Struggling with buying a house

[Tri Girl]

We live in a resort town that gets very busy during summer so the general traffic levels went up.

I think that's an important point to consider- the touristy side of things. If you can live with the influx of people and traffic every year, then it might be a good long-term investment. OTOH, if the influx of tourists and traffic drives you batty during the summer, you might find the relaxation of the open acreage more enticing.
For some people it wouldn't bother them, but some might dread the summers every year when the town fills up with out-of-towners. It wouldn't be fun to dread the summers every year. Then again, it could be a potential rental unit some day.

So many things to consider... I'm glad I'm not the one having to make the decision!



As fas as resale, I agree that's very important. However, we are considering doing something drastic to our home that will potentially hurt our resale value, and we don't really care. We're about to knock a wall out between two bedrooms to make a master suite- which will bring our home from a 3 bedroom to a 2 bedroom. We are planning to live here for another 20 years, tho, and by the time we sell the house it will be nearly 90 years old. Someone will buy the house for the 1 acre lot in the middle of the city and tear the house down, so it doesn't worry us.
I say that to point out that even though you might make some big changes to the house, if you are really planning to stay there long-term and ae certain the value of the land will increase with time, it may make sense to buy the acreage and customize the home the way you want.