Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
We have 2800 sf under HVAC (also additional sf under covered front and back porches). One story. And I think it's just about right. For us. At least the way we set it up. Main living area (living room/kitchen/dining room). Separate laundry room. Four bedrooms - three baths. We use one bedroom as the master - two as "home offices" - and the fourth as a guest room. Lots of storage (including a great walk-in pantry). Guess we could do without the third bathroom and the guest room bedroom now (we don't have many guests these days) - but it's not too much "extra". And we could possibly use those rooms for "live in help" down the road if we needed that kind of help.
Note that we don't have a basement or usable attic space. So we don't have areas to accumulate unused "out of sight out of mind" stuff. We do have a 3 car garage - but it is relatively empty (especially empty since we got a little water intrusion in the garage during Hurricane Matthew - and used it as an opportunity to get rid of things we knew we'd never use again).
The only thing we do have too much of is land - about 3/4 acre. Could do with less. Especially now that we're older (69/71) and can't take care of it ourselves. For that matter - it would be tough for us to take care of the house 100% by ourselves (we do have a once a week housekeeper and an occasional home handyman). I think the bigger you go - the more you have to anticipate relying on outside help as you get older (paying for it too). Robyn
I would probably go smaller as it's just me, but I think for two this is about the right size - ample space for guests and hobbies, as well as having room for hobbies that take up space if you have them. I don't like stairs and one story is virtually a requirement in the homes I'm looking at.
I enjoy having a patio at ground level and a car port but do not enjoy having to wear cleets while push mowing and riding for ninety minutes a week, while having to shift my rear end around to keep from rolling the mower on the hill. I will never live on another hill!
It looks like many who want to keep the extra space (and bedrooms) anticipate lots of visitors.
Of course around the holidays that's expected....but other than a couple weeks at the end of the year, has anyone found they don't have nearly as much "company" ( or at least visitors that actually stay with them) as originally anticipated? In other words, was it more wishful thinking on your part that the kids and friends would visit or has it panned out to the degree expected?
I can see keeping one guest room but not more. It's unlikely I'd ever have so many guests (or not a couple) that more than one bedroom would even be required. If it came to that I would get cots for the living room or something.
We want to downsize from 3200 sq. ft home to ~ 1800 sq. ft but have had no luck of finding small to medium size newish homes with acreage in all the areas that we have considered (Vancouver WA, Olympic Pennisula, Boise/Nampa and currently Spokane/CDA).
All the nice newer existing homes have 4 or more bedrooms, 3 or more bathrooms, 3500 or more sq. ft.
Small newer homes meeting our criteria (2-3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1600-2400 sq. ft on minimum 1 A lot) do exist but for whatever reasons, they are located in small rural towns, too far from our key locations (an airport and a rowing club - this means near a medium or big size town/city).
We have thought of just buying a lot and have a house built to our criteria/needs. The problem is that it is difficult to find an attractive lot with mature trees and nice view.
We also prefer a single story home but it is cheaper for builder to build multi-stories houses.
We have been searching for about 2 years but don't have much hope in finding one fitting our criteria. We may end up having to buy a house bigger than what we need or want!
This is an interesting point and I've seen this complaint come up before and ran into it myself.
When I was in Indiana, I was interested in purchasing a home for awhile. Most of the newer suburban development (which is the vast majority of the metro) are essentially large vinyl boxes on tiny lots with no trees, sidewalks, etc. You could sometimes go several miles and see nothing but this style of development.
It is almost impossible these days to build a new, smaller home. Developers won't build them because they get more margin on larger homes.
In our first retirement buy down, we went from a $450K, 1600sq ft townhouse to a $200K, 2500sq ft ranch style. In our last buy down we sold the 2,500sq ft ranch for $280K and went to a 1,400sq ft patio home for $130K.
The 1,400sq ft is ideal for the two of us. It also included the HOA doing all outside maintenance (house exterior and landscaping) which was a major part of our decision.
Funny, we are going in the opposite direction. For 20 years we've lived in a 1200 sq, ft. tri-level house with a big yard. It's just the two of us and while at times it's seemed a little small, we've gotten used to it and managed okay.
As we move into early retirement next year, we are relocating from the Midwest to the Las Vegas area and want something that is a ranch style house and closer to 1500 sq. ft. It's not much of a difference, but having everything on one level makes it seem bigger than having three smaller levels.
One thing I am aware of is that the lot sizes out there are much smaller. I can live with that, but we do need some kind of yard with a lawn for the dog. Some of the houses we've seen have backyards that are literally over-sized patios, and that absolutely will not work.
Yeah, we moved from a 1600 sq. ft. house to a 4200 sq. ft. house with a detached garage even bigger than our previous home. Way more than we 'need', but we looked at nearly 30 homes and this was the one that checked all the boxes. We appreciate the extra space - guests have their own separate floor.
We are in our retirement home now. 1819 square feet, corner lot. If I outlive my husband I may downsize or in the alternative, pay someone to do the yard and cleaning and remain where I am.
We feel our 2500 sq. ft. home is just right for now and in the future, with 4-5 beds/3 baths. We could live downstairs with a bed/full bath there.
Living room used as an office now. Beautiful 3/4 season back porch. Spacious family room. One bedroom upstairs, which we use as a sitting room, is connected by French doors to the master bedroom. Another bed/bath upstairs is for visiting kids, and another bedroom stores all of the kids' bins of belongings which they will eventually take.
We really use all the space. No basement and no usable attic, only a pull- down which is a pain.
3/4 acre lot golf course lot, mostly woods with a small zoysia lawn that seldom needs cutting. Great neighbors. I don't know where we could go in our area that would be a better situation.
I can see keeping one guest room but not more. It's unlikely I'd ever have so many guests (or not a couple) that more than one bedroom would even be required. If it came to that I would get cots for the living room or something.
You obviously don't care to entertain family and have overnight guests, and that is fine.
But many of us need the extra space and want the extra space.
It is nice to have actual rooms and beds for everyone, and not cots in the living room.
Would YOU sleep on a cot in the living room?
Yes and no. We downsized from way too much yard and house, to manageable. If my husband was not healthy, this suburban yard would quickly be too much, too.
I think we still have one more house left in us. It might be a condo, or it could be an NC house without grass, but just a pine straw yard.
One thing that I have noticed is that we only use half the rooms in the house, no matter how small or large it is. If I have my druthers, I will have just a few large rooms, with high end finishes, rather than a lot of smaller ones. I could be happy as can be with an eat in kitchen, greatroom and master suite, and nothing else, as long as I have lots of natural light and high ceilings.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
