Small families with big houses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In my searches in Arlington, there is often not that much of a price difference between well maintained, older 3-4 bedroom houses with 2500 sq ft (often around $1.5-$1.7 million) and relatively new McMansions with 5-6 bedrooms with 4000-5000 sq ft (often around $1.8-$2.0 million). So it can make lots of sense to just go for the bigger house, even if you don't really need the extra space.

You aren't factoring in the cost of furnishing unnecessary spaces and the cost of maintenance on that larger house.

Actually, furnishing an extra bedroom is not that expensive. And maintenance might actually favor the larger house -- they are typically newer, so assuming they are well built (which I know is not always the case), the maintenance costs can be lower. Even heating and cooling costs can favor the larger, newer house because older houses can be very drafty and have rooms that get much cooler/hotter than other rooms.

All I'm saying is that it can be a totally rational thing to do to pick the bigger house, even for a small family.

[Anonymous]

Our house is 8,000 sq/ft and we're a family of 4. We have 8 bathrooms and 7-8 bedrooms.

There's 2 basement rooms (storage room and second guest room) that I rarely step into. All the other rooms I'm in at least once a day. Two home offices, arts/crafts room, playroom, exercise room, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In my searches in Arlington, there is often not that much of a price difference between well maintained, older 3-4 bedroom houses with 2500 sq ft (often around $1.5-$1.7 million) and relatively new McMansions with 5-6 bedrooms with 4000-5000 sq ft (often around $1.8-$2.0 million). So it can make lots of sense to just go for the bigger house, even if you don't really need the extra space.

Older 3-4 bedroom homes are not $1.5-1.7M. I’m sitting in my $1.2M 4 bedroom house in N Arlington in a neighborhood full of 3-4 bedroom homes in the $800-1.3M range. I agree if you are building or renovating, it makes sense to go bigger.

[Anonymous]

You guys are all insane. We have about 2000 sqft - family of four and it has never felt too small. This summer we will be empty nesters and I wonder what we will do with all the extra space.

[Anonymous]

we are a family of three-our child is 4 and living in a 6000+ sqf. I feel guilty all the time environmentally, the cost of heating etc. But we did furnish minimally and have family and friends staying over all the time. The problem was in the are we were looking it was either small or too large.

[Anonymous]

When I see big houses -- like more than 4000 sq ft, I always think that it would feel really lonely being surrounded by all that empty space! If you have enough people living there to fill it up -- like 8-15 people in those really big homes -- then I can see it.

But, to me -- being surrounded by a lot of space that is not occupied by people just feels way more isolated and lonely than being in an apartment-size space by myself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You guys are all insane. We have about 2000 sqft - family of four and it has never felt too small. This summer we will be empty nesters and I wonder what we will do with all the extra space.

+1.

I think our house is considered to be 2800 sq ft. With four people living here, I still feel like we have about 33% more space than we need/use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

We moved from a 5,300 square foot house to a 9,000 square foot house for more room. It depends on what your hobbies and proclivities are when considering the amount of space needed for one's pleasure.

Very similar here - 4K to 9.5K sq. ft for a couple. We wanted a less crowded garage, separate rooms for individual offices, a large guest suite for visitors, and dedicated rooms for a a gym, golf simulator, music, and other interests.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We moved from a 5,300 square foot house to a 9,000 square foot house for more room. It depends on what your hobbies and proclivities are when considering the amount of space needed for one's pleasure.

Very similar here - 4K to 9.5K sq. ft for a couple. We wanted a less crowded garage, separate rooms for individual offices, a large guest suite for visitors, and dedicated rooms for a a gym, golf simulator, music, and other interests.

This is shockingly wasteful. I hope your dreams are haunted by people who can't afford any place to live, much less a massive house for just two people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you use all of your rooms? We are in a 2k sq ft house where every room has a well-used purpose, so I am curious. We have a few friends with 1-2 kids that have recently bought huge (5-6 bed, 5+ bath, 6k+ sq ft) houses with rooms upon rooms that seemingly have no purpose - multiple playrooms, multiple lounge/reading rooms, etc. Are houses this big with small families mostly for show?

It’s a waste 80% of the time but if you can afford, 20% usage makes life comfortable. Isn’t that’s what money is for?

[Anonymous]

Family of 3 with a 4 bedroom townhouse. We only use two of the rooms. The other two rooms we use for either working out or as guest rooms. It’s perfect for when family comes over for the holidays because there’s space for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We moved from a 5,300 square foot house to a 9,000 square foot house for more room. It depends on what your hobbies and proclivities are when considering the amount of space needed for one's pleasure.

Very similar here - 4K to 9.5K sq. ft for a couple. We wanted a less crowded garage, separate rooms for individual offices, a large guest suite for visitors, and dedicated rooms for a a gym, golf simulator, music, and other interests.

This is shockingly wasteful. I hope your dreams are haunted by people who can't afford any place to live, much less a massive house for just two people.

DP. We are three people in 6,000+ sq ft. home. My dreams are not haunted by the fact that I bought a large house. We donate over $100,000 a year to one food insecurity charity as well as volunteer our time. What are you doing to help those less fortunate?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When I see big houses -- like more than 4000 sq ft, I always think that it would feel really lonely being surrounded by all that empty space! If you have enough people living there to fill it up -- like 8-15 people in those really big homes -- then I can see it.

But, to me -- being surrounded by a lot of space that is not occupied by people just feels way more isolated and lonely than being in an apartment-size space by myself.

You get used to it! It feels very airy and spacious.

[Anonymous]

We're 3 in a 3200sf and use about half of it. 3 bedrooms are not used at all, except to house junk. We really only wanted about 2k sf but the things we wanted (3 car garage, big lot, pool, etc.,) only came with bigger houses.

[Anonymous]

We are a family of 4, in a 2500 sq ft house. I wish I had my own home office and a guest room for elderly parents to visit, as well as a larger kitchen and a garage. So, 4000 or 5000 sq ft would be perfect.