It’s already been a very busy spring and summer for us here. We’ve got lots of things going on although the lake house is definitely taking most of our time. Our net worth has continued increasing at a relatively good pace. While I’m not posting too many specifics anymore I still like to list some of the more general percentages.
Overall annual increase: 33%
Month over month increase: $6979
We have definitely not seen the increases in real estate like we were through last year, in fact, we haven’t raised our home value in 4 months and even before that we took very small increases. Our area of the country (Seattle) has actually faired better than most other markets across the country. We have not had the triple digit increases that we saw over the last few years but are seeing a slight increase in the low single digits (for the entire year). I’m planning on holding the price on our house steady for the rest of the year. This is based on my observations of the comparable homes in my area that have sold. I’m still being a little bit conservative on the value we put on our house but I think that’s a good approach so that our net worth isn’t inflated.
I will continue to make small increases to the value of our lake house as we complete major items. Ultimately, I expect the value to be about $200K once the place is completed. I am basing that value on the comparables in our area out at the lake and believe that to be somewhat conservative. Since we are taking a cash only approach to completing the place (we did borrow some to buy it in the first place though), I am increasing it’s value as we spend money on it (but not 100% of the money we have spent).
Speaking of the lake house. I mentioned previously that we were expecting to spend a decent chunk of money last week since I was out there working on it all week. We did. We shelled out about $1700 for the week. This covered the rental of the trackhoe that we used to finish doing dirt work and push out the driveway. It also covered the cost of paint and having a friend spray the house and the gutters that we installed last week. I spent a bit of money finishing up the electrical and am so glad to have that inspection done and out of the way.
Next up on the list is completion of the front deck and cedar siding, along with some miscellaneous framing work. After that, we’ll insulate and then sheet rock the place. (both major expenses). And then it’s just a matter of putting in flooring and cabinets/sinks/counters etc and we’ll be almost done. I can’t wait!