STRINGCHEESE

A lot of times I don't know. Mostly pride of ownership. Recently the market has been horrible, so much of what I'm about to say is irrelivent because of our drastic economic event. In a rising market one would be wasting money by doing large interior renovations (unless in a echelon neighborhood like Beverly hills or that place north of P.B.) in an investment home. If the market's risingthen let it rise without renavating. Renovations in a rising market usually cost more then the market returns. Declining markets same rule applies EXCEPT now you might be able to sell where without renovations you might not be able to sell, period. In a stable market renovations WILL catch up to their initial value over time. An Echelon market can reward renovations. Poor markets, like Detroit, can have huge economic market swings. They are always a real estate investment risk in long term but can be highly rewarding in the short term.

For example, Your house is exactly the same as your neighbors except your 200' driveway is asphalt and his is gravel. A lets say a new driveway is $37,000. What will the difference in sales price be if both of you listed your homes for sale today. In reality, very little. His will sell first. Yours will sell shortly after for about the same price. Now the new owner of your home has to go buy a new driveway because his wife's new Solstice is bottoming out and complaining to him. And he has a headache.

Why do people pay $500,000+ for a shack in San Diego?