Realty Q&A - Finding your place

Q.My husband and I are contemplating adding a $200,000 extension to our home instead of upgrading to a bigger house. We’re expecting a fourth child and desperately need the space. Our current house is worth between $650,000 and $700,000 and we owe $200,000 on it. The downside is, it’s over 100 years old and we’re not sure if we’ll make our money back. To upgrade to a larger home in our neighborhood, we’d have to spend $800,000 to $1M.

A. Sounds like you should sell your house and buy a new one. With 70% equity in your home, you have more than enough for a down payment for something new. If you can find a big enough home in excellent condition for less than $1 million, it would be a lot simpler than taking on a construction project while you’re expecting.

Construction always costs more and takes longer than expected. Why live through a major project, particularly with small children and a newborn baby on the way? And don’t worry about getting the best possible price for your smaller house. You can afford to take less because you’ll more than make up the difference by getting a great deal on a bigger house. This is the perfect market for upgrading.

Q. My partner and I own a home on Staten Island, and, a year ago, we bought a house in Asheville, N.C. We will be moving there sometime in the next six months to a year. We don’t want to sell our home here on Staten Island yet, with prices the way they are now. We’re thinking of allowing my niece and nephew and their new baby to rent from us with the option to buy. Can you explain just how this works? I have heard about it, but I am not familiar with the process.

A. I’d look for a tenant with a traditional rental agreement before trying the lease/option route. It’s easy to find a new tenant, but it would be downright impossible to find a new niece and nephew.

Read more via NY Daily News from Barbara Corcoran