Which would you prefer housing-wise

R.Wilsonny · January 2012

I realize that everyone has their own opinion and preferences, but was just curious what people would prefer - larger house with a small yard, or slightly smaller house with a bigger yard?

When I say smaller, I'm only talking like 1-200 square feet smaller.

There are a few houses that my husband and I have looked at that we like - one is a little smaller, but has a nice size yard, but the other house is bigger with a smaller yard. We still have some other houses to check too, but these 2 in particular we really like......decisions decisions......

April37 · January 2012

We spend a lot of time outside and in our yard (we have a 4 yr old so that makes a difference too) so if all other things are equal I think I would choose a larger yard over 1-200sq ft.

MarieSD · January 2012

H and I are probably one of the few couples that actually wanted a small yard. We don't spend much time outside (except on our patio) and don't have any pets that would need space to roam. Conversely, I'd want as much space indoors as possible. (I love our house, but would love 200 extra square feet!)

lil_jen051708 · January 2012

I would probably prefer the larger yard. What is the sq footage of the homes? If one is 800 and one is 1000 I think that's a big difference. But if one is 2800 and one is 3000 I don't really see the difference.

I would prioritize location, layout, bedrooms/bath, functionality and general feel of the home over sq footage or lot size though. I don't think you can just say I'd buy this house over that one based on a description on the Internet though. It's something I think you just know when you are physically at the house.

lindyanne · January 2012

That square footage isn't much as long as both houses are laid out nicely. I've seen smaller houses that felt much more spacious bc of the floor plan.

AbeFroman · January 2012

I would pick the bigger house. We entertain a lot inside, and it can get really cold and nasty where we live. Also, I hate taking care of the yard so the less I have to do the better.

When I was growing up we had a relatively small yard and my brother, myself and the dog always had plenty of room to play. I never thought I was missing out because my yard was too small. I really don't think your kids will notice or care. (if you have them.)

tbridetobe · January 2012

I'd prefer the larger yard because I like space from my neighbors.

R.Wilsonny · January 2012

Yea, we don't have kids (yet), but eventually we hope to and having a decent size yard is a big one for me for kids to play in and also to have space to do some gardening. I was just curious what other people thought because some of the houses we've looked at are about 1-200 square foot size difference, and then the yard was either bigger or smaller. For now, it's just my husband and I, and at this point, even if we do have kids, most likely, we'd only have one due to my age and time constraints on that. I highly doubt we'd need a whole lot of extra space to warrant a bigger house - we don't have a lot of stuff to begin with, but who knows what will happen down the road. Thanks for the opinions everyone!

Justinlove · January 2012

It really depends on how big the houses are and how they are laid out. As pp said, the difference between 1000-1200 sq feet is HUGE, but not so much 3000-3200.

breaness · January 2012

Our house is fairly small (even though it has 4 BR) but it has a great floor plan. We are on a 3/4 acre lot and so, obviously, we chose the land over the square footage in the house. That being said, the house is the perfect size for us and one little one. If we were to have a second child we would either need to move or expand the house before they were teenagers in order to live as comfortably as we'd like with everyone having their own space aside from their bedrooms. We only plan on one child so hopefully we can stay in this house without needing to add on, but it is an option.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can't add more land, but you can add more house if needed.

ETA: Our neighbors have 6 kids and when they bought our house it was the same size as ours. They've built up AND out and now they've more than doubled the square footage.

R.Wilsonny · January 2012

breaness:

Our house is fairly small (even though it has 4 BR) but it has a great floor plan. We are on a 3/4 acre lot and so, obviously, we chose the land over the square footage in the house. That being said, the house is the perfect size for us and one little one. If we were to have a second child we would either need to move or expand the house before they were teenagers in order to live as comfortably as we'd like with everyone having their own space aside from their bedrooms. We only plan on one child so hopefully we can stay in this house without needing to add on, but it is an option.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, you can't add more land, but you can add more house if needed.

ETA: Our neighbors have 6 kids and when they bought our house it was the same size as ours. They've built up AND out and now they've more than doubled the square footage.

Well this is very cool and definitely another thing I was thinking we should take into consideration. This would be our 'first home', but I am thinking in terms of having it be our 'forever home' - mainly because of our age and also because I'm just tired of moving around and just want a nice place to settle down once and for all.

There was one house in particular that we saw that is an expanded cape - normally capes are fairly small and I'm normally not fond of this style of house, but this one is not only a decent size (by NY standards), but when you walk inside, it doesn't even feel like a cape with the way it's layed out. There were a lot of things that I did like about the house - only thing I wish it had that it doesn't is a fireplace, but I was told that you can actually add one. The property is a good size too, so if you did want to expand more eventually, you could and still have a decent size yard. There was another house we saw that we also liked, also very nice, decent size too - a little bit larger compared to the cape in terms of square footage, but the yard is smaller. The bedrooms though felt a little smaller than the ones in the cape. Strange considering the house itself is bigger. Yard is still decent size and nicely groomed, but not as big compared to the yard where the cape is. If you ever did want to expand on the house down the road, you really wouldn't be able to. Luckily, we don't have to make a decision any time soon - we are actually still looking and keeping these 2 homes on the radar until we see everything else we want, but the other homes we are wanting to see are larger square footage of the house yet smaller square footage of the lot altogether. It's true though - we won't really know until we go and see for ourselves.

Definitely happy that we don't have to be out of our current place anytime soon, but the ultimate goal for 2012 is to find the right home

Milsey32 · January 2012

Bigger yard, definitely. I love being outdoors, and MH and I will hopefully be outside with your future kiddos too. However, if necessary (like PP said) you have the option to expand the house.

shanwalk2 · January 2012

larger yard 100%.

Especially if it meant a bigger (overall) lot. Just think about resale. Lots of people want the outdoor space.

May-Bride · January 2012

My first instinct was to say bigger yard, but it depends on where the extra square footage is. If it means getting more space in the kitchen, bathrooms, or closets, then I would take the larger home.

nsfw · January 2012

We chose larger house, smaller yard. We don't have time to keep up with a lot of yardwork. Winters here are 8 months long and cold, so large indoor space was important. We don't have kids right now but we did choose a home within a minute's walk to the park.

sjb&apa · January 2012

I think location (as in - what the climate is like) makes a big difference. Also, the size of the house matters. I'm in Minnesota, and I would say bigger house. Yes, we do spend time outside in warm weather, but we have long winters here so there are months of the year when the only use the yard gets is for doggy bathroom breaks. We think of it this way - we live inside the house and spend more time inside than outside, so the inside is a higher priority to us than the outside.

Also, I wouldn't necessarily want the extra yard work that comes with a huge lot. We have roughly half an acre and that's about the limit of what I'd want. Just that much yard takes hours every weekend to mow, weed, trim, water, etc.

I think it depends on the make up of the lot too ... I would rather have a smaller yard with nice landscaping and some privacy than a huge yard that's not landscaped/kept up well and is wide open to all the neighbors.

jenuine · January 2012

It depends where you are in the country. We only use our yard for about 4 months of the year. It's small, but made up for by a couple playgrounds and parks in walking distance.

dapotato · January 2012

i vote smaller yard. and i live in a part of the country where we can use it almost year-round. it's just a lot of work that neither h or i want to do. plus you can still entertain, have pets, have kids play, etc. in a small yard that is set up right for whatever it is you do with it.

however, if the smaller home has better bones/layout, and you don't mind remodeling down the road, i wouldn't mind an extra 100 sf of yard. i cannot imagine having 1/2 an acre of land, though, like some mention. way too much upkeep.

R.Wilsonny · January 2012

Oh yea, I?m not even talking about that big of a yard, but in Long Island, a lot of the lots are about 4000-6000 square feet, then the houses are anywhere from 1200-1500 square feet. (at least the ones we are looking at that we can afford...lol) Anything would be bigger than what I live in now, but since I?m looking at this to be a forever home, this is one of the things I keep going back and forth about.

So funny - whenever I watch House Hunters and I see people looking at 3000 square foot homes and complaining that the house is too small, my mouth drops. lol

dapotato · January 2012

R.Wilsonny:
Oh yea, I?m not even talking about that big of a yard, but in Long Island, a lot of the lots are about 4000-6000 square feet, then the houses are anywhere from 1200-1500 square feet.

we're looking at similar square footages for both house and yard, too. in this size range, the layout and location of the house on the lot/setbacks seem to make a huge difference. i've seen 1500 sf houses that feel smaller than 1100 sf houses i've seen.

also, it sounds like the first of the two you mentioned is the winner of the two, though, in the way you talk about them.

DownToEarthGirl · January 2012

April37:
We spend a lot of time outside and in our yard (we have a 4 yr old so that makes a difference too) so if all other things are equal I think I would choose a larger yard over 1-200sq ft.

Ditto for us.

bearkatjen · January 2012

If we could fit comfortably in the smaller house, then DH and I would prefer that over the larger house with the smaller yard. DH is really into vegetable gardening, and I'd like DS do have a lot of backyard to play in. A room for a pool is always nice.

We live in Texas, so it's not like it's too cold to garden or go outside, and if your pool is heated, you can easily use it year round.