(MONEY Magazine) – THE BATSONS Shopping for a home

John Batson was over Yorba Linda, Calif. "I wanted to get my kids out of the concrete jungle of Orange County," he says. The 35-year-old had made enough in real estate to retire somewhere tranquil, where he and Elsa, 36, could be full-time parents to Jaclyn, 10, John, 9, and Jared, 15 months. When John hit upon Sun Valley, Idaho, with its mild winters, snow-capped peaks and fine school system, he knew he'd found home. The Batsons looked at more than 20 houses (including the one at right) before spending $925,000 for this 2,200-square-foot three-bedroom. The house "felt too small for my family," says John, but the nine wooded acres were irresistible. The Batsons expect to sell their California home for $1.5 million, giving them more than enough to build a three-bedroom addition.

THE SINGLETONS House proud

Fifteen years after paying off their mortgage--and at an age when most homeowners are thinking about less house--empty-nesters Norma and Julius Singleton traded up. Last fall, they more than doubled their living space when they bought a $365,000, five-bedroom, 4,700-square-foot house less than three miles away from their Shaker Heights, Ohio home, which they later sold for $173,000. Norma, a 62-year-old retired school administrator, had been content. But Julius, 64, who owns a construction company, had always wanted more room. The first-floor bedroom pleases Norma. "I don't have trouble climbing steps now," she says, "but I don't know what the future will bring."

THE ROSENKOETTERS Staying home

Last June, with two of four kids out of the house, Kert and Vicki Rosenkoetter thought the time was right to sell their suburban St. Louis home of 13 years and downsize. They asked $825,000 for their five-bedroom house on three acres with a pool. Two weeks passed with no offers. They knocked $25,000 off the price, and Vicki, 56, a retired retail executive, and her agent spent three months showing the house without a nibble. The problem? The house backs up on a six-lane highway. The family had become accustomed to the noise. But buyers wouldn't ignore the roar. Kert, a 51-year-old manager at Saks Fifth Avenue, couldn't bring himself to lower the price again. In October, they took the house off the market.

Placing hopes in real estate

JOHN GRIMES (top left) For Atlanta fire fighter John Grimes, 33, bad times are good. He buys properties (more than 10 to date) by assuming the mortgage when a homeowner is facing foreclosure, picking up houses for an estimated 20% to 40% discount. "In Atlanta, we set a new record on foreclosures every month," he says. "The banking industry was throwing money out, and real estate agents pushed people into overextending themselves." Still, times are tough all around: Two of his homes have been vacant for months.

JESSICA TU (top right) This 42-year-old Queens, N.Y. resident was an accountant for a real estate investor when she got the bug. "I could see how much the buildings cost," she says. "I could see how much the rents were bringing in." In the 11 years since, she has bought 18 apartments and sold six. Lately, she's been buying property in Shanghai, the city from which she emigrated in 1987. "I apply there what I learned here--location, location, location."

SHANNA HAMILTON (left) Last fall, 28-year-old software engineer Shanna Hamilton closed on what she hopes will be the first of many properties--an 80-year-old row house in the Bolton Hill district of Baltimore. She lives on the first floor and rents the other two, and the math is simple: The rents cover most of her mortgage, which frees up income for more real estate. In fact, she's about to buy a second house three blocks away. "My long-term business plan is unclear," she says, "but I hope to build a lucrative real estate portfolio."

THE MAZZOCCHIS Building a home

After four months of house hunting in State College, Pa., Ray and Lisa Mazzocchi, both 41, knew which school district they wanted and even the neighborhood within it. They had one problem: "There were no houses for sale at all," recalls Lisa. "But there were a couple of lots." Their $240,000 budget let them buy a lot and finance construction of a 2,700-square-foot, four-bedroom home. With three children--Sarah, 15, Max, 10, and Hannah, 9--plentiful space was their top goal, so they chose the most basic appliances, fixtures and trimmings. Says Lisa: "If we really want things like hardwood floors later on, we can go back and put them in."