REAL ESTATE TIPS: Consider adding on when exploring options

Building a house is something that Andy and I had talked about off and on for years.

From everything to building a home in our school district to building a hunting cabin on some recreational land. We haven’t done that yet. We chose to build an addition instead. Here is our story.

When we bought our dream house, our family consisted of two boys. Our dream home was perfect for us. It was in a neighborhood we have both always loved, it had a nice yard and more square footage than we had ever had in a home. Then we added two more kids. And their stuff.

A few years ago we decided to see what other options we had for buying a house.

While there were more at that particular time that we would be interested in than are normally for sale, none of them were the right fit. Every one of them was bigger, every one had a master bath and every one had a two-car garage (we were hoping for a three).

Some of them were two-story (we wanted a ranch) and the ranch that we saw was almost perfect except it had no storage – and I am a packrat.

What it came down to for us was that we love our lot.

In fact, other than the McFarrens’ lot by the school, there is not another location I would rather have my home on.

And because we did not find the perfect house (three-car garage, ranch, lots of storage, my own bathroom) in our school district, we decided to stay and add on. And I am glad that we did.

It was perfect for us but might not be the answer for everyone. For us, it allowed us to keep our dream location and make our house better.

I still don’t have a large mudroom/laundry room but I did gain first floor laundry.  I still don’t have a four-season sunroom that I would have insisted on if we built, and we still don’t have a three-car garage.

But the tradeoff was keeping what we love (our house and location) and making it better. And it has been great. If I had the chance to decide to build or add on again I would still add on. It worked for us.

So today I am wrapping up the building series with this. There are options. You can build, buy an existing home or put an addition on your house. Explore your options and choose the one that is right for you. Have a blessed week!

Esta Ryder, Broker/Owner
President’s Club
Ryder Realty, LLC
estaryder@gmail.com
330-317-6912