View Full Version : Very small new houses
iris lilies
9-23-21, 10:21am
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/310-Maple-Valley-Ct_Washington_MO_63090_M94416-03638?propertySlug=310-Maple-Valley-Ct_Washington_MO_63090_M94416-03638&property_id=9441603638&from=ab_mixed_view_card
Here is a brand new house being built at 1000 ft.². The finishes are very cheap to my eyes, but I’m sure one can upgrade. $225,000 is a lot of money for what you get here I think, But I am pleased that small houses are in vogue again.
I have been noticing many 1200 to 1400 ft.² houses being built in my hometown in Iowa which is a suburb of Des Moines. But I had not seen one in the 1000 range there.
The fact that this little house is within walking distance of downtown Washington, MO is even more encouraging.
catherine
9-23-21, 10:48am
Yeah, you know I'm glad about the small house trend.
As far as the house you linked to, to me it's like a standard HGTV "give the customer what they want to sell it fast"--"open concept" "big island" "neutral colors" ..bathroom is OK but nothing special. I have no idea what the housing costs are in that market, so I can't comment on the price.
But as a general rule, I do NOT like garages that are closer to the street than the front door. I remember my MIL complaining about that type of architecture as well. Garages are not typically pretty nor welcoming features. Just seems like weird Feng shui.
My beautiful Ocean Grove, NJ is undergoing a horrific modernization, even though it's designated as a Historic Landmark town. The blocks in OG were originally designed as a grid. Every block had the front of the house facing the street, and the closer to the ocean the further back the house was set on the lawn in order to give as many people as possible going down the block the best view of the ocean. That's kind of a sidebar note on the real issue: Now, people are buying the house in the front and the house behind them and putting them together with one big house, and now all the garages are on the other block facing each other. So ugly to walk down to the beach and pass a row of buildings with the charm of a storage unit facility. :(
iris lilies
9-23-21, 10:53am
Yeah, you know I'm glad about the small house trend.
As far as the house you linked to, to me it's like a standard HGTV "give the customer what they want to sell it fast"--"open concept" "big island" "neutral colors" ..bathroom is OK but nothing special. I have no idea what the housing costs are in that market, so I can't comment on the price.
But as a general rule, I do NOT like garages that are closer to the street than the front door. I remember my MIL complaining about that type of architecture as well. Garages are not typically pretty nor welcoming features. Just seems like weird Feng shui.
My beautiful Ocean Grove, NJ is undergoing a horrific modernization, even though it's designated as a Historic Landmark town. The blocks in OG were originally designed as a grid. Every block had the front of the house facing the street, and the closer to the ocean the further back the house was set on the lawn in order to give as many people as possible going down the block the best view of the ocean. That's kind of a sidebar note on the real issue: Now, people are buying the house in the front and the house behind them and putting them together with one big house, and now all the garages are on the other block facing each other. So ugly to walk down to the beach and pass a row of buildings with the charm of a storage unit facility. :(
oh, no no, no. WTF is UP with historic building standards in Ocean Grove!!??? Poorly written and poorly conceive standards sounds to me like.
Now I’m going to have to go off and Google this later today because this has me intrigued.
iris lilies
9-23-21, 10:55am
About the tiny house and the garage in front of it, I have to say that the automobile is here to stay in our lives. They must have houses. I am not a fan of big garage is facing the street specially as you say in front of the feont door, but now that I am participating in that abomination, I’m hardly one to throw stones!
catherine
9-23-21, 11:03am
About the tiny house and the garage in front of it, I have to say that the automobile is here to stay in our lives. They must have houses. I am not a fan of big garage is facing the street specially as you say in front of the feont door, but now that I am participating in that abomination, I’m hardly one to throw stones!
Yeah, I know everyone needs a garage, but I just don't like when they're so in-your-face. Yours is at least on the same line as the front door, right?
This is a more affordable small house at $89,900:
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/11-Stearns-Ct_Hinsdale_NH_03451_M38092-16310
The taxes are affordable too. But it has electric heat and hot water which can be expensive.
catherine
9-23-21, 12:00pm
This is a more affordable small house at $89,900:
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/11-Stearns-Ct_Hinsdale_NH_03451_M38092-16310
The taxes are affordable too. But it has electric heat and hot water which can be expensive.
OMG, that is adorable!!! Yeah, to your point, if it had a wood/pellet stove, it would be a real winner!
iris lilies
9-23-21, 12:02pm
Yeah, I know everyone needs a garage, but I just don't like when they're so in-your-face. Yours is at least on the same line as the front door, right?
I guess our Hermann garage is in line with our front door. Probably our architect thought of that. He has to look at it, living as he does right across the street.
GeorgeParker
9-23-21, 12:50pm
But as a general rule, I do NOT like garages that are closer to the street than the front door. I remember my MIL complaining about that type of architecture as well. Garages are not typically pretty nor welcoming features. Just seems like weird Feng shui.Looking at that house here https://www.estately.com/listings/info/310-maple-valley-court it is obvious that the living area and kitchen are in the rear part of the house and the bedrooms and garage are in the front part. That's why the formal front door is way around the on side like that. The owners are expected to always enter and leave through the garage, which is probably a reasonable assumption. But it is still a weird design. Who puts the front door way around on the side of the house like that?
But the garage I have no objection to. It only extends a foot or two in front of the front wall of the house, which is normal enough to not bother me. But putting the bedroom on the street side and the front door way back there; no sale, keep looking.
garages that are closer to the street than the front door.
That is on our list of prefer not to have - our realtor calls them hog nose houses. It is kind of ugly to have one's garage be the main feature.
Teacher Terry
9-23-21, 1:44pm
IL, I agree that the finishes are cheap and think someone could find a better house in that area for that price. Yppej that’s a cute little house that just needs some updates. Electric heat is not cheap though. Catherine, it sounds like your great area is being ruined.
IL, I agree that the finishes are cheap and think someone could find a better house in that area for that price. Yppej that’s a cute little house that just needs some updates. Electric heat is not cheap though. Catherine, it sounds like your great area is being ruined.
That's in the ballpark for ideal house size for me; the design is pedestrian, but I imagine some creative painting and decor would help. And a wall between the kitchen and living room...>8) I can only dream of that price. Electric heat is cheap here, which I'm very thankful for. Given a choice, I would never use anything else.
That house is certainly bland but I like the size. Our current place is just over 1500 feet and it’s plenty big. After I retire we won’t need the third bedroom anymore and we have space lost to hallways and a staircase, so 1100-1200 would be fine for us at some point.
I don’t know the market where this is so I can’t say anything about the price except that it’s almost as cheap as the cheapest house in all of my county, which is a $199,000 mobile home from 1974 in a senior living condo mobile home park.
I’m not fond of the finishes nor the garage in front, but that is a cute little house. I like it.
That house is certainly bland but I like the size. Our current place is just over 1500 feet and it’s plenty big. After I retire we won’t need the third bedroom anymore and we have space lost to hallways and a staircase, so 1100-1200 would be fine for us at some point.
I don’t know the market where this is so I can’t say anything about the price except that it’s almost as cheap as the cheapest house in all of my county, which is a $199,000 mobile home from 1974 in a senior living condo mobile home park.
I've been browsing $125-200K mobile homes. I like the idea of a cheap stand-alone dwelling. As in the Bay area, $100K houses are only a distant memory here. That's what I paid for mine.
ToomuchStuff
9-23-21, 11:19pm
One difference between the first and second houses on this thread, the second one has a date built. The first one, has me wondering, if this was started then stopped as is, during the lumber shortage/expense. As for that style of house, I wonder if they planned on something else and they had to change directions. That style is extremely similar to the outside of the fourplexes, that one of my siblings kids, moved into last year.
GeorgeParker
9-23-21, 11:41pm
As for that style of house, I wonder if they planned on something else and they had to change directions. That style is extremely similar to the outside of the fourplexes, that one of my siblings kids, moved into last year.My first impression of the "garage up front" house was that it would only make sense as half of a duplex with the floorplan of the other half flipped over side to side so the front doors would be next to each other in a recessed area.
Looking at it here https://www.estately.com/listings/info/310-maple-valley-court you'll notice the interior views avoid showing the wall where the front door is -- probably because it has no windows and is just a blank wall with an small entry nook. Even the flower bed next to the walkway that leads to the front door looks like it should have a mirror-image walkway and house on the other side of it.
iris lilies
9-24-21, 6:34am
My first impression of the "garage up front" house was that it would only make sense as half of a duplex with the floorplan of the other half flipped over side to side so the front doors would be next to each other in a recessed area.
Looking at it here https://www.estately.com/listings/info/310-maple-valley-court you'll notice the interior views avoid showing the wall where the front door is -- probably because it has no windows and is just a blank wall with an small entry nook. Even the flower bed next to the walkway that leads to the front door looks like it should have a mirror-image walkway and house on the other side of it.
When I saw it, it reminded me of attached houses they’re building around the Midwest. Maybe it really *IS* intended to be an attached ‘“patio home” and that is what it will be when they actually build it. That would make more sense in the context of new houses built around here.
Darn, here I thought they were starting to make small single family houses.
This is not a house I would buy, I would, as you all know, go for a small old house before anything else. There are plenty of small old houses around there, some of them adorable Victorian cottages.
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