I am married to a soldier and after 11 years together he asked we move from MD to FL to a place he wants to retire from the military and so that we would be in a lower cost of living area. He has a 16 yo son (my stepson) who i love like my own and who has had to deal with constant moves with his dad - changing schools and moving from 1 apartment to another. DH proposed we move to FL while he is deployed so that we would be close to his parents and we would be able to afford to buy a house.
Fast forward 18 months and I bought a house in the school district i thought was good for DSS. It was the builder's model home so it has all the upgrades imaginable. The layout is traditional with bedrooms upstairs together and downstairs is 2 living rooms, kitchen, dining room. It was the most extravagent house and at the very top of my price range. And so as a 1st buyer I bought it thinking about all of his friends coming over and using the entertainment loft or having our friends over for dinner and movies... But we rarely do that. My Stepson likes the house. He likes the thought he doesnt have to move. But in another 18 months he graduates HS and may be moving out for college. Is this latent buyers remorse or just loneliness/empty nest syndrome... or both???
DH will still be moving around the country with the military and I am feeling trapped thinking of rattling around in this huge house by myself and the dog.
Re: Homeowner for 1 year and now realize house is too big!
Some people just prefer not to own. There is a lot of stuff that goes along with renting. Will the current house problems get fixed and be taken care of? Sure. Will new problems continue to appear? Sure. That is the nature of the beast. There is usually something awaiting fixing.
Normally, I would suggest you sell if you are unhappy and would rather rent. However, in your case I would suggest staying for a while. If your Stepson is happy and enjoying the fact that he doesn't have to worry about moving for the first time in since he started kindergarten then I think you should stay for now. He is 16 so he will be graduating high school and heading out to start his own life in a couple of years. I think this is an especially hard time (high school) for kids to move. In a couple of years you can do whatever you want but I would put his needs and want first for the time being.
It will likely not be all rainbows and butterflies with the home ownership but since the home is newer there will hopefully not be and major problems.
Good luck.