BTW – I just want to state for the record, that I am in agreement with Bugs and most others that from a timing standpoint, this is not a good time to buy a home for the near term valuation of it. However, I do not see the really nice high end homes crashing in value thus far. Many that are nice and over 1M still sell reasonably quickly if they are priced properly. I have seen a few go in less than a week. The reach price is another story.
Remodeling to me is a different decision than buying a home. Often what an individual considers nice, the next person will hate. I have changed my place to a meditteranean type of feel from a more country style ranch home, which I like but I am sure someone who likes French Country would hate. Remodeling is more of a quality of life decision than an investment. Rarely will you get dollar for dollar in resale on remodeling, and certainly not in this market.
I am not so wealthy that money does not matter, so I think a few people are giving me too much credit in this area. I just allocated X number of dollars to remodel during the buying process, set it aside, and spent it and not a dollar more at this point. Some things that I would like to do are on the waiting list for the next cash inflow. Based on the last month, it appears it will be a long wait for those items.
