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q about house floor plan - sunken and raised rooms
We have found a house that meets a lot of our criteria - not all of them of course because that perfect house does not exist, but a lot of them. Now I need some Nestie wisdom.
One of the things that was high up on my list is that each floor of a house be on all one level - no sunken or raised rooms. (I think it was really popular here in the 80's to have these sunken or raised rooms because they are really common in houses built then. However I cannot imagine it ever coming back into fashion.)
So of course this house has them both. 
I sketched out a very rough floor plan for you all.
This is the only "living area" in the house (the rest is all bedrooms, laundry room, etc.) When you walk in from the entry at the bottom of the picture, the family room (to the right) is completely sunken down about half a step compared to the entry. The formal dining room (straight ahead) is raised up one complete step compared to the entry, although there is a half-wall of built-ins. So, to walk from the formal dining room to the kitchen, you have to go down a full step. (The kitchen is on the same level as the entryway.)
You can see pictures here too: http://www.coldwellbankerlegacy.com/Property/NM/87109/Albuquerque/7405_Don_Tomas_Ln_NE
My question is - what do you think, both personally for you and for resale value?
When we were making our priority list, I thought I could probably compromise and have one "off level" room if everything else were good, but I think this one is really bothering me because it has two "off level" rooms. I think it also bugs me because the whole house is tile floors and with little kids (one just learning to walk) I imagine a lot of injuries. I am sure we would get used to it if we lived there. I know that it would be really, really expensive (and not worth it) to bring it all to one level so this is something that in reality would never change - so I worry about resale value, since it is so prominent in the only living area of the house.
WDYT? Thanks!
Re: q about house floor plan - sunken and raised rooms
I'm not a fan of the split-level feel, but this one-step up/down look of the house doesn't bother me as much. It still seems to keep that area open to each other and that is what I like.
I think the ceramic tile everywhere and the builder oak cabinets are more bothersome to me, but honestly, those ARE things you can change/upgrade, so I think it would only help resale if you did paint the cabinets or change out the vanity and install different flooring.
I'm not usually a fan of garages up front and prominant, but I like the front of the house too.
Is this one in the school district/area you liked also? I think a desirable location is really what will help it keep its value quite a bit.
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It NSM either, but I don't think that it would be a total deal breaker for me with the sunken room & the raised room. What I find even more strange is that there is tile in the bedrooms. That seem stranged to me for a house in NM (if the house were on the coast it would make a bit more sense). I agree that I'd be afraid of accidents with little ones learning to walk!
Our last house had a living room that was one step down from the kitchen/dining room on the main level. It was built in 2006, so you know, fairly modern.
I don't know that I would consider it a huge detriment.
Yes, it is in a great location - awesome school district (some would say the best in ABQ, although others would disagree because apparently there are a lot of rich kid drug problems there), definitely a good elementary school, and a short commute for DH. It is in the older, established part of town with more trees (newer houses across the river have basically all gravel).
The entire house being tile is a weird issue for me too, although I guess we could put area rugs or carpet remnants in the bedrooms. That is not common in ABQ that I have seen. Most houses have carpet in the bedrooms.
Sorry, I hope I did not insult you (or anyone else) with my comment about it not coming back into fashion. From looking at houses here I just haven't seen it unless the house was built in the 80's so that is where that comment came from. I just personally don't like the style of sunken/raised rooms and I don't think I ever will. Again, hope I didn't insult. That was not my intention. I know some people may like that style.
Not offended at all
Our house was built in 1983 and our living room is raised up a step. I don't love it, BUT when we did hardwoods we put a darker wood border around the living room and people comment on it all the time.
A neighbor of ours took out their carpet and removed the raised floor and made it level with the rest of the house. Apparently it's not hard or expensive as long as the basement is unfinished. So for me, it wouldn't be a big deal if I saw this as our forever house and I knew eventually we'd get rid of the tile and do something else. For me, the tile all over the house is much more of a deal breaker than the split levels.
There are no basements here in ABQ. Seriously - less than 5% of houses have them. This house is all a ranch. Our realtor said it would be pretty expensive to make it all one level because they would have to re-pour concrete or something like that. I guess I don't really have any idea how much it would cost but I trust him when he said it would be expensive.
I think the all tile is weird too, especially in the bedrooms. It's nice tile though (except the original tile in the bathroom, which we would probably want to change at some point.)
Our house has the "off level" thing (3 steps) between the dining and family rooms and also in our master bedroom between the sleeping and retreat area. I like it because it provides a nice separation between the spaces. If it's not your style, that's ok but I wouldn't worry about if affecting resale value. The stairs were also good for DD to learn on because as pp said, she didn't have far to fall.
As others have said, the tile is a bigger issue to me but you could lay carpet over it in the bedrooms if you wanted to, right?
Married 9-25-2004; Momma 12-14-2009
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Just a realtor thing....you can always change the look of a house but can't change the location, size of yard, etc. It looks like you could do a lot with that house and don't need to do it overnight. The crazy tile everywhere is a bit of a problem. Tile is cold, it gets cold here in where I am in Cali at night and the tile in my family room is awful to stand on. The kids like to play with their cars on it but I do have a giant area rug that I made out of regular carpet and then had bound. It's giant and awesome.
Anyway, If you like the area and the house, the little things can all be changed, even sunken floors if that ever becomes an issue. My inlaws have that and in their house, I would change it in a minute but theirs really interrupts the flow of the house and chops it up into different spaces.
Married Bio
Our house was built in 2001 and has sunken and raised rooms. You walk in the front door into the living room, and then go up two steps to the formal dining and through an arch to the kitchen. The family room is two steps down from the kitchen. I really, really like it. It allows the spaces to be "separate" while still being open. And when DD was learning to walk it made it easier to contain her in the family room and then gave her good stair practice. I don't think it would be an issue for resale at all.
The tile everywhere would bug me, but that's a fixable thing.
No more baby siggie pics. Boo.
The taxes are crazy in ABQ compared to Denver. I have seen them as high as $5k on some houses we are looking at, and the lowest in the high $2000's. In comparison, for our house in Denver, we paid about $1500 per year.
Some places in ABQ also have a "PID" in addition to taxes and HOA's and while I'm not exactly clear what it is, it has something to do with paying for roads and bridges into the subdivision. WTF - don't taxes pay for that???
Our property taxes in MT for similar sized-lot are higher than our house in CO. IMO CO could increase property taxes and put all that added $$ into public schools, but I've been saying that for years.
Are you united with the CCOKCs?