For Owners of Homes Over 7,000 SF – Share Your Experience!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What do y’all do with all that space?? I can’t picture it. I live with my son in 1500sq ft and feel like we have a huge house. The only thing I feel I’m missing is more space for exercise equipment and a laundry room - but that could be an extra 500 ft?

There's only two of you. That's why it feels like enough.

Our house is close to 10,000 sqft probably. Four kids, live-in nanny/housekeeper, one set of inlaws lives with us, the other set visits regularly. Offices for DH and I, workout room, basement for the kid hangout area. Nice laundry space. Mudroom for all that crowd. It adds up.

[Anonymous]

We just bought a house that is 7,900 SF but it has a massive basement that counts towards the SF.

Overall, I do feel the house is a little too large. I wish we had probably stayed closer to 5,000 SF but we wanted a new build and the newer builds are trending really big. I feel a bit awkward about the size when people come over and it is a lot to maintain, but alas -- my husband fell in love with the house so here we are for a long time. We did take out a mortgage but we put about 50% down. This is NW DC.

[Anonymous]

Our house is 7200 square feet in Bethesda. Bought in 2017 for $1.6 million and now worth somewhere between 2.5-3 million. No mortgage.

It has 6 bedrooms but one is used as an office and one as a guest room (which is used every month). We have 5 people in our house.

We have a large gym, a tool room, a movie / game room in the attic, and another office. The hallways are wide, the rooms are very large and spacious. We originally thought it was too big but we use every bit of the space. It was amazing during Covid with remote school and work.

Did we need that much space? Of course not. But we couldn’t get anything close to that for the price we paid in 2017. We lowballed the asking price and it was accepted because the house sat on the market for so long due to being overpriced in the beginning. It has been the best investment we made given its increase in value.

[Anonymous]

Jeez these houses are much cheaper than I would’ve thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Homes in my neighborood range in size between 6K and 10K sq. ft. They have generously sized rooms and high ceilings, and many are configured for multigenerational living, allowing parents to comfortably visit for extended periods of time, or to live with the primary homeowners. In practice, that means a large guest area with separate living room and bedroom, a large walk-in closet, and a large bathroom. Secondary washer/dryers are often present, as well.

The other spaces provide for more than a single office; many homeowner couples both work from home at least some of the time. Several of the homes have rooms devoted exclusively to golf simulators, most have spaces for separate home theaters and gyms. Families with smaller children usually dedicate one or more places for playrooms.

Where is this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homes in my neighborood range in size between 6K and 10K sq. ft. They have generously sized rooms and high ceilings, and many are configured for multigenerational living, allowing parents to comfortably visit for extended periods of time, or to live with the primary homeowners. In practice, that means a large guest area with separate living room and bedroom, a large walk-in closet, and a large bathroom. Secondary washer/dryers are often present, as well.

The other spaces provide for more than a single office; many homeowner couples both work from home at least some of the time. Several of the homes have rooms devoted exclusively to golf simulators, most have spaces for separate home theaters and gyms. Families with smaller children usually dedicate one or more places for playrooms.

Where is this?

Great Falls

[Anonymous]

Our house is about 10,800 sq.ft. on 5 acres in western FFX County. We paid 1.4M for it 8 years ago, and it’s probably worth over 2M right now. We bought it with cash. We bought it because we run a business and needed a house where we can entertain clients and host large gatherings.

On a routine basis, we use probably 1/3rd of the house. However, we also have family that come and stay for months, and it came in really handy over COVID with various people quarantining, or stuck and unable to go home living with us for extended periods of time. We also fairly routinely host parties of 20-40 people, so it all works out.

The funny thing is that I have had several introverted members of the family tell me that it’s nice to have the space, because if they’re sick of the togetherness, they can always find a quiet space to retreat to where they will not be bothered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Homes in my neighborood range in size between 6K and 10K sq. ft. They have generously sized rooms and high ceilings, and many are configured for multigenerational living, allowing parents to comfortably visit for extended periods of time, or to live with the primary homeowners. In practice, that means a large guest area with separate living room and bedroom, a large walk-in closet, and a large bathroom. Secondary washer/dryers are often present, as well.

The other spaces provide for more than a single office; many homeowner couples both work from home at least some of the time. Several of the homes have rooms devoted exclusively to golf simulators, most have spaces for separate home theaters and gyms. Families with smaller children usually dedicate one or more places for playrooms.

Where is this?

Great Falls

The lots are huge there, but they build such homes on much smaller lots these days closer-in in Mclean. 10K sq.ft. on .5 acre is hardly unusual. I always wonder what the necessity for this is as I don't see huge families living in these homes. 3 car garages seem to fit all the cars and none are parked in the driveways or on the street.
I think a lot of space is dedicated to recreational use and entertaining guests (formal living/dining areas, gyms, hobby rooms, home theater, game room, etc) There is some variation of the above with some homes even having private saunas and wine rooms. Clearly, this is geared towards giving people a "taste" of the lifestyle of the rich, except many people buying these homes are not loaded the same way and have to work for a living, don't have full time staff, and don't have all the time to enjoy these spaces and don't even have energy to constantly entertain. There must be the appeal, it would suck having to pay for this extra space if not used frequently enough.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our house is about 10,800 sq.ft. on 5 acres in western FFX County. We paid 1.4M for it 8 years ago, and it’s probably worth over 2M right now. We bought it with cash. We bought it because we run a business and needed a house where we can entertain clients and host large gatherings.

On a routine basis, we use probably 1/3rd of the house. However, we also have family that come and stay for months, and it came in really handy over COVID with various people quarantining, or stuck and unable to go home living with us for extended periods of time. We also fairly routinely host parties of 20-40 people, so it all works out.

The funny thing is that I have had several introverted members of the family tell me that it’s nice to have the space, because if they’re sick of the togetherness, they can always find a quiet space to retreat to where they will not be bothered.

That's what the second homes are for You aren't really retreating if you are in the same house no matter the sq.footage, you still interact and share garage, entrances, walls. I am curious, do you have full time staff or hire staff for these parties? It sounds like too much work to be hosting so many people frequently. If you are rich and have staff then it makes sense. I just don't understand UMC folks who can't afford services and upkeep and especially when both parents work lamenting about the cost of their bi-weekly cleaners and furniture to fill up the space.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will start

8005 SF Mclean/Langley area
Built in 2009
Paid 800k for the land + 900k to build
Estimated value 3.2m
Did a 140k down construction loan
2.75% mortgage which I refinanced in 2020 which a 1.3m balance

I'm so sorry for you. That sounds awful.

What are your utility bills like?

And so much debt - haven’t paid down any of it

[Anonymous]

Who does the cleaning, home maintenance, and gardening for such a large house and/or lot? I remember hearing somewhere that the average person can clean up to 2,500 square feet, but these properties are three to four times that size.

I don't even like cleaning my 1,000 sq foot condo, but it's an easily manageable job for me.

[Anonymous]

The entire house is electric. Because Potomac. Three zones. The main floor is a new geothermal unit. Compared to the outdated and poorly maintained previous Georhermal we went from $1100/ last July to ~700. I would say it’s $6k a year in utilities.

Can’t do solar b/c of the Slate roof. Maybe I can put the 50-60 panels on the roof of the dungeon when we build it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I will start

8005 SF Mclean/Langley area
Built in 2009
Paid 800k for the land + 900k to build
Estimated value 3.2m
Did a 140k down construction loan
2.75% mortgage which I refinanced in 2020 which a 1.3m balance

I'm so sorry for you. That sounds awful.

What are your utility bills like?

And so much debt - haven’t paid down any of it

Pay it down. It should be mostly paid off.