love it or list it situation

Has anyone gone through a love it or list situation?
My DH and I bought our house about 10 yeras ago. It is a high ranch and before kids most of the 1st floor was an apt that we rented out.
Once our family grew we decided to take over the whole house.
I would like to fix up the apartment and make it a really nice family room leaving the kitchen but maybe opening it up and having it more like a bar area.
DH feel sthe layout of the house doesn't work for us and wants to sell.
We are at total opposite points of view and can't seem to come to any conclusion.

Re: love it or list it situation

I am personally not a fan of the high ranch setup. It's definitely a personal preference but when house shopping (for the 2nd time around) there were a ton on the market and we chose not to see them. I preferred the extra living area on the main floor.

Re: love it or list it situation

This is really just a matter of personal home style taste.

My mom hated her high ranch from the moment they bought it. They disliked that the bedrooms were on the main level and not up and away from the common areas. There wasn't a dedicated master bath either which bothered her. I'm not a fan of that home style myself, it just wouldn't work for me and my family.

We currently have a one level ranch that I hate. I never ever wanted a ranch, I always wanted two stories. No matter what we do to this house it never fix the essential problem I have with it which is, it's a ranch. We hope to sell sometime in the near future.

Message edited 2/12/2018 4:04:25 PM.

Re: love it or list it situation

I agree. It was not my first choice either but when we were buying it worked at the time. It gave us an income and it was just us so we didn't need a lot of space.
I just feel like we haven't experienced our house the way it could be used if we fixed it a little.
Right now, the downstairs is one big room with a kitchen and bathroom off of it.
We did take down one wall that had made the bedroom separate.
It is still old though with paneling and carpet.
I think that if we sheet rocked and put wood flooring it would feel more of a family room and my DC would want to hang out there.

Re: love it or list it situation

A lot of my clients face this issue. My best advice would be to gather information, so you are dealing with facts when making your decision about whether it makes sense to move.

Look into issues like:

1) How much could you get for your current home? (You can consult with a realtor, I'd be happy to help!)

2) What are the cost of the renovations you want to do? (In your case, they sound fairly easy to do, given that you would be dealing with an existing space and really just doing a cosmetic update)

3) What type of home would you need and want? Are such homes available in your desired area? Can you afford them?

4) What are the costs (both monetary and non-monetary... stress, inconvenience) of moving?

5) What doesn't your husband like about your current home? Are they temporary issues (like kids are small and don't get much use out of downstairs, but maybe it will work great in a few years when they are older)? Or permanent issues (he wants a one level house, or the rooms are too small, etc.)?

Re: love it or list it situation

But to answer your question we have been in the situation. We had a ranch with a full basement, so, similar to a high ranch. We wanted more living space on the main level and no matter which way we sliced out the main floor just wasn't big enough.. We went from a 1600 sq ft ranch + 800 sq ft basement to an almost 3000 sq ft house with the main living areas on the main floor which is what we wanted. That's was the decision for us!! Good luck!

Re: love it or list it situation

We had a similar situation. We loved our neighbors but we didn't love the house. We had a few architects come and and the cost to do what we wanted outweighed the benefits so we opted to move. Best decision. We are so much happier in our new house. Plus, I don't think we could have made it through renovations, it's a messy business.

Re: love it or list it situation

in this market i would LOVE IT because it will be easy to sell your house but HORRIBLE TO BUY.

this is the situation we are in !