adding on vs. buying a new house

House would sell for 250000 but I am a couple years in on a 20 year loan and still owe around 185000...should have included this. My concern with building is that the 185 plus construction costs would really add up.

Yes it will... In NOLA? You could always design it right and go with lower grade stuff on the inside till you can upgrade later. Bathrooms and Kitchens are the most expensive part of building..

How much more space do you need? Does your existing house have decent bones? I always want to own the cheapest house in the neighborhood--so if I were surrounded by expensive houses, I would NEVER bulldoze and start over. I'd focus on adding a minimal amount of square footage & upgrading the finishes. Bigger is not better if you're living in a 2500 sq ft box with crap finishes while everyone around you has luxe stuff; that will also make it harder to sell the house later on.

Make a list of what you want to add & what you don't like about your present house; get your spouse to make a separate list. Then get together and see where your lists overlap. Storage space, garage, family room, open kitchen, what's not working about your present house? Again, bigger isn't always better....getting just want you want and need is far more homey/cozy than upgrading to the McMansion next door.

If you don't mind sharing, which area of the city did you find a 1200sqft $250k house surrounded by $500k+ houses this far removed from Katrina?

Is there no possibility of adding a second story? Is the roof pitch and design amenable to that? Adding a second story to a home is much cheaper than adding foundation. If the design of the home can stand up to the project it would be worth investigating.

Pretty awesome deal. I've been looking for a while and only run across a few homes for sale in OM for less than a half million & they aren't particularly attractive or any larger than yours. Those houses were also closer to $500k than $250k.

My home hasn't been appraised in 2.5 years so it could be more. Like I said we have the perfect plot of land just need more space.

Adding on a second story does sound cheaper but we would have to find a way to raise our 1950 style low ceiling downstairs.

I figured an architect should be my next call. Blueprints should run a couple grand?