Keeping a older home in Los Gatos
Hi: Currently I am considering whether or not to keep or sell my older home in the LG Mountains. It was a cabin built in 1936. I live in the property & have put money into the property such as double pane windows, new appliances, paint etc. but it is still very old and will need upcoming maintenance (roof, central heat, electrical, earthquake work, etc) but I am considering selling. Is now a good time to sell, or thoughts on holding and turning it into a rental property for a few more years and enduring the upkeep costs? Thanks to all! Gaylene
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Gayle,
The broader question should probably be how does one strategy or another fit into your long term plans (e.g. retirement, etc).
There are estate planning folks that can sit down with you to go over that - for free - so let me know if you'd like a name.
From my point of view you have great choices:
- your home would be attractive to both purchasers or renters because it'd be more economical for them than being in Los Gatos proper.
- you'd have a large pool of buyers for your pricepoint given the size of the home
- your home has the good schools that folks with children want
- your home has good infrastructure that comes with being in Redwood Estates (Comcast). Also folks will not have to worry about their well going dry given that you have a local water company.
We know that the market is good to sell now. What the market will do next year is hard to say.
A roof can be repaired so replacing the roof may not be necessary yet. If you have a crawlspace then forced air heat would probably not be too hard to install. Keep in mind that probably then you'll need a spot for a propane tank (or a larger one if you already have one).
Feel free to ping me for advice as I am local.