Only thing I wonder about is if I can get used to it or not when I currently have 1000+ sq.ft.

I’m 22 now, and just bought a 1200 sqft house and share it with my girlfriend. I love the size, and I could easily see myself raising two kids in a house of it’s size.

One thing I learned though, is to not have children share rooms by the time they reach about 12 years old. My brother and I shared a room all the way until I was 18, and we ended up getting into some pretty severe fights due to the lack of personal space, until I moved into the shed.

So your advice has come at just the right time. Now I just need to find out where I put the tape measure.

So much WORD to this! I’m in a house now, but it’s less well-laid-out than the apartment I had to leave! One of the “bedrooms” is microscopic, unless you’re of a really ascetic turn; and there’s less storage. I miss my enormous, sunny kitchen with 5′ windows. I miss my bathroom, where I had the litterbox AND a nice little 3-shelf bookcase – AND a 5′ window. *sigh*

That said, it might be worth perusing Dover Books’ catalog under “Architecture” – I believe they offer floorplans for 19th Century cottages that might well meet the tastes of people looking for Smaller, yet with some History and/or Charm.

I would like to finish the basement of this place for hobby space so I could set up my loom again. If I didn’t have so many books and space consuming hobbies it would be easier. Also, my late husband was a total pack rat – I’m STILL going through boxes – slowly.

Soon after our baby was born we moved from a 1 BR apartment to a 2 BR house. We did not gain much in square footage — about the area of the extra bedroom. However, the space in the house is laid out much more efficiently than in the apartment, which had an oddly-shaped living room and a bedroom that was way too large. We have far more useful storage space. That extra bedroom can also accommodate long term visits from baby’s grandparents, who are not up to sleeping on our couch.

I can imagine having another baby or two and wanting another bedroom, but that’s the maximum extra space we’d ever need.

My husband and I have purchased five houses since we’ve been married. The first one was 1300 s.f. for four of us, but we added on a master bath and enlarged the master, then had to move before we got to enjoy it. The second house was 1800 s.f. for three to five of us at any time. When it was three of us, it seemed too big. The next house, for five of us, was 2300 s.f., which was great when the kids were teenagers and were in the finished basement. The next two houses were for two of us and were 1550 s.f. and now 1468 s.f., which is just a good size, but I do wish it was laid out a bit differently.

For one thing, we didn’t think about rooms vs. area. Our old home had more rooms, thus more wall space. There was no place for some furniture because of that.

More importantly, we totally forgot about all the stuff we had stored in the basement. That was another 600 sf or so, and it had a lot of wall space for shelves, etc. – the attached garage here has wall space, but it dooesn’t match our old basement – so again, more “stuff” had to go.

Well, we did intend to “downsize” and are happy we moved, but a two car garage and another 15 or 20 feet on the house would have been better.

“And our house appraised at $15,000 more than our purchase price (It was a foreclosure).”

Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine.

That “appraisal” is meaningless, because it was made at the time you bought the house. At that moment in time, the house was worth exactly what you paid for it – not $15,000 more. If it were really worth $15,000 more, then someone else would’ve stepped in and bought it for $15,000 more than you paid for it. The reality was that of all the other people who were looking to buy a home at the same time as you and looked at the house you bought, none of them were willing to pay that extra $15,000. And if nobody is willing to pay a price for something, then that means the item is not worth that price.

Now, if your appraiser was willing to buy the house for $15,000 more than you paid, then that might be a different story. But the reality was that the market looked at your home, and nobody was willing to pay more than you did. Thus, the “value” of your home at that moment was AT MOST what you paid for it – not a penny more, and certainly not $15,000 more. Everyone else had plenty of chances to outbid you, and nobody did. So your purchase price was the correct, accurate value of the home.

Sorry, not a nitpick on you personally, it just bugs me when people say their home is worth way more than what they paid, because it “appraised” for a certain number. It’s meaningless until you actually try to sell it. If nobody is willing to pay a certain price, then that’s not the actual value.

In hindsight the best reason to have a smaller place is so the in-laws can’t move in. I love ‘em to death but am very thankful not to live with them day in and day out- a few visits a week are just fine.

-Mike

The big preferences for us were:

-Having 2 bathrooms- the convenience factor is huge
-Having a working kitchen, many places do not in BKK
-Have a washer & dryer
-Having a comfortable bed

We’ve got all those things- the only thing lacking is a view since we look out at the pool and the other building. So we got some nice curtains to deal with this.

The great thing about a small place is not only are expenses low but because it’s relatively small the mother-in-law cannot move in. For sure she’d be moved in if we were in larger space!

Bought it in 2005 for $170K USD, paid in full liquidating my savings (except 401k) at the time. Since then we’ve been able to save up $1M in cash by having a high paying job and very low expenses.

Next home would be to buy a hopefully small place in Palos Verdes Estates with views overlooking downtown LA and the Pacific Ocean. A small infinity pool facing the ocean would be nice as well. Having a nice breezy house by the sea in So Cal would be very nice indeed. I plan to wait a few more years as it will take that time for housing to correct thanks to the crazy policies of our gov’t (the best gov’t lobbying money can buy)- hopefully interest rates will be higher as that will drive down housing prices. I don’t care- will pay in cash and the budget should be up to $2M by that time depending on the value offered for money.

-Mike

Our bedroom opens directly into the main living area so we have no privacy except when everyone else is asleep. Our hanging clothes are in here too (we don’t have many), and our 4-drawer dresser is in the living room. We also have shelves covering two walls of our bedroom, so we can store more folded clothes there, plus my sewing supplies and our toiletries. The bathroom is a hike across the house, and it has no storage, so we store our toothbrushes etc in our bedroom.

The three real bedrooms are divided up thus: middle daughter has her own, son has his own, and married daughter, her husband, and their two little guys share the real master bedroom/bath.

Except the kitchen, the public rooms of the house aren’t used as designed, but it works better for us this way. The real living room is our dining room (we can fit a bigger table in there); the real dining room is our computer lab with six computers on various tables and desks, plus most toys are stored here too. The real family room or den holds all the furniture originally in the living room too, so we have two sofas, three club chairs, TV, file cabinet, and assorted tables in there. Plus a fireplace and assorted baby equipment. The kitchen table is used for hobbies like sewing and crafts, not for eating.

We have lived in this house for 17 years, raised our children here, and yes, the girls shared a standard-size bedroom until the oldest got married. They LEARNED to get along, which is a skill that everyone should have.

We consider the current arrangement temporary: the economy will recover, and in a few years we will be empty-nesters. Then we will probably rattle around in all the extra space. But we hope to see our children’s families often so we will want to have the extra bedrooms.

Bottom line: we live in a flexible house that is just the right size for us now, was the right size in the past, and we expect will be the right size in the future.

The size is 2 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms. 2 bathrooms are a must have as I can’t deal with waiting to use the bathroom if we both need to go at the same time… also no problems if we both need to get ready to leave at the same time in the morning. Life is good with 2 bathrooms. Another must have is a basic kitchen (many places in Bangkok have no kitchen since there is street food available 24/7) and washer & dryer – we have a small stackable unit.

We had to get rid of a lot of furniture to make the space feel good, and it’s great to stay in a smaller space. Annual condo fees are lower (based on sq ft, ours is about $1200 per year), and utilities are cheaper with a smaller space (electricity is about $60 per month because Thailand is hot and I like to sleep in a cool room). There are no annual property taxes in Thailand- only paid when you buy & sell.

We have a small balcony that overlooks the pool and the other building- really no view. All our windows have a view of the other building- this is the biggest drawback.

I bought the place for $170K USD back in 2005, liquidating my entire savings except 401k and bought it outright. Since then I’ve been able to save up about $1 million since I’ve been in high paying jobs and our fixed expenses are nearly zero. It’s a good feeling.

For our next house I’d like to get a place in Palos Verdes Estates (Southern CA) overlooking Downtown LA and the Pacific ocean- would like a small infinity pool overlooking the sea and a nice breezy house. Doesn’t have to be so big. I am waiting for the housing market to properly correct (may take a few more years thanks to our crazy gov’t) then will buy a nice place in cash. My budget is up to $2M which I should have in the next few years if we can keep saving like this- if interest rates are much higher it’s all the better for me because I’ll plan to pay in cash.

-Mike

I have also always found it more productive when I have a separate space for work with my dedicated home office rather than trying to work from a bedroom because then I tend to be more stressed out by being around work stuff all the time.

We will probably upgrade at some point because I always joke with my wife that since I am the oldest of 7 kids and my Dad is from a family with 11 kids that we need to have 12 kids in order to beat my Grandpa … she thinks I am joking but she is not really sure…