Cross one off the list

Since my last post the move or renovate debate has continued.  The holidays put a big slow down on the decision since we weren't going to spend the money then.  Now that the doldrums of winter are upon us, we're ready to get talking again.

Remember it took us 5 years to find a bedroom set we liked.  This is a house we're talking about, so I think we are moving at lighting speed.

Matt called the bank yesterday to talk about construction loans.  What steps are necessary in obtaining a construction loan?  He summarized that it was a chicken and egg situation.  You need specific architectural plans drawn up that the bank will use to create an appraisal of the final product.  That appraisal determines your loan amount.  The bank would give us 70% of the appraisal value.  That sounds all well and good, except that we still have a mortgage to subtract from the 70%.  The caveat becomes that we could spend the money with an architect to draw up the plans, but the bank might not give us the money we need to fulfill those plans.  That's a lot of money for a carrot on a stick that we'll never get.

Now that we know a renovation is off the table we are left with move option.  I suppose that's a good idea since we loathe our neighbors and don't need their grossness bringing down our home value.

Should we move within our current neighborhood?  That would keep M at her school and with her friends.

Should we move within our current city?  We love our community and have put down roots with the park district and library.

Should we move to another state?  We could find a house that is bigger than our current one for less money that might give me the opportunity to try my hand at the stay-at-home-mom gig.  Matt just needs airport proximity to do his job.

We are talking with a Realtor this weekend.  She will show us some area comparables to see what we could possibly get for our house.  We are also interested in what she says we should fix/improve upon before it's market ready.

One item ticked from the list three more to go.  Keep you posted!