McMansion Me Again(?) (hardwood floors, engineered, granite countertops, fireplace)

[fallingwater]

The only benefit I can see with owning a large home like that is, I know a few people that have decided to cut costs and live together. I know of a few that have their parents living with them etc. In terms of just wanting a large home for the sake of having it, I haven't seen any homes that are that great unless they are much older homes. My husband and I had the opportunity to buy a McMansion a few years ago. It was very stately from the outside. All the houses in the neighborhood had brick mailboxes that matched the houses with the addressed engraved. When the realtor unlocked the door I expected the home to be a bit rough since it was a foreclosure but what I didnt expect was that it was just really plain. It almost felt like you are being tricked or something lol. Cheap vinyl flooring in the foyer. The staircase was a half wall, no banister. The layout didnt make sense or give a feeling of any thought. It pretty much was built with the idea of just being big in mind. Im sure who ever built the house couldnt afford all the "upgrades". So they opted to just get the house built with standard options which is nothing. It had this odd cat walk thing that over looked the great room and kitchen. You could see the top of the kitchen cabinets which were really dirty. My son was a preteen at the time but all I kept thinking was, a house like that would be a nightmare for parents that have a toddler. To boot, the master suite was on the first floor and all the other bedrooms were upstairs which were accessible by this long up in the air catwalk. The whole place was odd.

[spacelord75]

Ugh...looking at the pictures the only things I could think of were (1) huge energy bills, (2) spending all weekend cleaning the place, and (3) how much $ spent on fixing issues 5 years down the road from what I'm sure is a cheap build.

[Momma_bear]

People buy them because they cannot afford a truly custom home. For 10 years we owned what most would consider a McMansion in Florida. We had 3 young children, wanted the space (3800 sf) and the neighborhood was very nice.

We bought the house new in 2000. Our house had a very nice floor plan with little wasted space. We did not upgrade anything except the tile when we bought the house. We added a swimming pool afterwards. We redid the kitchen and bathrooms afterward.

The house served us very well. After 10 years we sold it and bought a larger, custom home on a large lot. However, when we bought the McMansion we bought the home that best suited what we wanted at the price we could afford.

I am not sure why that is so controversial.

[cc0789]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

I am not sure why that is so controversial.

I don't either. Some people value space over expensive details. I like space, and would choose a large kitchen with vinyl over a cramped kitchen with marble. Luckily, I didn't have to make that choice, but I would.

I hate old homes, have never bought one, never will. I don't, however, criticize those that do.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by cc0789

I don't either. Some people value space over expensive details. I like space, and would choose a large kitchen with vinyl over a cramped kitchen with marble. Luckily, I didn't have to make that choice, but I would.

I hate old homes, have never bought one, never will. I don't, however, criticize those that do.

We re-did the kitchen with quality materials after being there about 2 years. Kitchens and bathrooms can all be redone.

I don't hate older homes I just don't see why making a choice to buy a McMansion over a quality smaller home is such a big deal. Homebuyers make tradeoffs every day. Space inside for space outside. Custom vs cookie cutter. Urban vs Suburban. These are just choices that the average family has to make.

[Chrisk327]

as much as conceptually I'm anti McMansion, I don't see anything wrong with the home in the picture. Maybe I'm completely out of touch here in the north east.

Homes in my area are half the size of that, have in general significantly less curb appeal and new construction starts at around 650K for 2400sqft boxes. to me, its a much nicer proposition to buy a house like the one in the picture, than what is available by me. I can't quite wrap my head around a 5000 sqft house but 3500 seems like a really nice size to me.

[MrRational]

Originally Posted by Chrisk327

...I don't see anything wrong with the home in the picture.
Maybe I'm completely out of touch here in the north east.

Perhaps so.

Regardless of lot size the "square footage under roof" is where rubber meets the road
with the continuing expenses of ownership that most people are very concerned with:
taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, repair and of course the mortgage itself.

A modest 1500-1800SF home shared by a family of four...
is still less than 450SF per person which continues to be a reasonable benchmark.

A 6000 SF home at even 500SF/person implies comfortable space for twelve.
If a family has twelve to house... sure, go for it.

[Momma_bear]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Perhaps so.

Regardless of lot size the square footage under roof is where rubber meets the road with the continuing expenses of ownership that most people are very concerned with: taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, repair and of course the mortgage itself.

A modest 1500-1800SF home shared by a family of four... is a bit over 400SF per person which continues to be a reasonable benchmark.

An 8000 SF home at even 500SF/ person implies space for sixteen.

Since when are you the arbiter of what is "reasonable"?

[T. Damon]

Originally Posted by Momma_bear

We re-did the kitchen with quality materials after being there about 2 years. Kitchens and bathrooms can all be redone.

I don't hate older homes I just don't see why making a choice to buy a McMansion over a quality smaller home is such a big deal. Homebuyers make tradeoffs every day. Space inside for space outside. Custom vs cookie cutter. Urban vs Suburban. These are just choices that the average family has to make.

Yep- I generally hate most new production homes- find them cheap and lifeless with just elements of applied architecture stuck on here and there- super sized ones are all the more glaringly awful and the ex-urban suburbs that most occupy are just as unappealing to me. But I don't have kids- couldn't care less about school districts and am an urban/classic architecture snob so my choices and priorities are based on those qualities as opposed to the understandably more familial/children/school based choices and trade-offs that others make.

There is that product of development for a reason- some people desire/need that style of house and neighborhood. All the more power to them to be able to obtain that in the marketplace.

I guess the only thing that I would protest would be that style of house being shoved into my sweet neighborhood of vintage, mostly small houses on small lots- it would just rudely alter the character of the build environment here.

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by MrRational

Perhaps so.

Regardless of lot size the "square footage under roof" is where rubber meets the road
with the continuing expenses of ownership that most people are very concerned with:
taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, repair and of course the mortgage itself.

A modest 1500-1800SF home shared by a family of four...
is still less than 450SF per person which continues to be a reasonable benchmark.

A 6000 SF home at even 500SF/person implies comfortable space for twelve.
If a family has twelve to house... sure, go for it.

Where do those standards come from? I'm just curious because when I was single I lived in a condo that was about 800 sqft and it certainly didn't feel big or extravagant. My husband's apartment was bigger than that (although it was cheap and ugly, typical of a 20-something guy).

I've got 4000 sqft now, so 2000 sqft per person. The house is big, but it isn't completely ridiculous. We have guests often, so the spare bedrooms are used and every space has a use and gets used regularly. My husband and I shared my condo for awhile when we first got engaged. We both fit in there, but there wasn't space for either of us to work on hobbies (woodworking and electronics for him, jewelry for me). We both have a ton of tools that we had to put into storage until we got our house.