[quote=bearishgurl][quote=CA renter] . . . We are now in the process of “upgrading” pretty much everything our new house, and are not thinking at all about resale value, since we plan on staying here for the rest of our lives (God be willing). The whole notion of housing being an “investment” is what got us into all this housing trouble in the first place.[/quote]
Of course you want to make your recently-purchased property exactly as you want it for your daily needs, CAR. Especially if you bought it a bit under market. HOWEVER, I DO think it is financially foolish to install a +/- $3K “gourmet range” into an (avg) $350K property in a working-class neighborhood, under ANY circumstances, for example. Perhaps in an (avg) $550K neighborhood, it might be “worth it” to do so, if the homeowner stays long enough to enjoy it themselves.
But if you were planning to sell (or rent your property out) in less than 3 years from now (as I am), would you STILL invest the kind of $$ in it that you are currently spending??[/quote]
I’m not a chef, so wouldn’t spend $3,000 on a range under any circumstances. 😉
But, yes, if I were really into cooking (or steam showers, or high-end refrigerators, etc.), I would spend the money without any expectation of getting any kind of return on the expense if/when selling. Like Brian and AN said, the next person might not even like what I put in there. The key is to do what’s right for oneself. Spend money on things that will enhance your life and that you think are worth it for personal need or enjoyment, and don’t spend money on things that are unimportant or unnecessary.
For example, we are buying our house during the tail end of the bubble (IMHO), and expect it to lose about $200K over the next few years. It doesn’t matter what we spend on it in the meantime; we expect to see the same $200K price decline no matter what we do.
