My wife and I had been watching the real estate market in a specific area for nearly five years before we found a house we liked and within our price range.
We were looking for property along the riverfront. We wanted a significant amount of square footage within the home as well as outdoor lawn space. Buying the house meant selling the home we were living in at that time. Because of the many renovations, we had significantly increased the value of the property. We had totally gutted and remodeled the kitchen and one of the bathrooms. We had painted every room, refinished the hardwood floors and installed a swimming pool. We also greatly improved the landscaping. We were, however, making a huge leap value from the original home to the one located on the water. In order to get a loan for the new house, a new roof was required. Although we split the cost with the current owners, it still had an impact on our budget. When we sold our original house, we ran into the same problem. For the buyers to qualify for a bank loan, we had to put a new roof on. They also wanted an electrician to make some upgrades to the wiring. While we were very pleased with the price we got for selling our house, a lot of expenses came out of that before we could apply the remainder to the downpayment on the new house. We are very happy with the move but have no intention of taking on such an endeavor again in the near future.