Regret buying a big house?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a 3000 sf house with a larger yard. Didn't use much of the house and didn't like how far out we were to get that space. Stayed for 2 years, sold and moved closer in into a 1600 sf house which serves us just fine. There are days I wish I had maybe 2200 sf, but not for the tradeoff on location.

+1 This is us.

[Anonymous]

We bought a 2200 sq ft house with two kids, and I feel like it is too much space or more space than we need. There are areas of the house we don't use. Likewise, we have this beautiful backyard that we thought we would use all the time, and we never do. All it is is upkeep.

I wish we had gotten a slightly smaller house without the same yard maintenance.

[Anonymous]

6000 sf
4 acres
3 people
1 dog

It’s perfect. Plenty of room for visiting family. Beautiful home and yard.
I don’t clean or do the yard work, so it is wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm in 1,500 SF close-in and I don't know what my neighbors are having for dinner. Unless they are BBQ'ing outside, and then I'm sitting on the deck thinking, "well crap, maybe I should BBQ too. That smells delicious."

Ha me too

[Anonymous]

Much depends on the layout. If that extra space is used for well-proportioned public rooms for entertaining and lots of storage space in or near the kitchen and bedrooms, then it works. Otherwise, you end up with lots of bedrooms that aren't quite set up right for uses besides bedrooms and you are still lacking room where you need it. The space should be used to provide a laundry room upstairs, lots of storage for blankets/pool towels/suitcases/craft supplies, and a mudroom. A place in the basement for washing off muddy stuff and bathing dogs is also a practical use of space. Most large houses in the DMV region have too many bedrooms and bathrooms and not enough of these other things. Lots open up right into the living room, which guarantees you'll always have a mess in there.

I moved out of a larger house with about 500 more SF than my current house, but in my new house I have a place for everything and the rooms are the right size/layout for modern family usage. We don't have separate family and living rooms. Instead, we have stylish but durable furniture in the living room and that's where we hang out if we're not in the kitchen cooking/eating or in the office working or playing on the computer. We have a separate entryway with loads of storage and a main-floor office next to the living room, which help us keep the living room space tidy and peaceful. The master bedroom has a dressing room/closet that does wonders for keeping my bedroom clutter free.

At first I thought the kitchen was taking up too big of a share of the ground floor space. But the reality is that when we have company, everyone wants to be in there. We also eat most of our meals in the kitchen on the little counter height table. The dining room is essentially a place with pretty furniture that hides/stores all the dining or entertaining things we don't use on a daily basis like the crock pot and big roasting pans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Much depends on the layout. If that extra space is used for well-proportioned public rooms for entertaining and lots of storage space in or near the kitchen and bedrooms, then it works. Otherwise, you end up with lots of bedrooms that aren't quite set up right for uses besides bedrooms and you are still lacking room where you need it. The space should be used to provide a laundry room upstairs, lots of storage for blankets/pool towels/suitcases/craft supplies, and a mudroom. A place in the basement for washing off muddy stuff and bathing dogs is also a practical use of space. Most large houses in the DMV region have too many bedrooms and bathrooms and not enough of these other things. Lots open up right into the living room, which guarantees you'll always have a mess in there.

I moved out of a larger house with about 500 more SF than my current house, but in my new house I have a place for everything and the rooms are the right size/layout for modern family usage. We don't have separate family and living rooms. Instead, we have stylish but durable furniture in the living room and that's where we hang out if we're not in the kitchen cooking/eating or in the office working or playing on the computer. We have a separate entryway with loads of storage and a main-floor office next to the living room, which help us keep the living room space tidy and peaceful. The master bedroom has a dressing room/closet that does wonders for keeping my bedroom clutter free.

At first I thought the kitchen was taking up too big of a share of the ground floor space. But the reality is that when we have company, everyone wants to be in there. We also eat most of our meals in the kitchen on the little counter height table. The dining room is essentially a place with pretty furniture that hides/stores all the dining or entertaining things we don't use on a daily basis like the crock pot and big roasting pans.

This is very true. I have a traditional DC colonial and while I love it and there's plenty of space overall, there's not enough space where I need space. There is little storage. My dining room is too big, and I'm someone who hosts formal dinner parties. My living room is oriented around the fireplace, so it's hard to put a tv in there. Little things like that. The kitchen was made for help and is too small for anyone but me. The real problem is that the staircase is smack in the middle of the house versus being off to a side. That made sense in the days before central HVAC, but not anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have a bit under 4,000 and a cleaner every other week. No regrets.

We have a little over 4,000 sq ft and do the same thing. No regrets here either.

[Anonymous]

I don't see the point, and I hate how they always look like a hodgepodge, most with garage being heavily featured in the look. That's not attacking anyone's lifestyle, just find that stuff really tacky. Had to drive to Winchester recently and we took some side roads and went through an entire neighborhood of 7k-plus (I think) houses, all on decent lots, all with rolling on expanses of identical lawn... And it was so sterile and cold. Beautiful day outside, but not a soul was outside, except for a few landscapers. They all looked like they were trying to be southern mansions, but none were.

If you're going to get a house that big, get an actual old one that is interesting .

[Anonymous]

this is us. 4 person family in a 4000 sq ft home, great layout, 4 bathrooms, a big covered deck and a small yard. It's perfect for us.

[Anonymous]

NP. For the pro big house posters: do you have housekeeping? how often? yard service? approx cost? thnx.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. For the pro big house posters: do you have housekeeping? how often? yard service? approx cost? thnx.

4000 sq ft home owner here. Yes, housekeeper every other week. HOA does our yard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. For the pro big house posters: do you have housekeeping? how often? yard service? approx cost? thnx.

I have a wife and a Gardner.

Wife takes 99 percent of salary so housecleaning is expensive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have a bit under 4,000 and a cleaner every other week. No regrets.

We have a little over 4,000 sq ft and do the same thing. No regrets here either.

Us too. Perfect size for our family of 5.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. For the pro big house posters: do you have housekeeping? how often? yard service? approx cost? thnx.

I'm the 9K house poster. We have a housekeeper once a week and lawn service.

[Anonymous]

family of 4 in 9000 sqft (including finished walkout basement). enjoy the space very much and absolutely don't feel it's too big.