved your remodeling article, it was great.