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Interesting. Thanks. They must not be able to include the basement in the size. We ran into that too. It does not matter what Is in the basement, it cannot be counted unless the house is built into a hill with one wall of the basement exposed.
They started building it in 2006. I know this because the people grading our property abandoned our project and went to work over there. It ended up costing me several thousand dollars
This is an old topic, but an interesting one cause I'm looking at houses myself (about to get married with a baby on the way). I'm using the equity from my old house for a brand new house. I live in NOVA and around here, you seem to get either 2 options...a giant 3500+ McMansion, a 1500-3000 sq ft townhouse, or a really old ranch style house from the 1940's worth almost a million dollars (just due to location).
There are 3 houses Im considering in Loudoun county for around the same price range (give or take $100k) One is a SF house that's about 4000 sq ft. While 2 others are both townhouses, one is 2100 sq ft and the other is 2800 sq ft. We thought about getting the SF house but like this topic is showing me, what's the point for 2 people and 1-2 kids? It feels like it'll just be a big house that will eat up costs monthly in powering and heating/cooling it. We have big families, but also have family locally so there's no point in getting something that drastic yet.
Then I was looking at the 2 townhomes. While the 2800 sq ft one looks great, honestly the 2100 sq ft one seems just perfect for the size. (not to mention, there's an 100K price difference between the 2 houses). The 2800 sq ft house is literally the same floorplan as the other one but it's 3 feet wider and in person, it's not a huge difference. In fact, it feels emptier with the extra space and the space will go unused.
Seeing topics like this really helps out in my decision. I think a good size 2100 sq ft place is perfect, since we only want 2 kids anyways. 4000 sq ft is appealing but like others in this thread have mentioned, I can see myself never using some of the extra rooms.
I've always said if I had to do it over again I would NOT get a house with a dining room or formal living room. In fact, my husband and I have debated turning our formal living and dining room into a 1st floor master suite as we head into retirement and just having our 2nd floor master and the other three bedrooms be available for visiting extended family. We'd then have single-floor living as retirees.
Then I was looking at the 2 townhomes. While the 2800 sq ft one looks great, honestly the 2100 sq ft one seems just perfect for the size. (not to mention, there's an 100K price difference between the 2 houses). The 2800 sq ft house is literally the same floorplan as the other one but it's 3 feet wider and in person, it's not a huge difference. In fact, it feels emptier with the extra space and the space will go unused.
I own one side of a side by side duplex (they are specifically sold that way in my neighborhood, my entire block is filled with them, each half separately owned).
It's about 1800 sq ft. 3 bedrooms plus a small (bedroom sized) loft. It's certainly enough room and we rarely use the third bedroom which is a guest room/office, but I wanted it for resale value when I built.
But kind of ironic given your comment, I really, really wish the house was 3 feet wider. The layout is perfect and the room sizes all work. But a tiny bit more breathing space in each room would make a noticeable difference, esp. the main floor/great room.
Were they both furnished when you looked at them? Sometimes empty homes can be deceptive in terms of the space.
You may want to play around with some floor plans and mock ups of furniture layouts and think about the space between pieces and also layouts that might allow furniture placement where it's not all pushed up against the walls in some cases
Plus baby gear takes up more room than you might think - swing, playpen, bouncer, rocking seat, and more. So the extra space may come in more handy than you think
The piano in the original post cracks me up. I wonder how many people actually gather around the grand piano unless they're in a Hallmark Christmas movie.
As to usable space and how big is too big, our current home is 1900 square feet. So it's not huge, but it's the biggest we've lived in. The house has both a living and family room, which I've always wanted. I initially worried that without a TV the living room wouldn't get much use and would just be a pass-through, but it's been great to have both living spaces. We read in the living room, play, and enjoy the fireplace. The computer is hidden in there for when I work from home. It's central, between the bedrooms and the kitchen.
The family room is 500 square feet and has room for a gigantic sectional, a lot of bookcases, and an art/craft table and storage for the kids. The TV is in there, but we don't watch a ton of TV, so it's not the focus. It's just a great all-purpose room. What we don't have is a formal dining room, and I don't miss that. We have a dining area between the living and family rooms, with a slider out to the patio, where we eat often during the summer. The kitchen is a fair size. It doesn't have an island but has a peninsula where we have stools for the kids to do their homework and eat breakfast. Works great for us. I can honestly say we really use all of our house, so it's a good size.
If we were to get a bigger house, the additional square footage would likely play out as bigger bedrooms. That would be okay with me, but it's not absolutely necessary.
I own one side of a side by side duplex (they are specifically sold that way in my neighborhood, my entire block is filled with them, each half separately owned).
It's about 1800 sq ft. 3 bedrooms plus a small (bedroom sized) loft. It's certainly enough room and we rarely use the third bedroom which is a guest room/office, but I wanted it for resale value when I built.
But kind of ironic given your comment, I really, really wish the house was 3 feet wider. The layout is perfect and the room sizes all work. But a tiny bit more breathing space in each room would make a noticeable difference, esp. the main floor/great room.
Were they both furnished when you looked at them? Sometimes empty homes can be deceptive in terms of the space.
You may want to play around with some floor plans and mock ups of furniture layouts and think about the space between pieces and also layouts that might allow furniture placement where it's not all pushed up against the walls in some cases
Plus baby gear takes up more room than you might think - swing, playpen, bouncer, rocking seat, and more. So the extra space may come in more handy than you think
Just something to think about.
Yeah both models were furnished. I think it'd be worth it if the houses were different but they literally both have the same floorplan and the one that's 3 ft wider is an extra $100K. I keep going back and forth to see if I'll end up like you, but in the end of the day, 100K is pretty significant. I think the only thing that I lose is a 2 car garage vs. a 1 car garage.
As a new immigrant to this country, I was overwhelmed with the house sizes here in the US. Back in my home country, we were living in 1000 sqt 2-storey house sitting on a 860 sq ft of land. It has a one car port. The moment you enter the house is already our family room. I still own the house and its rented for $290 a month, it fully covers our mortgage.
Now, we're in a 1.5 storey 1900 sqft 3BR house in a suburban Phoenix. The house is sitting in almost half the land area whihc is 7000 sqft land.
It is probably too small for a family of 6 (2 adults and 4 kids) by American standards but it is already too big for us. We converted our dining and living room into one big indoor play area for the kids. We dine in our eat-in kitchen. 2 kids share in each common bedroom. The whole area of the house is busy. My wife and I spend most of our time in the kitchen and family room while the kids love their big play area. I can't complain though I wish (1) we have a separate bathroom for the kids, ours is jack and jill type and (2) there's another decent size bedroom for the guests.
I know a family who just recently moved in here. There are only 4 of them in the household but the house they bought is a 3000 sqm 5-BR house and 4 car garage. They bought the brand new so it is expensive and it is way way too far from the city. I mean, if I were them, I would just buy a 3BR house and save the extra money.
My wife and I are both in our late 80s, and live in a 4 level (lowest a garden level not a basement) 3,700 sq. ft. home, with a huge family room with out door patio off of that, with the utility room off of that. Then there is the main living area, which is a living room, with dinning room off of that, and a half bath. There is a a great veranda off of the living room and dining room. This level has the huge kitchen and a family dining area separated from the kitchen by a breakfast bar.
Third level is a bedroom suite with a patio off of that. 4th level has two bedroom and bath with a 14X30 room, we use as a family room, with our television and a dedicated Computer tower to power it. We have a nice sitting area on the other end of the room, with a convertible sofa and chairs for seating.
This sounds like a lot of not used rooms, and sometimes it is, but when we have kids and grandkids and great grandkids, come home we fill it up. The living room is nice when visitors stop by, and the family rooms can be messy as they get more use. As family members know they can come visit, and we have room for them, they come much oftener, than they would if we lived in a cramped small house or apartment.
We have a housekeeper come in 3 days a week to keep it clean and picked up, which is something we have always had since the mid 70s. We have a full acre that is landscaped and another 4 acres of unused pasture.
We love the privacy this house provides, as it is over 300 feet to our closest neighbor. The house is a showplace, that people wonder who can live there.
And the nice thing is, it has been appreciating at $40k to $50K a year and our total annual cost to keep including housekeeper, and yard man, insurance, upkeep and taxes is less than renting a quality apartment in the area.
Of course we have made the home elderly friendly. Grab bars where needed for safety. 3 Chairlifts, so we just sit in a chair and ride between floors for safety. Etc.
Our question is, why should we want to give up the home we love, and move into a small home that could not hold company overnight, and have rooms that allow separating kids and adults so they can visit?
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