Weedy,
I am happy for your contract! You worked hard at it. You know we all want to know what price it took to make it happen.
As far as what size/type of house to move into, I would suggest that you purchase something that you would enjoy and focus less on the resale factor.
Again, congrats on the contract.

You just went through lengthy and difficult to sell. Are you OK with going down that path again? How long do you plan to occupy this home? 10 years may mute the pain of the recent process. 2-4 years maybe not.

Agree with GreenDesigns.

A lot depends on how long you plan to live there.

Have you considered building? Get the home you want, but one that will eventually fall in the "resellable" price range?

One big thing to consider- is there really anything you could love in the higher price ranges either?

NC: I'll tell you after we close. :-)

GreenDesigns: I've sold 3 houses in my life ($120K, 250K, 500K) and every single one of them was lengthy and difficult to sell, as they were all in down markets. I have no idea how long we'll be here. My average tenure in places is about 5 years, with job changes, but this may be different because I own a business here. I definitely won't retire here, though.

I could think of it as a 5-year deal...food for thought. Geez that's a long time to live in a place you don't love. It's harder for me than for Mr. Weedy, who could live in a shack as long as it had a garage.

Camlan: Building costs are ~$100/sf. Existing homes run in the $50-70/sf range for most. Even the high-end homes with acreage rarely go over $100/sf. So I think that route would be even less financially smart.

cocontom: Yes, There's some good stuff (newer, spacious, nice finishes) that, from the photos, I think I could love. I obviously need to go inside to make sure, but there is some good housing stock to be had at pretty darn good prices (i.e.,

Well, after much back and forth with Mr. Weedy, we've decided (for now) to hole up in "Little Beau" (the small house we're fixing up) and look to get a deal on the bigger house we'll both love. If we buy at a decent discount, then we'll be able to afford to sell at a discount later if needed. That may be in the form of a fixer that we can make into a $200K house, or a $250K house we get for $200K.

I saw a few houses with a couple realtors, and one was pointing me towards "try out this 'safe' house and if you don't like it, turn it into a rental." But given the illiquidity of real estate, I'm not sure we want to start investing in rentals just yet. Our lives have been altogether too cluttered with houses the past few years, and we're ready to simplify and relax for a bit.

Thanks for your input.

I wanted to chime in to say I'm glad you sold that house! Two of my four house sales have been ordeals, so I feel for you. The $200K range seems like a good one in your market from what you've said. Good luck to you!

If you're only going to be in a house 5 years, then buy medium with an eye towards resale. You don't know what the market will be like down the road, and people are moving toward smaller homes in general.

I live in an area a lot like the one you're moving to. Houses here are taking a long time to sell at all price levels but my realtor told me she'd much rather have a dozen moderately priced homes than one high dollar house in her inventory. There just aren't that many people already living here who can afford a house that's over $150,000 so she has to rely on selling to folks who are new to the area. And, because a large-ish city is only a half hour's drive away, many of them opt to live there because of the social and cultural options that you just won't find in a small town.

You said at least one of the houses you were looking at was on a lake ... that's the one exception to selling at the upper end of our market. Nicely appointed lake properties go for a lot more money and seem to move pretty fast.

Congratulations on getting the contract. I hope everything goes smoothly at settlement.

If I were in your shoes I would try to live in Little Beau for at least two years to get the tax break.