I notice alot of people are buying houses - lately..or building new ones

mckayleesmom wrote: This just gets my curiosity peeked....So lets play questioneer time


Why don't you like the house you are in?

What added features are you looking for in your new house?



Share some pictures of the old and new if you have them.


I have to live through you guys.....Dh doesn't want to buy till we are settled somewhere more permanently.

grandma replied: Houses aren't selling here in MI and the only ppl buying are first time buyers or renters.
It's definately a buyers market with foreclosures at an all time high, but if you have a mortgage, it's not like you can put your current house on the market and expect to sell it.

coasterqueen replied: We built our home on family land that we fought to get. Dh's grandpa didn't have a will so we paid the rest of the family to get it. I LOVE our home. It's just right. It's 10 years old now so a few things need updating, but otherwise I will enjoy this home until the day I die. If it ever is enough - well it always will be for us because we believe strongly in our kids growing up in the same home, coming back when they are grown, etc, etc - memories - it's all about the memories. We built it a bit bigger than we needed at the time in hopes of sharing it with kids one day. Some days it seems small, but we'll make it do. When the kids are gone the house will seem big again. We spent 2 years drawing up our plans before we built it (we built the majority of our house ourselves) so we were pretty happy with everything from day one. We also want to stay in the school district we grew up in.

luvmykids replied: The only reason we were going to be buying a new house was because of a move out of state. But, typical of my DH our plans might be changing YET AGAIN and we might not move until after next school year. Can you tell this is a sore subject for me right now?

Otherwise, I love our house now and although we really could use one more bedroom and I hate that it's two story, I'd be content here forever.

Boys r us replied: We're building b/c we've talked about it for a long time but..everything is so cheap now due to the bad economy..sub contractors are working for next to nothing b/c they need the work badly. We're in the home building biz so I'm constantly exposed to the latest and greatest and new ideas so I want to upgrade. There's nothing at all about my house now that I don't like, I just want new. We're in a position where we don't have to worry if our current house sells now or later once the economy is better..so that's a plus in our situation..we don't have to be frantic over it sitting or having to bite the bullet and take a lower offer than it would be worth in a good economy.

moped replied: WEll we bought this house when it was 3 months old so almost brand new. BUT if I was to build myself I would have much bigger closets - these are quite small. I would also do upgrades on nearly everything - why not!!!!!!!

I have 2200 sq ft and it is not enough, sorry but it isn't. We use every inch of that and could use a 4th bedroom.

Basically i want a bigger better house - and I will have it!!!!

Boys r us replied: It's like Money Jen, IT WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH!!!!!!! Take this from someone who is upgrading from 5,000sq ft!

MyBlueEyedBabies replied:
I disagree with this. we aren't buying right now...maybe in a few years. but we actually want to downgrade from what we had. and no bigger than what we currently have. By keeping control of the 'stuff' 1500sq ft isn't small. I have found we will fill whatever space we are in but the bigger the house the more 'stuff' and the more to clean.

moped replied:
Ooooooooooo i am so jealous!

Seriously I would like at least 4000

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
Wow, we're only about 2400 sq. ft now. As long as we have at least 4 bedrooms, we'll be fine.

How much room do you really need ?

Our Lil' Family replied: 5000 sq ft, I can't imagine that. I don't think I'd want to clean all of that.

We are about to sell and build. In fact Tim is so frustrated with the neighbors he just said, put the house on the market Monday!


I want a 4th bedroom and more room in general. We're in 1300 sq ft now and building 2000 sq ft. We'll be there awhile but we both know the new house won't be our forever house. We want to eventually build on about 2-3 acres. I also want to walk into a utility or mud room from the garage and have access to the back yard from the living room instead of only the garage.

moped replied:
Well there is 5 of them....I can totally see that. I really want a much bigger house.

There are only 4 of us and I feel it is way too small!

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
Just seems like a lot of space for a small family (yes, a family of 5 is small to me!). I'd hate the extra heating/cooling costs plus cleaning of such a large house.

moped replied: I am just guessing but I would think that Nichole might have a cleaning service........but just guessing

moped replied:
How big is the new house you are building? I am jealous

Boys r us replied: It's only an additional 1,000 sq ft or so, but enough to make bigger bedrooms and stuff..that was key for me.

I'm picky about how I like things..I like to have a nice big living room that stays nice and neat so that when we have guests, expected or not, there is no mad rush to clean toys and junk up. Then have a family room/playroom on a different level where as a rule, we watch tv and spend most of our time as a family. Most all of the toys are kept in that room which obviously has to be nice and big. Int he playroom, the kids also have a computer desk and Rick and I also have desktops in there..this way..no matter what each of us are into for the moment, for the most part..we can all be in the same room..whether it's homework, playtime, computer time, tv as a family..whatever...it's in that room and that keeps the toys out of the bedroom and out of the main part of the house on the first floor..so it always stays nice and clutter free. We have this in our current place and the new one.

Another must for me is the laundry room CANNNNNOT be in the basement..So we have 1 on the first floor since the master is on level 1 and a 2nd laundry room on the 2nd floor..this idea is being duplicated in our new house as well.

All in all..I hate clutter and I hate tight spaces..I like big rooms. And no I don't have a cleaning service..but I do have two little "maids" to help me keep their own spaces clean..which helps a lot! I concentrate on the main level on a daily basis..and 1x a week do a thorough clean on the upstairs(playroom, kids rooms).

Yeah heating and cooling bills stink..but I'll take it for the luxury of having enough room that we all get along GREAT and aren't constantly on top of each other!!!!

gr33n3y3z replied: I like my house exactly where it is 3 blocks from the Ocean and across from the bay.
And our house is lived in

Boo&BugsMom replied: I am in awe that some people don't think 2000 sq. feet is enough. I'd kill right now to have that. We live, all 4 of us, in less than 1000 sq feet. Yes, LESS than 1000. I also ran my daycare in this house when I never had a seperate daycare space (I do now, but only because the boys have to share a bedroom and we needed the room as a play space). I'm not saying it's not ok to think that, I'm just in awe, is all. I don't think I'd want to clean 5000 sq feet. We also don't "need" that big of a house.

We live in a small home, that would be my complaint. BUT...we still make it work. I guess I should be thankful for what we do have though considering all the things we have gone through in the last few years (unemployment, debt, etc.) all the while raising 2 children and being able to make ends meet.

I guess I try to look at it as a need/want thing. Do I WANT a bigger house? Sure do. 2000 sq feet would be enough for us. We aren't having more kids, so if we could have an extra bathroom, an extra bedroom, a seperate den, and a rec. area, I would be pleased. I don't want to give up our yard though, or our neighbors. For living in the city our land is pretty decent and roomy. Plus our neighbors are really great people. Now....do we NEED another house? No. We make due, and since I am such a neat freak my home is always pretty organized so it doesn't "feel" small.

Things I would like though if we were ever able to move...
1. an extra bedroom or 2 so I can use one as a den (we have 2 right now)
2. another full bath so the boys can have their own, and possibly another half bath that is close to the kitchen for guests to use
3. a little more land more out in the country so we can't serve our neighbors coffee through the windows
4. a nice rec. area in the basement. Right now we have it fixed as a play room which is fine, but given our teeny tiny house it wouldn't make a nice rec area for grownups
5. just all around more open rooms (I like open floor plans) and larger rooms
6. a 2 car garage (we have like 1/2 of a car garage...it's basically a shed listed as a garage)

I'm pretty easy to please, but 4 people living under 1000 sq feet can get pretty cramped. If we had even an extra 600 sq feet or so, I'd be satisfied. Good thing I have a knack for using space well. For me personally, staying modest is important because I never want to have to live above our means, plus I never want to get into that stage were I think I'll never be satisfied with what we have. Even if we had millions of dollars, I wouldn't want a mansion.

Oh, and we do live in a very old home. Built in 1915. However, I do like the charm of it though. Plus, back then things were built more sturdy and not as cheap, so newer isn't always "better" these days, so it doesn't bother me living in an older home. Only thing I don't like about having such an old home is having plaster walls. I HATE dealing with that crap.

Celestrina replied: We currently live in a townhouse (not sure how many square feet), and it is big enough for us. Ideally I would like to have a single family with an enclosed yard, but that's not going to happen. We just don't have the $$ to upgrade right now. When we were shopping around for a house, we were torn between the one we live in now and a single family. We were so torn because the single family had an enclosed yard. There wasn't much of a price difference, but the single family had little to no storage space. Our current house has a HUGE basement, big closets, and a tiny attic.

Boo&BugsMom replied:
We don't want to downgrade with you , but I agree with this 100%.

luvmykids replied:
I agree, we went from 1600 to 2300 and now we're in 3200.....and we have accumulated the junk to show for it

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Some days I wish our house were bigger, but in reality my dream home is less than 1000 sq ft. Of course in my dreams the small house sits on a hundred acres, but still.

I don't need a lot of space to live. The thing that frustrates me about my house is that it's never finished. There's always a project and we never complete the projects.

But, we'll probably be here forever. DH and I are content with that.

My3LilMonkeys replied: We're not buying now, but in a dream world I'd like:

A bit more room - we have a 1000 sq ft right now and I think I'd like about 2000.

3 or 4 bedrooms - we only have 2 right now. The baby's room will be what is now the playroom, and you have to walk through it to get to the master bedroom. That's fine for a few years, but once he gets older he'll need more privacy.

A bigger, fenced in yard - we have a teeny yard and can't have a fence right now, and I'd really love for the dog to have more room to run around.

DH's only request is a finished basement where he can have a poker table.

I think that's about it - it would be nice to have new appliances/furniture, or a pool, but not necessary.

5littleladies replied: We can't buy at this point, but when we do we'd like to have around 2,000 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms and at least 2 baths and we would love to have an acre or two in the country. We really are fine in our house right now (1,400 sq.ft. including finished basement, 3 bedrooms, and 1 bath) but as I've said before, we are really going to want another bathroom when the girls get a bit older.

I don't think we would want a house that is more than 2,000 ft. or so-the more space a person has, the more stuff they need to fill it up with and if there is one thing I don't need it's more stuff!!

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I read this post last night and had to come back to it because it brings up a lot for me right now. We have moved from owning 2,700 sq feet newer home to renting 1,600 sq ft home built in the 60's. All of our furniture, knick knacks, kitchen supplies, even most of our clothes, are still back in the old house in CO because we want to show it furnished. That's FOUR months with only two cars full of our belongings. So although I admit that downsizing without your belongings hasn't been easy, I am MORE happy than I have ever been because I live in the most beautiful area in the whole US!!! JMO, but it's true. Give me a trailer here and I would be fine because to me it's all about the environment. Look outside and all that "stuff" really is just stuff. I have friends back home who would constantly complain to me about what they didn't have and what they THOUGHT they needed, about their homes. If it's your thing to decorate, fine, but I see my friends always unhappy because they want MORE stuff. I say it's just more stuff to fill the void. More material items. Like they freak if their landscaping isn't just so, or they worry about not having the right mirror over their mantle. I'm just not that person. You guys all think I'm into fashion and all, and I do like clothes, but it doesn't consume my life to the point I'm unhappy or jealous of others. Life is too short IMO to believe that one is better off in a bigger home, nicer car, expensive clothes. I have literally been camping out on a futon for the past four months, knowing quite well that I have a cherry wood king size bed just sitting in our home in CO. My kids are sleeping on mattresses on the floor, although I know that they have their cute PB Kids decorated bedroom at home. We have two flatscreens there, but I am outside too often here to even think about watching TV. I really don't miss ANY OF IT!! It makes no difference to me. We are happy because we are together in this experience and we are healthy!

The average price of an OLDER home out here is around $700K. Something fixed up a bit is $900-$2million. Anything new and relatively large, somewhere up in the hills, is way up there - like over the $100 mill range. You get the picture. OPRAH lives here, if that helps. But like I said, DH and I made a choice to want to be closer to family, back in our hometown, and we are fine knowing we probably can't afford a home here even after selling our large home back in CO.

Maddie&EthansMom replied: Rae that is exactly what I told DH last night. Almost word for word. He didn't know about this post, but he asked me what I would do if I won the lottery (which will never happen b/c we don't play.) But, I told him I would have lots of land so the kids could spend all their time outside and that we didn't need much of a house.

I think it's great that you are happy where you are and so content. That's really wonderful.

Calimama replied:
What a great outlook you have!

We won't buy until after DH is out of the Marines. I'm pretty content in our house though. We can see the ocean and have all the space we need... minus a bigger garage but that's not a dire need. If we get pregnant again we'll move into the next size up housing.

PrairieMom replied: I am content in my house, it is about 2400 square feet, so not to big, I guess its pretty average. I wouldn't really want anything bigger. Its 4 Br 3 bath, so we still have room even if we have one more child, we will just have to convert the office to a bedroom.
I would way rather live in a smaller house and be able to pay it off sooner than some huge place and be paying for the rest of our lives. As for not having enough space for our stuff, we really don't need that much. When I start to feel cramped we donate a bunch of stuff to the good will.

Boys r us replied: I agree..a big house isn't everything. Having land to go with it for the kids to play on outside is a HUGE deal to us and we wouldn't have it any other way. We don't have more rooms with a larger house, just bigger rooms and I like that. I like the bedrooms to have more room than just walking space around the bed...that I'm picky about. I also don't think material things make a person at all..or their happiness, though so many people try to put all their goals and dreams in life into having money or having bigger and better than the 'Jone's' next door..that isn't us...in fact..we don't have neighbors to keep up with..lol..which is EXACTLY how we planned it when we bought this land with so many acres..privacy! My family is what is important to us..and what makes me happy..and I do love having a large enough house to entertain our family and friends comfortably b/c I love being surrounded by them!! I also wouldn't want a house that was above our means..and we're careful not to live above our means in any aspect of our lives. I see so many people all around me maxed out to the hilt and that isn't us. We believe in paying upfront for things we do..if we want a new t.v. we don't get it if there isn't enough in savings to pay cash for it, though we could drive expensive cars if we wanted auto loans, we don't, we have simple paid for cars, not flashy, bank owned ones ..I have toyota sienna minivan and rick drives a small suv...etc etc..and by being incredibly smart in that aspect(yes I am now tooting my own horn) we have plenty of wiggle room with our finances to live comfortably and have the things we want without having credit card bills or huge mortgages dangling over heads...and that makes me happier than driving a BMW or living in a mansion ever could..we're pretty simple people who just like to have space and I don't really see why having more space is a bad thing, just like having less space if you're happy with it isn't a bad thing!!!

mckayleesmom replied:
If I could have that many square feet of a home....I would go for it....

moped replied:
We are very much the same way here.......we have a nice house, nice things in it but do not go into debt to have them.......DH is super smart with money (I am good at spending it) and that has helped us get what we want etc etc...

My2Beauties replied: We currently have about 2500 or so sq ft, 4 bedrooms 1 1/2 baths, 2 car garage and a full half finished/half not finished basement.

I do want to upgrade to a nicer house in the future with more LAND and bigger rooms. Right now I feel a little cramped because our bedrooms are not big enough IMHO and we have so much stuff that I feel cramped sometimes. I do like the area we live in and I feel that I'd build very close to where I live now. I would never buy another house that was already built...if I move I'm building my house exactly as I want it on the land that I want and picked out. I see our home as a starter home, it's about 50 years old. It needs new tile, some fresh paint, some plumbing work, new tub, new toilet upstairs, new carpet, etc...just needs some updating.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied:
ITA Tara. We are trying to downsize right now; hopefully our house will sell soon.

We don't have a lot of "stuff". Most of our debt is from unexpected medical bills, which we have little control over (Abby's accident, my issues). Every so often I will go through the kids' toys & clothes and donate whatever is not needed anymore.

Having land is a big thing for us too. We only have 60 acres right now, but are looking at places that have more.

As far as materialistic, it's apparent that some are more than others. I'm not, that's for sure! I think that's part of our country's problems; making us think we need to shop, shop, shop to be happy. If you saw my other post about "The Story of Stuff", you would see what I mean.

PrairieMom replied:
I know what you mean about the "story of Stuff"
Ugh. Every time something of Ben's doesn't work he says "we have to buy another one" it just makes me cringe inside.

mommy~to~a~bunch replied: Mine do too sometimes, and I tell them that no, we don't "need" a new one, we can try to make one ourselves, find it used, or do without.