Why do people care about high home values when they are not selling their property?
July 17th, 2011 | by admin |A friend of mine owns a condo. Its really a triple decker house which he owns the third floor. There is a condo association(with 3 members — one for each floor). Anyway, the condo association has fees to cover property maintenance(roof, walls, yard, driveway, etc). Lately they’ve been voting to do things like replace the roof and repaint the house and such. Generally this comes out of the fees paid to the association, but they are big cost items and the fund can’t cover it.. so my friend is getting stuck with the bill.
Anyway, he’s been fighting to get them to not paint the house(which is like a $14,000 job) because he can’t afford it. They voted to do it anyway and now are threatening to sue him if he doesn’t go along and stick him with legal fees in addition to his share of the 14 grand. Talking to various people it seems the condo association has the right to sue and get money to protect the value of the property(which decreases in between paint jobs). Its one thing if the paint was coming off and the house itself was getting damaged, but so long as the paint is good and intact(even if you had spot trouble, you could fix that with localized paint touchups).
My question is really.. why do people care what the house is worth? I own a home and I like the value to be low so I don’t have to pay much in property taxes. When I go to sell, I want the value high so I get the most for the house. So, you maintain things/fix things which break, but don’t repaint every couple years if the paint job will actually last a decade. That’s just wasteful.
Sorry if this sounds like a rant, but I was trying to explain the context for wanting to ask the question.
That said, Spending 5 grand to paint a house isn’t going to increase the house value by more than 5 grand and thus wouldn’t really help with a home equity loan or anything like that. I can see wanting your home to be worth a bit more than your loan amount so you don’t have to pay PMI…
Maybe its a personality thing here, where the other two members want to spend a lot to have a perfect home. However, you see this in the news and such that people are upset because home values are dropping or they are upset that some guy down the street has too many junk cars on the lawn and its lowering their home value.
Everyone seems to be missing the point. If you aren’t selling… why is the value important? There is no physical difference between a fresh(0 year old) and 2 year old paint job, but the fresh one is more valuable. If you plan to sell next year, I can see sprucing things up to get it ready. I can also see repairing things which need it(leaky roof).
Yes, there are things my friend could do, but that isn’t the question.
Usually you would want the value to be low as to not pay as much taxes.
A reason to want the value to go up, is a home equity loan. The more the property is worth, the more equity you can access.
Your friend is in a difficult place as he is part of an association, and the association has voted, I’m assuming 2-1 to paint. He is stuck with this decision.
This is more of a Rant then a question, but i tried to address what i believe is the crux of the question.
3 Responses to “Why do people care about high home values when they are not selling their property?”
By Stephen Olender on Jul 17, 2011 | Reply
Usually you would want the value to be low as to not pay as much taxes.
A reason to want the value to go up, is a home equity loan. The more the property is worth, the more equity you can access.
Your friend is in a difficult place as he is part of an association, and the association has voted, I’m assuming 2-1 to paint. He is stuck with this decision.
This is more of a Rant then a question, but i tried to address what i believe is the crux of the question.
References :
By Simpson G on Jul 17, 2011 | Reply
Why do people care what their property is worth? Because it’s an investment. You want your investments to do well so that when it DOES come time to cash in on it, you make money rather than lose money. The two other members have pride in ownership. I don’t get why that’s wrong.
If your friend didn’t want to deal with the decisions of the COA, then he should not have bought into a condo. Although, I am kind of confused, you switch back and forth between Condo and House and there is a BIG difference.
If he doesn’t want to repaint and doesn’t want to deal with the COA, then he should sell his unit and move to a private home in a neighborhood that doesn’t have an HOA.
References :
By klauss on Jul 17, 2011 | Reply
I think it’s similar to the question renting or ownership – what is cheaper?
The viewpoints to answer the question differ. Lifestyle, investment, or family home for having control about how and where to live etc.
Different viewpoints different values. From lifestyle point of view you need to consider – people judge you where and how you live. That can even influence your career. If you like gardening possible you have the best garden in the street. When selling a landscaped property is easier to sell and has got a higher valuation. It’s not a matter of money, I suppose. But if you want to pass on something to your kids, or want to sell – values matter, right?
References :