The Family Dilemma

Jack and Jill are a happily married couple. They live in Saskatoon, and both were born and raised

in Saskatchewan and have always lived there. They believe that Saskatchewan is a great place to

raise a family $($it is very safe, and the people are friendly, there is access to quality education

$($elementary$,$ secondary$,$ and post$-$secondary schools, the economy is good and there are lots of

job opportunities$)),$ but in recent years the harsh winters have really taken their toll, and both

enjoy warmer $($hot$)$ climates. Jack has a doctorate in Business and Jill has a Masters of Nursing,

and both teach university. Given both Jack and Jill$$s educational backgrounds, both are strongly

committed to providing their children with the highest quality educational $($secondary and postsecondary$)$ opportunities. They have been married for $20$ years $($both are in their early $40$s$),$ and

they have three children whom they very much enjoy spending time with, a son $($Tyler$)$ who is

$18$ and two daughters: one who just turned $15$ years old $($Trista$)$ and the youngest $($Taylor$)$ who is

nine. Tyler $($their son$)$ is in grade $12$ and is planning to attend $($next year$)$ the University of

Saskatchewan $($located in Saskatoon$),$ in order to study to become a dentist. Their middle

daughter $($Trista$)$ is currently in grade nine, thus is in her first year of high school and aspires to

attend medical school after graduation from high school, and their youngest daughter, Taylor, is

currently in elementary school, thus university will not be for a few years. The entire family

enjoys spending time together, whether at home, the cottage$,$ and$/$or travelling. All of the

children have many long$-$established friendships close to their home and at school and are all

actively involved in a number of extra$-$curricular activities $($e$.$g$.,$ sports, music$).$

The family currently live in an $1,800$ square foot $4-$bedroom colonial$-$style home that is

approximately $65$ years old, which is in a well$-$established very quiet neighborhood and is

approximately $3$ blocks from any major streets$/$intersections which is as close to any major

streets or intersections as they would prefer. The house used to belong to Jack$$s grandparents and

as a result has a significant amount of sentimental attachment and value to Jack, but it is in

desperate need of a major renovation. The family has lived in the current house for $15$ years. The

house is close to both the children$$s elementary and high school, and many of the children$$s

friends. Given their proximity to the schools, all of the children are currently able to walk to and

from school every day. The family really likes the area in which they live, but at times feel that

they have outgrown their house. The house does not have an office space $($den$),$ which Jack

$2$

believes is something the entire family could utilize. The family has a cable TV package, phone

$($including cell phones$)$ and internet package that costs approximately $$450$ per month. Their

current property taxes are $4,200$ per year and the average monthly gas and electrical bills are

approximately $$500.$ General housing upkeep and maintenance costs average about $$300$ per

month. The cost to insure the house and contents was $$2,000$ last year.

Just last year Jack and Jill had their entire yard redone including the construction of a detached

storage shed $($for lawnmowers and general garden tools$)$ and professional landscaping and a new

vinyl fence and deck built for a total cost of $$38,000.$ Given that there have been very few

updates made to the house over its $65-$year life, the family is contemplating several options. One

option they are considering is a major renovation to their house that would involve both

structural and modernizing and refreshing the entire house $($including replacing the kitchen

cupboards, new flooring, new countertops, new bathrooms $($showers$,$ tubs, sinks and vanities

etc.$)).$ The cost of this major renovation $($that would include adding an additional $800$ square feet

$($including a den$/$office$)$ onto the house$)$ was estimated to be approximately $$430,000$ and would

take approximately $12$ weeks to complete. Jill is not partial to trying to live in the house while

the renovations are being done $$ which if they stayed in hotel while the renovations were being

done was estimated to cost approximately of $$22,000($including hotel rooms and meals$).$ If the

above major renovation was done their property taxes would likely climb to approximately

$$4,800$ per year and their gas and electrical would be approximately $$600$ per month. Even with

the major renovation their house would not have a hot$-$tub or pool that the kids so desperately

want.

While considering whether $($or not$)$ to renovate the family also investigated the possibility of

buying a new home and selling their existing home $($Jill is partial to the idea of having a new

home versus renovating their current home$).$ Their real estate agent estimated that they could sell

their current home $($with