Suburbs

Two families in my neighborhood, Casa View Haven, recently announced that they’d be selling their modest post war-traditional homes and heading for the ‘burbs. Sure, that’s an option, but sometimes families choose to invest in an addition to accommodate growing families rather than packing up and moving.

Of course, there are pros and cons for both choices. Sometimes the investment in building onto a home isn’t recouped. And sometimes you can’t sell your existing home in time and end up carrying two mortgage payments. And sometimes, too, Homeowners Associations and deed restrictions can keep you from adding more space.

Michael Staten, a Dallas architect and senior project manager at CBRE, considered adding on to his Lake Highlands home. Instead, Staten and his family of four moved to Richardson. Why?