XP: Which House?

[emjacobs]

600 sqft can be a huge difference or no difference at all depending on layout.

How do the houses compare with any other requirements you have? How are the other schools rated?

[sunny]

beyond elementary, what are the ratings? how long do you want to be in this house?

clearly people can make do with any sort of square footage. that said, we have a house in between sizes A and B, and that alone makes me hesitate on house B. we are at 1 kid and it's kind of tight, soon to be 2 kids. if you want 2 kids, I would probably wait/keep looking for something with the schools you want that is larger than 1500 sf.

[teeah22]

There are no guarantees with a short sale. Having been through one, I wouldn't do it again. That being said, I think 1500 sq ft is small for a family of four. I'd probably just keep looking.

[sju]

I chose B but what are the HOA fees? Restrictions? I assume you can add a fence right? You can't change the type of neighborhood or school rating so that's why I chose B. I would rather live in a smaller home but a nicer neighborhood with an excellent school. You could be moving soon after your first starts school assuming you get pg now but who knows if you end up having to stay longer. We purchased a house that needed updates and I have hated the process so I personally prefer to go with a newer home if it is an option. Simple updates are still expensive.

[emjacobs]

Assuming you can add the fence I would do the second one. Short sales can be such a mind game.

You wouldn't be considering it if it was too small for you.

[SusanBAnthony]

B. For us, that sq. footage would be fine. We were recently under contract (fell through due to inspection) for a house with 1700 sq feet. It was plenty of room for us. It was well laid out and not wasted space.

The yard wouldn't bother me- you can fence it later. Same with the deck, it can be added. Of course those things cost money, but so do all new appliances for house a. And house b overall seems nicer and more updates which will save you money in the long run. Plus fewer heating and cooling costs.

[mollybrown]

I picked house A for a few reasons. We just sold a house slightly over 1500 sq ft because we found it was too small for a family of 4. We needed either a basement, or one more living area to have made that house work. Even 1800 sq ft we could have made work long term.

More importantly, the difference between a "good" and "excellent" elementary school would not be enough to make me give up square footage. Those things can change pretty quickly, especially since you won't have school aged children for a long time. If one school was rated poor or marginal, that would make a difference. But both schools could easily be ranked excellent, or both good, or they could flip in 5 or more years.

[emjacobs]

When you walk through B pay attention to how the space is laid out. Is there space that is useless, can you change it?
Does H know the sqft? If not dont tell him and maybe have the realtor not say unless he mentions it. He might not realize how much smaller it is.

We had a horrid short sale experience. Put the offer in 1/6, pulled 6/20 and they still hadn't submitted the final package and were looking at another 3 months. Built a custom build with 9/9 close, someone closed on the short sale 12/7 and put their offer in on 6/21. I just couldn't imagine almost a year turn around.

[jhawks482]

Nov 12, 2012 19:13:21 GMT -5 teeah22 said:

There are no guarantees with a short sale. Having been through one, I wouldn't do it again. That being said, I think 1500 sq ft is small for a family of four. I'd probably just keep looking.

I have to agree. I like the sound of house B better, but 1500 sq feet, one level would be too cozy for a family of four, for me personally. What are the storage options- are there unfinished basements in either that could give you a little extra space, or 3 car garages in either?

[boiler717]

I'm not sure. I think 1500 sq ft is too small but I don't think so you should compromise on location for house A.

[hereonceagain]

Location. Location. Location.

With that said, I'm surprised people think 1500 sf is too small. In my neck of the woods, nobody would think that, or a family of four.

[auntie]

I grew up- family of 4- in 880 sq feet until I was about 16. I never felt cramped though one bath was tough at times.

If one house needs windows and appliances now, they aren't the same price. I just did windows in a 2000 square foot house to the tune of about $16K.

[kristilynnmy]

B. Location was huge for us. Our former house was in a good neighborhood but the neighborhoods nearby were starting to fill up with ghetto people from Philly. I'm not being judgmental that's just what's happening. We had two towns picked to live in based on neighborhood reputation and school districts. When we found our current home we jumped on it even though we weren't even ready to buy again. We ended up in our top choice town (which we both grew up in) and it's one of the top public school districts in case our daughter doesn't end up in Montressouri. So I would say your 'B' option has better location qualities. If the house doesn't seem big enough can you add on at a later time?

[minniebee]

Neither.

It seems like you would be sinking a lot of money into A right away with new appliances, windows, etc.

1500 sq feet seems really small for a family of 4. You will need to use every inch of that 1500 sq ft if you add 2 kids, so it would need to have an awesome layout. Any chance there's an unfinished basement or another way to add living space if you outgrow the house?

[thewop]

A lot of people will disagree, but I think 1500sq ft will be fine. If you're comfortable with it ahead of time, you'll make it work. I grew up with 2 brothers, 1 sister, a dog, a cat and 2 parents in 1200 sq ft and we all survived just fine. I now live in 1000 sq ft with one child, a dog and my husband and it works. It's "normal" for me. We also plan on having another child in this house. The layout of our house is great though. And you really can't beat cul-de-sac living. I'd gladly take a smaller house in a great neighborhood with a great school over a bigger house in a less desireable neighborhood any day. We do have a full unfinished basement, however we don't use it for anything but minimal storage right now.

[FoxInFiji]

All I read was nice neighborhood and a better school district. It's all about location. House B wins for me.

A family of four can live in 1500sf. How comfortable you'll be in that depends on how well the space is laid out and how well you're able to organize and purge.

[sju]

Last May we went to see several model homes that were part of a parade of homes. There were two houses in one neighborhood. One was approx. 1500 SQFT and the other close to 1700. The first house felt bigger because it had a great layout. I grew up (family of 5) in a 800 SQFT home and one bath. The bathroom situation was tough but other than that it was fine. We purged stuff often and did not buy what we absolutely did not need. Big toys were kept in the garage.

[minniebee]

I think the size home that's comfortable is different for each person. It depends on what's important to you.

For example, some people wouldn't want a house without a guest bedroom because they have frequent overnight guests. Others couldn't care less about guest accommodations. Some people need a home office, other people don't. Some people entertain a lot and care about having a formal dining room, while others just aren't dinner party people. Some people have hobbies that take up a lot of space, others don't. Some people want a separate play room for kids and their toys, others are fine with storing the toys in the living room.

You know your lifestyle and your needs in a home, we don't. So even if some of us think 1500 sq ft sounds really small, it's your needs that are important.

If you think you'd be comfortable in 1500 sq ft, then definitely go for house B.

[mollybrown]

My understanding is that these houses are in the SAME school district, so that affected my answer.

1500 wasn't enough for us because we needed at least one more common area...a play room, a rec room, or a family room. We like to entertain, and only had one space that became over run with toys after our second child. Our house was 2 stories, so it wasn't functional to move their toys and gear to their rooms. We spent most of our time on the first floor, and they aren't old enough to play unsupervised upstairs.

Of course you can raise a family in a small house. I grew up in an 800 sq ft house with 5 other family members. It sucked, and it's not something I would prefer to do.

[pinkeggs]

As someone who just went through this last spring, I can tell you house B, hands down (assuming you think the space wouldn't be an issue). We live in a good neighborhood, in a cul-de-sac, and it has been HUGE for my kids. Because the area is so safe and being in a cul-de-sac, they are outside playing way more than they were before. We know our neighbors and feel very secure here.

Good luck!

[stephm0188]

I would never consider a home not in our desired school district. I'd choose B.