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My husband and I are seriously considering putting in an offer on a house. It's location is perfect, and it sits on a beautiful 1 acre plot of land. It is a 110 year old farmhouse (we absolutely love old houses) that has been completely updated over the past 10 years. Overall, it seems like a fabulous house - we can both see ourselves there, and the price is great compared to similar (old, updated, size of land -though these are few and far between) houses on the market. Aside from painting for personal taste, there is nothing that needs done with the house. The only drawback is the size of the house. It only has three bedrooms - we wanted four - one as a home office, one as guest room (possible child's room) and one as a child's room. We see ourselves only having one child, but you never know! It also only has 1 1/2 baths - I wanted 2.5.
What I'm asking for are your thoughts on buying a house that might not be large enough, but is otherwise seeming, dare I say, perfect. We have no idea what to expect in terms of adding an addition in some time. Is it a bad idea to buy a house with the anticipation of siginificant remodeling and adding on?
Thank you for anything thoughts, feedback, or just plain encouragement.
My husband and I are seriously considering putting in an offer on a house. It's location is perfect, and it sits on a beautiful 1 acre plot of land. It is a 110 year old farmhouse (we absolutely love old houses) that has been completely updated over the past 10 years. Overall, it seems like a fabulous house - we can both see ourselves there, and the price is great compared to similar (old, updated, size of land -though these are few and far between) houses on the market. Aside from painting for personal taste, there is nothing that needs done with the house. The only drawback is the size of the house. It only has three bedrooms - we wanted four - one as a home office, one as guest room (possible child's room) and one as a child's room. We see ourselves only having one child, but you never know! It also only has 1 1/2 baths - I wanted 2.5.
What I'm asking for are your thoughts on buying a house that might not be large enough, but is otherwise seeming, dare I say, perfect. We have no idea what to expect in terms of adding an addition in some time. Is it a bad idea to buy a house with the anticipation of siginificant remodeling and adding on?
Thank you for anything thoughts, feedback, or just plain encouragement.
My dh and I live in 763 square feet with only one bathroom. At first we were concerned that it would not be big enough, but you adapt. You make do. It's no great hardship.
What I'm asking for are your thoughts on buying a house that might not be large enough, but is otherwise seeming, dare I say, perfect. We have no idea what to expect in terms of adding an addition in some time. Is it a bad idea to buy a house with the anticipation of siginificant remodeling and adding on?
My thoughts which I tend to share whether asked or not regarding your choices and considerations to make....
1) If you love this house and it has just about everything you want/need NOW, then get it. Remember, as Americans we tend to sometimes have inflated ideas about what we really "need" (when it's really just a "want" instead of a real NEED). Right now, the price SHOULD be right on that house - 2 years from now it'll cost more, leaving less $$ for add-ons later.
2) Additions if done correctly by good contractors (or if you're brainy enough to do it yourself) don't cost THAT much. One extra office downstairs, or expanding the 1/2 bath into a full one and/or adding another bath if again done right and you don't fluff it up with expensive accessories, won't bust your bank.
3) If all else fails, remember, birth control is cheaper than adding an addition. Just sayin'.
Rank your priorities. It sounds like 4 BR and 2.5 BA were pretty high up there. Are the other points really worth choosing over the space?
And are there any guarantees that you will be able to sell this house and move into a different one in a couple years? Maybe if you don't mind breaking even/losing money, but there's nothing to indicate prices are going to rise any time soon.
My wife and I live in a 70 year old 2 BR/1.5 bath house with an office and sun room on a .33 acre lot [with our first and only child on the way, unless you count the dog], and we want to downsize [in area, not in rooms necessarily]. We are leaning towards buying a new 2 BR/2.5 bath townhome that is 200 sq ft smaller than our current house, but it has a one car garage in the back with a small yard out front plus a patio in the back - but most of all, it's in the same area which we love and NEW = way less maintenance plus more efficient. No more paying $700 to fix the sewage pipes when they get clogged from intruding roots. No more spending every saturday or sunday in the yard, cutting grass, raking leaves, maintaining flower beds, trimming bushes, trimming branches, raking pine straw, etc. I guess what I'm saying is make sure what you think you want now is really what you want in the future. Don't focus on just the size of the house, but also all of the responsibility that comes with it. More house = more house work. More yard = more yard work. Either be willing to do all of the work yourselves, or be willing to pay someone to do it for you. We learned the hard way, but we were hard headed and no one knew what we wanted more than us.
Is this more or less space than you have now? I would say get it and see if you end up really needing that space in the end, but then again, I can't imagine ever wanting to deal with the hassles of 2.5 baths for only three people. I think it's fairly common for people to think they need a lot of space and then realize that they do just fine on far less than that. Do you plan on having guests all the time? If not, it will be easy enough to have the office double as a guest bedroom as needed. Unless you are absolutely positive that you need much more space and consider that a priority then I'd go ahead and get it, then figure that if and when you need the space (which I think in many cases you'll find that you really don't) then you can deal with either adding on or carving out addtional space (like tucking an extra bathroom in the basement or something.)
I would say the most important thing to me is the location. If you love the location, everything else comes second to it. It sounds like you could add on to the home if you choose to. And children can always share a room if needed. Guests can sleep on sofa beds or air mattresses. If everything is telling you yes except the missing room and .5 of a bathroom, I'd still go for it. But I live in Phoenix, the land of small properties and cookie cutter homes. The thought of a beautiful farmhouse on a large property is very appealing to me. I'd never mind the yard work.
Thank you to all of you for your responses. While the house has less square feet than our current house (primarily because we have a finished attic now, and this house does not have an attic), the rooms are bigger. The only overnight company we have is my husband's parents, 4 or 5 times per year. The bedroom that we would use as an office is certainly big enough for a sleeper couch.
I think you are all right that we commonly over concern ourselves with how much space we want, vs. how much we actually need. While I would love an attached master bath, we really don't need two full baths for three, maybe four people.
It really is a fabulous house!
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Just sayin'. 
Thank you!
