How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Family Home-Buying Needs a Remodel: Mortgage Messes, Foreclosures and Second Jobs

Strollerderby — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 16:23:43 GMT

We live in an apartment, a small vintage apartment tucked into a lovely, expensive neighborhood in Chicago. Our rent hasn't gone up in the seven years we've lived here and we have a compassionate landlord and wonderful neighbors. Despite this

Crank Mama » Blog Archive » Home is Where the McMansion Isn’t

Crank Mama » Blog Archive » Home is Where the McMansion Isn’t — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 15:42:58 GMT

PingBack from http://www.crankmama.com/2007/06/06/home-is-where-the-mcmansion-isnt/

Strollerderby Playdate: Around the House

Strollerderby — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 15:21:39 GMT

After having a spirited conversation about o ur homes and how big they are (or aren't) , I thought it

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

STL Mom — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:52:16 GMT

Don't hate me because I live in a big house! Out here in flyover country, we have four bedrooms, four baths, and I think about 4000 square feet. For a price that would make the east and west coasters cry, so I won't share.

The dining room and family room are big enough for the kids to drive their little cars around indoors when it's raining or 100 degrees outside. We moved here from a 900 square foot apartment. Now that I've gone big, it would be hard to go back to small.

On the other hand, if this house had a better floorplan we could lose 1000 square feet without missing it. And we'd be fine with two bathrooms.

Anyone read The Not-So-Big House books by Sarah Susanka? She's an architect who endorses making homes useful and interesting instead of large and boring. Gorgeous photos and great ideas for utilizing smaller spaces.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

STL Mom — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 03:40:53 GMT

On the other hand, if this house had a better floorplan we could lose 1000 square feet without missing it. And we'd be fine with two bathrooms.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

spartic99 — Thu, 31 May 2007 18:14:59 GMT

I hate how everyone is down on big houses. While I personally don't like the idea of having all the houses look the same in the development the fact that a house is large shouldn't invite scorn. Why should we have to cram into a tiny house or apartment when we can have room to enjoy ourselves without falling all over each other? I actually find it easier to keep my larger home clean since everything has a place and there is no clutter, just dusting and vacuuming and I am done.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Laura — Thu, 31 May 2007 16:14:22 GMT

in Philly...

3 bedrooms

2 baths

living room

kitchen

dining room

basement

laundry room

roof deck

for 3 adults, 1 baby, 1 goofy labrador retriever and 2 cats. It fits, but just barely.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Grammy — Thu, 31 May 2007 04:12:15 GMT

2 bedroom, (one is now my den) 2 baths, 1200 sq ft. Laundry room. No dishwasher. I have AC. I have to, I live in Phoenix. I raised my two girls in this double wide mobile home. Been here 27 years. I paid $28,000 for it in 1980. It is now paid off. It has problems but I love it here. It is just right for me.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

maconchick — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:15:53 GMT

Come on down to Macon, Ga if you're looking for affordable: 1800sq ft, brick, 3bd, 2 bth 3/4 acre lot, AC, DW, 2 adults, 1 baby, 3 cats, and get this; $145,000.

Nice weather, friendly folks, Internet access, close to Atlanta. What else do you need?

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Mlle. Thunderpants — Wed, 30 May 2007 17:10:05 GMT

3BR, 1BA, 1260 sf, 1920 bungalow kit house.

2 adults, one shorty, 4 cats.

I hunger for another half bath, but I love the tudoresque beams, built-in bench and sideboard in the dining room. Our house is the size of a peanut, but it's *our* peanut, by gum!

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

crunchy — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:02:28 GMT

we rent and if we want to stay in vancouver we will continue to rent...

a 3 bed townhouse up the street just went for $520K!

Here the price gets higher and the places get smaller...

I have no clue where to find an affordable house for two kids, two 'rents, dog, two cats, office etc.

We are doomed.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

ibambamama — Wed, 30 May 2007 13:00:24 GMT

2 adults, 1 child, 1 40-lb dog

650 sq ft - 2 bdrm, 1 bath

no outside space (deck, porch) but we are 1/2 block from one of the best public parks in the city.

It's a tight squeeze but it's home.

An interesting sidenote though - we just went house/farm shopping this weekend and found a great place - a 6-bedroom, 200 year old farm house (NOT a McMansion - and amazingly well-preserved) plus two huge beautiful barns on 13 acres of land - all for less than the cost of a studio in NYC (ie. less than 400K!) - Of course, we'd have to give up the city life....but, well, everything's a trade-off!

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Naomi — Wed, 30 May 2007 12:46:02 GMT

Ahem. My mother's unit is not 12 sq ft. It's 1200 sq ft.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Naomi — Wed, 30 May 2007 12:45:23 GMT

We own a two-family. Our unit, which is one and a half floors, is 4 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2000 sq ft. The other unit -- which we used to rent to tenants, but now my mom lives there (which is heaven, btw!) -- is 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, 12 sq ft.

I highly recommend the two-family route.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

JM — Wed, 30 May 2007 12:28:33 GMT

800 sq ft - two parents, one kiddo, one dog.

And how timely, Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper published this morning stated that the average home price here just topped $300K.

http://www.reportonbusiness.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070529.r-mls30/BNStory/Business/home

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

RachelZ — Wed, 30 May 2007 11:39:34 GMT

I was browsing real estate listings in Indianapolis and I put my price range as $200K-$300K. In the area of Indy where I was looking (Speedway, where my husband and I spent the two years before we got married), there weren't any houses.

I modified the low end of my range to $150 and found a 5BR-3BA for $159K. I almost fell off my chair, since $159K will barely get you part of a 3-family tenement in downtown Camden if you want to live in New Jersey. We have 2BR 2.5BA, which is nice, but it's a wildly expensive townhouse - no basement, no yard, no garage. SIGH.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Kim — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:46:16 GMT

I nearly choked on the $167, 500 average homeprice. Bring it on! The average 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch house in my community goes for close to $400K. Many of these small homes are being razed to make way for McMansions at more than twice the price.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Kim — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:46:16 GMT

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

mb — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:28:20 GMT

We unfortunately have a 4 bedroom 2.5 bath McMansion and unfortunately will have to get a larger house if we want to have a 2nd kid because my mother-in-law visits for moths on end so we need a dedicated room for her and my husband often works from home and needs a home office where he can shut the door to distractions. What baffles me is why the designers of McMansions make the master bedrooms huge and the bedrooms so small they can't be shared by more thn one kid.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Sheri — Wed, 30 May 2007 04:23:26 GMT

1150 sq ft upstairs and 937 downstairs, built in 1937.

2 bedrooms, one bathroom, eat in kitchen and a den we are now using for a 3 rd too small bedroom.

We have central air and a new furnace (which we are now in debt for)

I live in NW Indiana and 11 years ago, this house was purchased for $95,000. It is now worth more than that but still, I cannot imagine paying $400,000 for something so tiny I couldn't turn around in it. And just so you know, I live in a very family friendly and desireable small town within a half hour drive to downtown Chicago.

I've heard California is expensive but jeez....is it really worth it????

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

CityOfTrees — Wed, 30 May 2007 02:10:56 GMT

We moved OUT of a spacious, new apartment in the burbs last year for our 2-bed, 1-bath, 700 sf house in the city. It's 70 years old (ancient by CA standards) and has no modern appliances, but lots of character and a beautiful backyard garden.

We're expecting a third tenant in a few months, and while all my "hip urban" friends have retreated to the McMansions, we're going to stick it out. We love the uniqueness of this house, the diversity in the neighborhood, and the proximity to work and play. I wouldn't go back to that hour-long freeway commute for anything - not even for a spare bathroom and some climate control.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

RachelZ — Wed, 30 May 2007 01:34:01 GMT

I could totally get down with 4 bedroom and about 2.5 baths if the house were three floors or something. I don't see why I can't have a three-story house with a smaller footprint, but you just don't see them being built that way.

I live in suburban New Jersey, and these McMansions are everywhere and ugly as hell. I'd rather buy a nice old house with some character instead of one of those messes. I do, however, require a gift-wrapping room. Perhaps we'll put that next to the roller rink.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

carfree childhood — Wed, 30 May 2007 01:28:00 GMT

900 sq feet

2 bedrooms, 3 baths, one TV, no disposal, roof deck

2 adults, 1 kid, 1 toddler, 2 cats

I fantasize about 4 bedrooms, separate dinning room, and a back yard but I don't want to give up a fifteen minute walk to my kid's school, a fifteen minute ride on the subway to work and a neighborhood full of playgrounds and parks.

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Teeny Apartment — Wed, 30 May 2007 00:35:21 GMT

1br, 1 bath, 2 adults, 1 baby - nearly 400 sf

(that's not a typo).

No A/C, no DW, no TV, no disposal, no deck - but laundry and elevator in the building and a 20 minute walk to the office, and just about anywhere else I'd care to go...

re: How Big Are Your Family Digs?

Miss-B — Tue, 29 May 2007 22:47:42 GMT

3 BR, 1 Bath, 1250 Sq ft. Two adults, two toddlers, no A/C. :(