Quote Originally Posted by zoom-zoom View Post
I will preface this with NEVER again will I ever willingly own a house that is older than I am. Not unless there are some very exceptional circumstances (like someone else has done all the work updating it and bringing insulation and windows and electrical and plumbing and foundation and everything else up to snuff. And removed all carpeting).
I could have written this - we are getting ready to put our 1912 house on the market As in by the 2nd week in March. As far as the closet space, we're a little better off - 3 tiny actual closets and 2 that were built in later - plus a pantry. However, we're doing what everyone in our neighborhood does - which is putting all of our cr@p in storage prior to putting the house on the market. That way, the lack of closet space doesn't manifest itself in stuff all over the place that makes it look cluttered. People also make generous use of wardrobes here - and that's never been an issue.

I'm not a realtor, but I've been spending a lot of time talking to them. I actually started talking to some of them *last* year. Most of them are very willing to talk through things with you - and that way you know what the real estate agent market looks like once you start trying to actually get the house on the market. You might want to talk to them about putting the house on the market as is too - if you could afford to sell it for less. Sometimes (at least here), bargain hunters will snap them up.

ETA: I would definitely talk to someone before you spend $$ converting upstairs to anything. *In my locality*, 6'5" ceilings aren't up to code and therefore can't be counted in square footage. So, they don't count for appraisals, financing, etc. You might not get much value if that is the case for you too.

Good luck!