1 storey vs 2 Storey (Which one is easier to rent out the entire house)?

[riaelise]

from what i've seen, both two and one stories sell and rent fairly quickly around here.

in my neighborhood, one stories may command a slightly higher price but that's about it. I personally don't want to have all of my bedrooms and living space on one floor, despite having osteoarthritis. I also don't want a large house footprint eating up yard space.

[Austin97]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

But doesn't this fall under this heading?

Im not hysterical about it and there are multiple additional reasons to have two stories. To your point though each year there are around 312K burglaries in the US at night. I would much prefer they break in on the first floor while Im on the second floor (we have a first floor master). It so happens the structure of our house on a hill means that there are only two ground floor windows. The dining room and the office.

Other reasons include separation between the kids and us, no sneaking out for the kids from their bedroom windows, less roof area per square ft.

Location is way more important and I would be happy to live in a one story house if it meant a better area.

I wouldnt necessarily make a choice of house based on 1 or 2 story, but Im happy to have a two story house.

[Swizzle Stick]

2 stories give more bang-for-your-buck in neighborhoods that attract families (avg. school track rating 6+). Areas zoned to Bowie, Westlake, Anderson, Westwood. 78739, 78749, 78736 and 78746 zips.

1 story in areas with poor schools with good newer, housing stock (areas that attract empty nesters and retirees).
Areas zoned to Akins, Crockett come to mind, like 78747, 78748, 78745, 78652 and 78744.

Further out, Wimberly, Marble Falls and Lago Vista are retiree hotspots.

Dripping Springs and Lake Travis have crossover appeal for both 1 and 2 story.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by Austin97

Im not hysterical about it and there are multiple additional reasons to have two stories. To your point though each year there are around 312K burglaries in the US at night. I would much prefer they break in on the first floor while Im on the second floor (we have a first floor master). It so happens the structure of our house on a hill means that there are only two ground floor windows. The dining room and the office.

Other reasons include separation between the kids and us, no sneaking out for the kids from their bedroom windows, less roof area per square ft.

Location is way more important and I would be happy to live in a one story house if it meant a better area.

I wouldnt necessarily make a choice of house based on 1 or 2 story, but Im happy to have a two story house.

Eh, I am just jabbering. My only real concern with a 2-story house (and having kids) is that their bedrooms are upstairs. Somewhere around 2,600 people per year in the U.S. die in house fires, and while I haven't drilled down on it, being asleep upstairs has to be a negative factor. We have fire ladders in the kids' rooms, but still not optimal.

[riaelise]

I think it's also about how the two story is laid out. Our master is on the main floor, along with all of the living areas that are essential. Theoretically, when we age, we can restrict our living space to the first floor and rarely use the second story (which has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a loft space, and a bonus room). As for the kids being upstairs, even when they were babies, it wasn't an issue. That's what baby monitors are for. Thankfully, they rarely needed us in the middle of the night and knew how to navigate the stairs if they needed us. They are totally used to being on another floor and frankly now that they're older it's great that our bedroom is not nearby. I will say that I do get nervous with them on the stairs and reiterate stair safety (i.e. no running up the stairs) since both of them have slipped on the stairs. And yeah, there is the fire concern but we always make sure the alarms are operational and then there's the ladders. Heck, break the windows and just jump. They're not going to die from the fall.

[Trainwreck20]

Originally Posted by riaelise

[...] And yeah, there is the fire concern but we always make sure the alarms are operational and then there's the ladders. Heck, break the windows and just jump. They're not going to die from the fall.

Our fire alarm went off one night when both the kids were pretty young, and they both slept right through it. I have no idea how, it is deafening, but kids are weird.

Breaking the windows is a last resort, as the glass is more likely to severely or fatally lacerate you than the fall would similarly injure someone. We have practice opening the windows and do make sure they work easily enough for them to operate.

And that 'fall' from the window - it has a surprising chance from that high (10+ feet) to cause serious injury or death, at least based on statistics. Kids are probably better off than adults, though.

Our house is similar arrangement as yours, it sounds like - master and living areas down, 3 beds, a bath, and 'play' room upstairs. It works very well for us and once the kids are gone we can/could easily live downstairs (about 1,400 sf down and 1000 sf up, give or take).