When I built my current house, we had one son, knew that we would never have more kids, and my elderly father lived with us.
We built a large (3,500 ft2) house with a complete apartment for my father in the basement. Three bedrooms upstairs.
Of course, in due time my father passed away and my son moved out, and now we are moving to a Condo/Townhouse.
When we built the current house (1987), we assumed or hoped that the apartment would be a net POSITIVE when it came time to sell, because others would need such a space for various reasons (elderly relative, college student, visiting parents from another country). When we listed our house the Real Estate Lady said the same, and the house was listed at "top dollar."
Now, three months later, the house has been viewed by about 40 prospective buyers, and NO ONE has indicated any interest in utilizing the apartment. In fact, the one offer we have was coupled with questions about whether the walls of the apartment were "bearing," and could they be removed without compromising the structure of the house? They would prefer one large open space in the basement (but like having a full bathroom there).
So we have accepted an offer that is about $50k below what comparable houses in our neighborhood were selling for, and as such things go, we are glad for the offer. Tired of having two homes and having to keep the old one looking like Better Homes and Gardens. Truly, we wouldn't have done anything differently if we had know how this would turn out - I wanted my dad to have his own space - but it is a little surprising that not a single buyer had any interest in having an apartment in the house.
Live and learn.
We built a large (3,500 ft2) house with a complete apartment for my father in the basement. Three bedrooms upstairs.
Of course, in due time my father passed away and my son moved out, and now we are moving to a Condo/Townhouse.
When we built the current house (1987), we assumed or hoped that the apartment would be a net POSITIVE when it came time to sell, because others would need such a space for various reasons (elderly relative, college student, visiting parents from another country). When we listed our house the Real Estate Lady said the same, and the house was listed at "top dollar."
Now, three months later, the house has been viewed by about 40 prospective buyers, and NO ONE has indicated any interest in utilizing the apartment. In fact, the one offer we have was coupled with questions about whether the walls of the apartment were "bearing," and could they be removed without compromising the structure of the house? They would prefer one large open space in the basement (but like having a full bathroom there).
So we have accepted an offer that is about $50k below what comparable houses in our neighborhood were selling for, and as such things go, we are glad for the offer. Tired of having two homes and having to keep the old one looking like Better Homes and Gardens. Truly, we wouldn't have done anything differently if we had know how this would turn out - I wanted my dad to have his own space - but it is a little surprising that not a single buyer had any interest in having an apartment in the house.
Live and learn.
