"Downsizing" house

[W2R]

I have been in Home Depot exactly once in the past four years...to buy a lightbulb.

Prior to that, when we owned our home, it was a few times a week and during renos at least every second day. Don't get hundred dollar'd to death anymore at Home Depot. Sorry guys..but I do not miss you!

Wow, it sounds like your home was a real money pit. My sympathies.

 

[brett]

Not so much of a money pit as a multi year reno project.

Last major purchase was gallons of paint to get our house ready to sell!

 

[RobbieB]

Ah yes, paint, I know it well. 5 gallons up so far and me thinks I'll need at least 15 gallons more.

But I'm keeping the house and planning to enjoy the fruits of my labors -

 

[W2R]

Not so much of a money pit as a multi year reno project.

Last major purchase was gallons of paint to get our house ready to sell!

You're brave to have taken on a big reno project like that! Sounds like a nightmare to me.

 

[W2R]

I like my little house. It has a nice view and it's a good size. Good location with a view that will never change with development. But it's not my "dream house"

My dream house would be twice as big with a boat dock in the back yard and targets set up so I could shoot off the back porch. Never gonna happen, that's why it's a "dream house" -

When I was a child and wanted stuff that he was not going to provide, Pops told me "It's good to want things"

This house may not be my dream house but it certainly is a "good enough" house.

Here's one with a dock and over 3,000 sf, for $269K:

4620 Alba Rd, New Orleans, LA 70129 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

But, it's inside the New Orleans city limits so probably not a good place for target practice. Also, probably not really your dream home since it is not even in your state.

Your father was right about it being nice to have something to want. Well, in a sense, I understand where he was coming from.

 

[RobbieB]

Thanks, that is really nice and a super good price! Can't believe it's been on the market that long or that they didn't mow the lawn before the pics. Oh well.

 

[eta2020]

Thanks, that is really nice and a super good price! Can't believe it's been on the market that long or that they didn't mow the lawn before the pics. Oh well.

Google maps indicates that it is in a middle of nowhere in a neighborhood of pick up trucks, Aligators and Good Old Boys.

I would rather have small place in French Quarter

 

[NW-Bound]

...My home was not super expensive or all "tricked out" in HGTV style...

Well, that leaves you the chance to do the "tricking out" in your style.

 

[gayl]

Congrats for dumpin your mortgage while moving closer to family

 

[mtheulen]

I will never live in a home w/ stairs again. I have always been against stairs anyway, but the couple places I have lived that had them...I hated it!

My Dad's house (they had it custom built in 1973) was designed with ZERO stairs ANYWHERE and all the doors (pocket) were made wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs. It was by design that they grow old in the house and as a matter of fact, my Mom took her last breath in her bed, in her dream home. She wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We are convinced that the "easy to get around" home actually kept her around a little longer.

And 5000 or 6000 square feet? Ah...that would be my nightmare!

Amen!
I built a 3000 sq ft home with a 1500 sq ft shop back in 2004.No stairs but waaaay to big for me.
Iam drawing up plans for a 1250 sq ft home, single level, wide doors, my plan also is to live to the end in this next house
I just need to pump myself up for this in the next couple years.
Working full time and building a house at night is just not as entertaining at this age as it was 12 years ago

 

[Chuckanut]

Downsizing makes a lot of sense if one keeps a sense of proportion.

Am I the only person who thinks that Tiny Houses are poor value for the money and not something that most people can endure for very long. I guess I just don't understand the appeal of a sub 300 sqft house.

 

[aja8888]

Downsizing makes a lot of sense if one keeps a sense of proportion.

Am I the only person who thinks that Tiny Houses are poor value for the money and not something that most people can endure for very long. I guess I just don't understand the appeal of a sub 300 sqft house.

DW needs a bathroom and closet bigger than 300 sqft.

 

[Music Lover]

Downsizing makes a lot of sense if one keeps a sense of proportion.

Am I the only person who thinks that Tiny Houses are poor value for the money and not something that most people can endure for very long. I guess I just don't understand the appeal of a sub 300 sqft house.

I'd like to see a follow-up of one of those TV shows after a couple has spent 2 or 3 years living in one to see if their minds have changed.

 

[UpAnchor]

Amen!

I built a 3000 sq ft home with a 1500 sq ft shop back in 2004.No stairs but waaaay to big for me.

I could more easily adjust to a down-sized house than give up a nice-sized shop. In truth, I've done somewhat the opposite - gone from a small house/large shop to a large house/tiny shop. I do miss the shop but not the too-small house.

Am I the only person who thinks that Tiny Houses are poor value for the money and not something that most people can endure for very long. I guess I just don't understand the appeal of a sub 300 sqft house.

I enjoy following the tiny house movement. Even though it's not for me, there was a short time when it might have been and I give kudos to those who can pull it off. Indeed I would guess it's a short term solution for most practitioners of the lifestyle. Yet living in someone else's backyard - commonplace among tiny house dwellers - would probably have been a non-starter for me, even back in my early 20s.

 

[meierlde]

Of course for a house with stairs if they are a straight shot, you can get a stair elevator. Or if building a house and you have lots of money you can do like someone I know and put a real elevator in.

 

[FANOFJESUS]

Downsizing makes a lot of sense if one keeps a sense of proportion.

Am I the only person who thinks that Tiny Houses are poor value for the money and not something that most people can endure for very long. I guess I just don't understand the appeal of a sub 300 sqft house.

My cut off is around 700 sqft how about the rest of you?

 

[Music Lover]

My cut off is around 700 sqft how about the rest of you?

I have 1000 sqft, but could go as low as 800 or maybe a little less if it had the perfect layout...but, that would have to include a full basement to use as a rehearsal space for 2 bands.

 

[Souschef]

This is the view from our porch. South mountain is 2000 feet high and a mile away

 

[Dawg52]

My cut off is around 700 sqft how about the rest of you?

My vacation condo is 825 sq feet. I could easily live in it and feel comfortable. I do enjoy having 1700 sqft in my primary home, but it's also the minimum allowed in the neighborhood.

 

[Ronstar]

Our house is around 3700 SF, workshop 500 SF. I wish it was the other way around. DW does not, but we could compromise at 1300 SF


Sent from my iPhone .using Early Retirement .//82339)

 

[gayl]

My vacation condo is 825 sq feet. I could easily live in it and feel comfortable. I do enjoy having 1700 sqft in my primary home, but it's also the minimum allowed in the neighborhood.

Minimum allowed? I've heard of maximum allowed but this is a first for me! Are you in an HOA?

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Currently we have 3300sqft. I ask myself the question all the time, how small could we go? We do have a 400sqft guest suite that only gets used now and then, but the other 2.8k I feel we use all/most of the time. We do like his and her studies, DW uses Bedroom 2, I have a dedicated study/office that I added a Closet to so I could classify the home as a 4 BR. We do not really use the dining room that is about 250 - 300sqft. We do use our 400sqft Florida room. Of course the Kit, MB & LR are always in use.

 

[Dawg52]

Minimum allowed? I've heard of maximum allowed but this is a first for me! Are you in an HOA?

The neighborhood is completely full at this point, but that was the minimum at the time of construction. We are part of an HOA with covenants. I did not build this house. But I did build one back in the late 90's on the other side of the golf course and we had a minimum there.

 

[petershk]

I actually prefer smaller houses. We lived in 1400 SqFt when we lived overseas and it was fine for a family of 4. The problem in the US is layout.

Small houses tend to have tiny/no yard, small kitchens, small living areas and few bedrooms.

Ideally what we would like is 3-4 small bedrooms, no formal living/dining room and a large kitchen/living area... on a large lot (like 10k SQFT). You could EASILY fit that in 1400 sqft, but I haven't found it. The house we got is the closest thing to that we could find. If you want a large kitchen and living area on a large lot, that tends to come with larger bedrooms, formal dining/living areas and these crazy master suite bedrooms that no one ever seems to actually use

 

[petershk]

Currently we have 3300sqft. I ask myself the question all the time, how small could we go? We do have a 400sqft guest suite that only gets used now and then, but the other 2.8k I feel we use all/most of the time. We do like his and her studies, DW uses Bedroom 2, I have a dedicated study/office that I added a Closet to so I could classify the home as a 4 BR. We do not really use the dining room that is about 250 - 300sqft. We do use our 400sqft Florida room. Of course the Kit, MB & LR are always in use.

We're the same way. Considering that housing is the #1 cost in the US household budget and nearing 50%; it baffles me that there aren't 1400-1600 sqft houses that just do away with all the unnecessary space, make the bedrooms smaller (hello... most people only SLEEP in them), and focus on a larger open living area. Also, keep the lots the same size so there's actually a yard to do stuff in.

That would also cut down on utilities and the "need to fill my house with crap" factor.