It is 2500 sf. It has everything we are looking for but is way bigger than we want or need. Fantastic lot with lots of beautiful well-trimmed oak trees and garden spaces. Not on the market yet so we have a little time to think about it. Bigger means more of every expense but most importantly property taxes. We were shooting for around 1600 sf but there just aren't a lot of them out there. Still deciding whether to go for it or keep looking for smaller.
Is it likely your family will grow in the future and you could use the space then?
Personally, if you plan for this to be your "last" house purchase, I would say wait until you find what you actually want. If you plan to buy and then move again in a couple years, it sounds like it would have a nice resale value, so go for it.Originally Posted by pinkytoe
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
Is there a chance a relative might need to move in with you at any time? Are the property taxes high in that area? That would be big for me, too--but it's rare to find the perfect house. If everything else matches your specs I would certainly consider it, if property taxes are reasonable. As always, go with your instincts.
Since the lot sounds lovely and probably the location is good, I might get out pencil and paper and really compute how much that extra 1000 square-foot of house will cost you in taxes, heat and cooling. Just ‘cause you have a space doesn’t mean you have to keep it heated and cooled to the same level, but of course there is always the maintenance of that space meaning exterior painting, interior painting, roofing, that extra square footage etc. If you can objectively put a cost on it you might find it palatable.
make sure the trees are in good condition and you won’t have big tree maintenance bills coming down the pike.
Is this back in Texas?
I'd be tempted, especially as that extra space gives a nice area to finish off as guest space, and you want your daughter to have space to visit with husband and your granddaughters. That's four extra people that might want to stay over sometimes.
Depending on how the added space comes (extra rooms or just each room a little bigger), it may not be that much more expensive to maintain -- except for the property taxes, if that's how they do that where you live (here it's by assessed valuation, which has no direct correlation to square footage).
For me, it would come down to how good everything else was. If the size is all you dislike about it, and you know how rarely houses your desired size come around (never mind 1600-sq ft houses with everything you want and on nice lots), well, it's not ridiculously bigger. I'd go for it.
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington
Yes, it is back in Texas in a small town in the Hill Country. I would hope it is our last house. It needs cosmetic updates but the "bones" are good. It doesn't have a bunch of rooms but the ones it has are very large. And it has a large formal dining room which is useless to us as that. Here is a photo of the backyard:
Screen Shot 2020-06-14 at 9.11.37 PM.jpg
Very pretty backyard, but it looks like a shared backyard. Is it?
To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown
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