In each of our quarterly newsletters, Annie gives some insight into the industry as a full-time (and then some!) agent.
Newsletter, Vol. 1 (May 2022):
The word worth comes up a lot in real estate. To be honest, it throws me into a bit of an existential crisis whenever I hear it because there truly is no right answer. I think ‘worth’ is a conglomeration of value sets we collect throughout our lives and are wildly individual. Certainly some things are worth it to some people and valueless to others. Is it worth bidding 20% over ask to get the house? Is it worth paying a landscaper $20k for a new yard? Is it worth it to buy a higher-end appliance? Is it worth it to put solar on your home? These things are easy to answer if you have a high level understanding of your own personal values. More often than not people come to me to ask the ‘worth’ questions and nine times out of 10 my answer is yes.
The reason for that? I (spoiler alert lol) truly, deeply, passionately, believe in homeownership. I viscerally understand the joy of making money over time through this investment that you sleep in. I viscerally understand the pride that comes along with learning how to DIY something. I totally get the joys of nesting and making a place represent who you are as a person. I understand that sometimes money is spent to make more money right away and sometimes money is spent on other things like personal enjoyment, the environment, or whatever it is that your family needs to be happy and healthy. The cool part is you can make all of the upgrades you want to make yourself happy, and over a long enough timeline those investments will also pay off financially. Except of course if you decide to turn your split level into a wall to wall salt water aquarium or a reenactment of Medieval Times.
I also understand that people are asking me the ‘worth’ questions to try to figure out if things are good financial investments or not so I will mention a few things that you can spend money on that will instantly increase your investment: 1) A home, buy a home, buy any home. 2) Add a bathroom 3) That’s all.. everything else depends on timeline, location, personal fulfillment, and values. Love you, mean it.