I'll come forth with the facts...maybe some of you can assist.
We were approved for a $650K home but we ended up buying a 1,300 sq ft. home at $330K. We dump a lot into savings and our house is in a good neighborhood in one of the top ranked cities in the state (Birmingham, MI - which also comes with high taxes) with the top schools. With one young child, we felt this was a pretty good investment.
We currently have $70K in savings and have started a remodel of a bathroom, and we are looking at doing some exterior renovations. Based on all the quotes we got for various updates, we are around $40k total (not including the estimated $10K worth of sweat equity) for everything we wanted to do to the home that I could not do with my own hands.
We've seen similar homes to ours sell for $370-$380K that are not as appealing recently and we have been thinking we could maybe shoot for $410K when we decide to list based on how the market has been historically in this area.
However, the $400K+ price point is a gray area. In our community, anything under $300K is bought and demolished. Homes in the $550K to $1m with anywhere from 2,500 to 5,000 sq ft. are quick sellers .
So, a $410K home at 1300 sq ft. has sitting in a weird place. Also, things like economic our climate, mortgage rates and comparables are having us rethink things.
So, LR readers - tell me your home remodeling stories, if they helped/hindered you, etc. Should we cap remodeling t certain amount so our house will sell at our current sq. ft?