Square footage per person in a residential home?

[Sigarms]

The other consideration is... do you have any pack rats in the family...

The only thing I've ever hoarded is guns and ammo LOL. Will be down to one safe and selling everything until I'm down to 15 guns LOL

The hard part when we move will be letting go of my dad's stuff he collected when he was in the military.

We don't really have that much stuff as is IMO as the most expensive things in the house are our desktop computers.

If the MIL ever moves with us, my FIL's tools will be hard to part with as his family took most of the heavy equipment he had in his garage. My FIL had a tool for everything and knew how to use it. It was offered to me, but we don't have the space for it in our garage.

Other than a safe, 2 bookshelves will probably be going with us though...

 

[BackRoad]

You might consider adding a 1st floor bedroom/bathroom addition to your existing. The misc costs of selling and buying a different house...realestate commissions, closing fees, costs to change utilities, moving costs, costs making the new house exactly the way you want it, etc may actually end up being close to your addition build costs.

You keep the equity in your existing, make it so you can live on a single ground level floorplan, and can do it on your timing...

Like someone mentioned, just close doors for any rooms you don't end up using.

Really depends on how much you want to stay where you are.

Eventually, you could still subdivide your property if you wanted to...but you wouldn't necessarily need to.

 

[2manyrocks]

Maybe your real estate market is different. In some areas, it could be argued that it's no mans' market because of the crazy run up in prices between 2019 and today. Potential sellers look at the asking prices for homes with issues that are on the market and decide they are better off keeping what they have. This means fewer homes for sale, less competition, and a market that's generally stagnated.

 

[ultrarunner]

The key is in a functional layout...

A 1000 square feet can feel spacious and 2,000 not so.

The use of architecture to meld the inside with the outside helps.

Where I see square footage as most important are city lots with 5' to the property line... everything you do is inside then because there is no outside to speak of.

There was a time where a 3 bedroom 1000 square feet home was considered living well... bump it up to 1050 with a small master bath and 2 car garage and you arrived...

 

[Sigarms]

Eventually, you could still subdivide your property if you wanted to...but you wouldn't necessarily need to.

The way our land is laid out, subdividing wouldn't accomplish anything due to access IMO.

There is 20 acres across the creek side, but you'd have to build on a hill pretty much right along the property line.

We've looked at selling only 17 acres, and keeping the other side for ourselves (20 acres), but take the potential long term water issue on the low lying level land around the creek, and at best, you'd have to come out onto a road that is completely blind on your left side pulling out where people have a habit of speeding. I pull out of that back area with my truck after shooting, and I always get the willies and I give it gas when I turn right going back up to our house because the left side is a blind spot and people drive like idiots.

Honestly, knowing what I know about the road to access the "back land", I would NEVER want to pull out at the access point to the main road on a daily basis if that makes sense.

I've been to 3 accidents around that area in almost 20 years, hearing a wreck and having to drive there to make certain everyone is ok.

People can't always do 60MPH on a rural road.

 

[Sigarms]

The key is in a functional layout...

A 1000 square feet can feel spacious and 2,000 not so.

The use of architecture to meld the inside with the outside helps.

Where I see square footage as most important are city lots with 5' to the property line... everything you do is inside then because there is no outside to speak of.

There was a time where a 3 bedroom 1000 square feet home was considered living well... bump it up to 1050 with a small master bath and 2 car garage and you arrived...

Well said!

I talk about square footage per person living in a home and what is acceptable, and I should never EVER forget about both sets of my grandparents who came over on a boat who didn't speak english and didn't have a pot to piss in and both grandfathers working in coal mines (both died before age 50).

You made me look. This is my grandparents old place on my dads side) they got in the early 1900's.

Needless to say, the house has been renovated and today it's listed on Zillow for about 150K (the garage to the left was built after the family sold the home)

Here I am asking about about a 1,800 square house for 3 people, and my both sets of my parents had around 10 siblings which made 12 total in the family.

 

[kenmac]

It's going to come down to legwork on end to look.

By accident found a for sale this past week driving and fits the bill when I looked at it online.

Single level, 1,800 sq feet, built in 1995, but brick.

Just irritates me that it more than doubled in price when it sold back in 2021, only 3 years ago.

That said we're blessed that everything is paid off on our place and we could actually move first, and then sell our old home if needed because that would make life lot easier.

Keep in mind my wife is set on 1,500 sq ft, so it's going to take legwork on our end for her to see if she can find what she wants.

When was the pic taken? Snow in Alabama? LOL

Although not a huge selling factor, if you have kids and buy our place, you'll have the best hill locally for sledding right behind the house LOL

Snow ? LOL mostly a dusting.. We get that ever once in a while. I believe this pic was a couple yrs ago . After selling out, I had to purchase something for tax purposes so I figured this old farm / house would be a good investment. Prices were low when I purchased this place.. And due to the housing market these days, it has pretty much doubled in value.

Good luck with your search. Prices these days are out the roof around here !

 

[kenmac]

Well said!

I talk about square footage per person living in a home and what is acceptable, and I should never EVER forget about both sets of my grandparents who came over on a boat who didn't speak english and didn't have a pot to piss in and both grandfathers working in coal mines (both died before age 50).

You made me look. This is my grandparents old place on my dads side) they got in the early 1900's.

Needless to say, the house has been renovated and today it's listed on Zillow for about 150K (the garage to the left was built after the family sold the home)

View attachment 1511356

Here I am asking about about a 1,800 square house for 3 people, and my both sets of my parents had around 10 siblings which made 12 total in the family.

I noticed that window shaker !! I just couldn't resist !

 

[Sigarms]

I noticed that window shaker !! I just couldn't resist !

Keep in mind, that's Pennsylvania. Window shakers are all you really need for a month or two . That said, most houses were oil or even coal for heating. They have these things called boilers to!

Heck, when I moved to NC in June over 20 years ago, my car didn't have AC because I thought you were a wussie if you had to have AC in your car.

First month in NC and I went right back up to PA to buy a car with AC LOL

 

[kenmac]

Keep in mind, that's Pennsylvania. Window shakers are all you really need for a month or two . That said, most houses were oil or even coal for heating. They have these things called boilers to!

Heck, when I moved to NC in June over 20 years ago, my car didn't have AC because I thought you were a wussie if you had to have AC in your car.

First month in NC and I went right back up to PA to buy a car with AC LOL

I've worked on some old (converted to gas)coal burners back in the day. Steam and water boilers as well.
Have gone on many calls where some people don't know the difference in steam vs water boilers, and flooded the steam boilers with water. Water would be coming out of the radiators . Some people don't know where their limits should stop !

Can't say I've ever seen a Oil heater down here. If I had, I sure can't remember it.

I can remember not having A/C in my vehicles. As a kid, we didn't have A/C of any kind in the house !