I've been a real estate investor since 1995, and I've bought, sold, and held several properties in up, down and flat markets. I'm saying that only so you know where I'm coming from.
To answer your direct questions:
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rick
1. What's the correlation between assessed tax value and what we could actually get out of it (with the remodeled bathroom and newly finished basement)?
|
There is no important correlation between assessed tax value and sale price. The county isn't looking to buy your house, so their opinion of its value doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is the price that a willing buyer will offer for the property.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rick
2. Would it be better to simply save that $20,000 over the next year, or put it towards improvements on the home (new windows, remodel kitchen, etc.) to increase the value?
|
Don't spend $20K on improvements with the hope that you'll get it back a year from now. If you can spend $10K to gamble that it will increase your home's value by $20K, go for it, but don't count on it. If you want to sink $20K into the home, you'd better be relatively certain that you are making improvements that will get you $30K at least. You don't want to lose money on improvements. Hell, you don't want to break even. There's an enormous amount of time that you'll spend in improvements, even if you're not doing the work yourself.
If you aren't a home design and construction professional, you'd probably be better off saving the money. Still, you'll have to make sure that the home looks its best when it's time to sell.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Rick
3. What does the current housing market mean to me and my situation? I'm thinking it's a good time to buy, but in the same regard, it's not necessarily a good time to sell. What about when you take in to consideration the $20,000 I think I could have at this time next year?
|
All real estate decisions should be based on local information and immediate timing. There's no way that anyone could answer this question.