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I was looking around and saw that our last house was for sale. It was a semi-custom house we built 21 years ago. I was shocked to see all of the things that DID NOT change.
We used a dark green carpet in our master--still there. All of the bathroom flooring is still there--some tile, but mostly vinyl. None of the light fixtures have been changed. The funniest thing was seeing the first floor bath. In true mid-90's fashion I stenciled it to look like wallpaper in a burgundy, green and gold color scheme. I did a heck of a job on it, but I didn't think it would last 20 years! Wallpaper in the master bedroom sitting area is still installed, including the little square area I missed and never fixed because I figured it was hidden behind the draperies. Even the original wall oven is still in place. If anyone is wondering how long pricey cellular blinds last--at least 20 years. Same for the Hunter Douglas Silhouette's I had installed. All appear to be the same blinds.
The house is now on owner number 4. All I see done cosmetically is that the wood floors were refinished in a lighter color and granite counters were installed. I know the people that purchased from us installed new toilets. We had some of the first low flow toilets made, and they were awful!
I also have to say the photos were terrible and the current owners did a pretty bad job of getting it ready to sell. Stark white walls in some rooms and vivid paint colors in other rooms (including that lovely 90's bath). It's a big house and they didn't have nearly enough furniture to make it look comfy, and yet in some rooms the furniture was oversized.
It's pretty funny that my fabulous mid 90's style exists there.
So what's the price difference from what you sold and current asking
Slightly more than 20% in 16 years, and it's overpriced at that. This is the 4th owner. We managed to sell for about 15% more after 5.5 years. Next owner lost money after 7-8 years (2008-2009 or so). Next owner sold it for about $10K more than he paid. This owner is trying to sell for 15% more than they paid after 3 years.
Several considerably updated houses, the same size or larger, nearby selling for same or less. 70 or so new construction houses of a similar size selling for a similar price. The new construction though is a national builder with a so-so reputation. Our previous house was a small, local guy who used our plan, etc. The area has recovered to some extent (a far western suburb of Chicago), but looking at the prices in the area it's not what it was. A couple years after we sold our neighbor (similar size house/amenities) sold for 100K more than we did. The market there hasn't gone back to that level. The particular area was saturated with houses of a similar quality and size.
I've kept an eye on both of my prior homes - I sold one 10 years ago, the other one almost 3 years ago (wow that went fast!) and both are still owned by the person I sold to.
#1 - depends on if they've updated or not. I was kind of at the tail end of getting away with selling without updating, it was 20 years old by that point, with white formica counters and those white formica cabinets with the oak edging. Most people were starting to do updates at that point so when I sold, I was a little on the lower end compared to units that had been updated. At this point, if they have done updates, it's probably worth about 40% more than I sold for, perhaps even more, I don't live close enough to have followed recent sales that carefully and the one comp unit currently listed is in a different building within the complex that has always sold for significantly more due to it's location.
#2 - was 11 years old when I sold and I had done some updates while I lived there, although some people in the complex had started doing more full scale remodeling. I very much doubt they've done any work, everything was in very good shape (to the point where they waived an inspection!) since they bought as a rental, but based on recent sales in the complex, it's probably up about 20% if they sold now.
Are you going to take a tour of the house while it's for sale? Maybe buy it back again?
No tour. We live 5 hours away.
Funny you asked about buying it back. When we decided to move we built basically the same house with some changes based on what worked/what didn't work and upgraded quite a few things on the exterior and interior.
I'll always have a bit of a sentimental attachment to the old house though for a lot of reasons.
We've only owned two homes prior to our current one. The first was a starter townhome. I saw some post here recently that made me curious about what happened to that home. It appears the person who purchased it from us was foreclosed on and it is owned by another couple. There aren't any pictures that I could find except for one and that was of the upstairs bathroom. Someone had put in laminate floors and new counters. I'd be curious whether or not the rest of the house was done that way.
The other house was just sold last year and is owned by a young man who has brought in several roommates to help him make the payments (gossip from our previous next door neighbor). No changes have been made to the interior or exterior. He's young, so his priorities weren't our priorities, so the yard is pretty overgrown and the planter we had built around the mailbox has been run over and a year later hasn't been repaired. But that house had great bones and will be able to withstand some neglect. It was a great house. I miss the floorplan. I am not happy with my floorplan in my current home, but I will hang in there because eventually it will make a great vacation rental.
We keep track of all the houses we've owned, also family member's houses and places we lived in childhood. Gotta love the internet and the transitional nature of modern life. Sooner or later almost all of the homes have come up for sale and we can see inside.
We've also been surprised how little change most of them have had. A few little details that I thought were temporary exist to this day. For example, one house still has the shelf built originally for a model train set. It's now used for display items. Maybe a third have had a significant amount of updating, mostly in the kitchens and bathrooms. Bedrooms seem to change color quite a bit, though, and the furniture keeps getting bigger.
I recently looked. My last home. Bought new in 2000 for $200K. Got as high as $300K in 2005 or so. I sold it in 2010 for $270K. Sold recently for $325K.
My sister sold her house in 2010 and the new owners put a TON of money into it....easily $100K inside and outside. This is a house they paid $1.2 million for. They were the only people who put in an offer on the house. My sister could have sold for $2 million if she sold in 2004.
A couple of years ago, the buyers put it on the market for ... $1.2 million. It still hasn't sold. They are renting it out.
My other sister owned two houses in the town we grow up in (not simultaneously). The first one is on the market for the second or third time. The other one sold a year or two ago I think.
It's so weird to look at pictures and see what people do!
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