With all the downsizing talk, am I stupid to...

[LauraGB]

Consider upsizing? We have decided to stay in our current home and add some acreage to our property. Our home is currently a duplex, and we work out of the other side. The side we live on is about 1700 sq ft and the other side is about 1400. Everything is on one floor. I hate the layout. In a duplex, the inside wall of the house has no windows, and our inside wall consists of an office, a bathroom and one wall of a bedroom. The back side, which has windows is where all the bedrooms are. So the only real light that enters the main living part of the house is from a dining room window and the living room windows. It's dark in here. The situation is similar on the other side.

 

Eventually we won't be needing the other side for work. The house will paid for by that time. We are considering remodeling the entire building into a single family home. It would be huge. We would end up with a 4+ bedroom, 3 bath home, with a library and exercise room, and the main living space would be an open concept. And the best part is that my living room and dining room would be at the back and my kitchen would be large enough for more than one person to stand in it - which is exactly what I want. Presently, unless I'm standing in a bedroom, I can't see my backyard at all.

 

The problem is that my kids aren't getting any younger. And I'm not making more to take their place :tongue_smilie:. So, by the time all of this remodeling, most of which we would do ourselves, would come to fruition, my kids would be around 15 years old. And a few years after that, they're probably going to leave us to go do their own thing. And dh and I will be sitting here with a huge house. On the one hand, we can consider the value of a house like that were we ever to put it on the market (it would come with 2.5 acres with gardens, a pond and fruit trees (when all that work is complete as well - we just bought that property). On the other hand, I'm kind of counting on my kids still liking me enough to come visit with the grandkids and we would have ample space for them. And we wouldn't have debt associated with the house (we wouldn't do it otherwise).

 

I don't know what to do. For the past 10 years we had always planned to do something like this with this house. But we always envisioned the kids growing up in it. I kind of feel like we missed the boat by not doing it sooner, and is it even worth it? What would you do?

[Jeannie in NJ]

yes, I would do it. You don't like the house the way it is and the plans that you have for it, you seem to love. So do it for yourself and dh and for the dc while they are still at home and it does sound like it would be the perfect place for the future grandkids to enjoy visiting.

[Scuff]

We're sort of doing the same. We have an upstairs apt we will soon be using ourselves when the renter moves out. We're not altering the house, though. Some other things to consider: Are you overbuilding for the neighborhood? Would it be cheaper/less hassle to just move into what you want?

[LauraGB]

Some other things to consider: Are you overbuilding for the neighborhood? Would it be cheaper/less hassle to just move into what you want?

 

My neighborhood is just as ridiculous as the layout of my house; across the street are $500k homes. Down the street are condos/apts and more duplexes. Around the corner are $150k homes in a subdivision. Beyond that are businesses (dental offices, dr's offices, retail stores, etc). And fields. There are still some farmed fields. So, I think no matter what we did, we'd fit right in.

 

As far as buying a different house - we thought that would be better because we wanted a more private location (our street is fairly busy), and we spent a few years looking, but an already paid-for house is an already paid-for house no matter how you look at it. And we already know any potential problems that might arise with this house; how old the a/c and furnaces are, when the roof will need to be replaced, how many times our basement has flooded (and if there is mold or not), and all those other pita things we'd probably be surprised with in another house. Plus, we are close enough to aging parents and family members here. So, at this point, I think we're staying.

[Night Elf]

Nope, I wish I could upsize. We downsized 5 years ago and I loved it for a while. But now this house is just too small. I feel very closed in and like I have no privacy at all. If I want to be alone, I have to leave the house. DH doesn't want to sell because our house will sell for less than what he believes should be the sale price. A friend of ours who is an economist told him that the house we were likely to buy would also be valued less but DH just feels adamant. It seems strange to me, but this is one area of finance that is non-negotiable and he gets to make the decision.

[gingersmom]

I would not want to fix up/expand my house.

 

If I could do it now while my kids would be here to enjoy it and I had the money I would. But I don't.

 

I am fairly certain that when they head off/graduate from college I will pack up and move.

 

I was just watching a local real estate show and they were showing these big apartments with this amazing roof deck with a huge pool and gardens........I was lost in fantasy land.

[elegantlion]

Since you're already occupying the space, I don't think it's crazy. Paid for is a BIG appeal. I always thought I wanted a bigger home. We've upsized to over 2000 sq ft, I know not huge. But you know I like a smaller home. We have one child and a few limited years left with him at home. I don't like to clean, it's' just space we don't need.

 

I think I also have a fear of hoarding. We have hoarders in our family and I can see how it would be fun to have specific room to decorate. But my fear is I wouldn't stop and the rooms not used on a regular basis would become storage. (now I really should go clean the unused playroom :lol:)

[NoPlaceLikeHome]

You could break through a door on the first and second floor if it is a side by side double:D We did that and it cost about $600.00 and now we enjoy the whole house. If we ever need to rent it out or sell, then it could easily be converted back to a double by sealing the doorways back up.

[LauraGB]

You could break through a door on the first and second floor if it is a side by side double:D We did that and it cost about $600.00 and now we enjoy the whole house. If we ever need to rent it out or sell, then it could easily be converted back to a double by sealing the doorways back up.

 

That's exactly what we have right now! But the access is through the office, and enters into the living room on the other side - all dark and windowless (the other living room gets light from the dining room adjacent to it). According to the guy who built the house (he's our neighbor and who we bought the house from), there are no supporting inside walls, so technically, we *could* tear that whole wall out. I'm not completely convinced that's such a great idea, but the other side is where all the bedrooms and exercise room would be, leaving our side to just be mostly open from front to back (with the exception of the laundry room, and both bathrooms).

[happi duck]

I hear ya on the natural light thing. I stare at a wall when I wash dishes and sometimes I want to take a sledge hammer to it.

 

However, if I were in your situation I'd love the thought of being able to use the other part of the duplex for visitors and helping people out. When grown kids visit they could have their own place. It could also be a source of income to put into grandkid college accounts if you didn't need the income.

 

I find these light tubes interesting: http://www.solatube.com/

[runmiarun]

Do it! I think it's a great idea!

[Tess in the Burbs]

we just had the opportunity to downsize when we moved but I couldn't justify a smaller place for the same price as a larger place. Price seemed related to area and not size.

 

And while we have said we wanted to downsize.....after moving I am glad we did not. Nothing fits the same. We have the same space but in different areas and it feels too tight in some rooms and too spacious in others.

 

Basically you adapt to your space. But I wouldn't choose to downsize right now...maybe when the kids are teens and have less toys......

[Rhea]

Would you enjoy the journey? If so, then do it! If the only joy is the ending, but you know you want that ending (regardless of age of kids, or years they will be there before moving out), then do it!

 

Can you relatively quickly devote the one side to wide open living space with lots of light, and then spend years finishing off the rest how you want it? Then I say, do it! (I love lots of light and having a view.)

 

I think only if the journey work isn't something you want to do, and if you aren't confident you will want the end result if the kids are already in their teens, or if you aren't sure you want to stay in such a large house after they move, should you possibly not bother. But really, I think you should do it. :001_smile:

 

Rhea

[Ellie]

I love my upsized home.:) We've had lots of guests--the 11 girls who came to town for a homeschool speech-and-debate conference, a best friend whom I haven't spent time with in over 20 years, our former pastor's parents who stayed with us for 6 weeks while waiting for his cancer to take him--and had big groups of people over for socializing. We'd never have been able to do that in our small, former, little-bitty house.

 

I say go for it. Think of what Christmas will be like down the road when all your dc and their dc come home for the holidays. :-)

[....]

We're going to have to upsize next year. It's like we live in a hotel room!

[Wheres Toto]

We're upsizing starting as soon as the DEP approves our permits (we're on a Wetlands/Floodway river even though we are way above the flood zone).

 

We're currently in 750 square feet with 2 adults, a teenager and 2 littles. My two younger kids don't even have their own beds since there's no room. My oldest has a loft bed that she has a real hard time getting in and out of these days (she's 5'6" tall). It's a nightmare the 3-4 times a year she sprains an ankle or knee at dance.

 

Even though my oldest will be going to college in two years there's a possibility that at least the first year she will live at home and commute (she wants to go to school in NYC). My younger two won't be able to share a room for much longer and already can't really share the bed since they wake each other up - so they both sleep with us. Even in a large king size bed, that's not working well already. Our ceilings are too low for bunk beds (only 6 1/2 feet in the kids room).

 

We're not going huge. We are putting an 1800 square foot modular (that we bought as a "lot dog" so got for 40% off) on our property behind our current house. We thought about moving but wouldn't get much for our existing house and we love the neighborhood and property.

 

As long as you are not going into a huge amount of debt that you can't afford, I think you should do what provides quality of life. I know all the talk about downsizing and things aren't what's important, but when every day you're miserable because your home, where you spend a good portion of your time, is not working.....

[Parrothead]

I don't have an answer to your question. I wanted to let you know that after all this time of seeing it fairly often I finally know who your avatar photo is. LOL

[Gooblink]

I'd do it. Sounds lovely! It also sounds like a good investment, based on what you said about the properties around you.

[LauraGB]

Okay. So the majority think we should forge on with the plan. Even though the children are going to leave me alone to clean the whole thing :tongue_smilie:. I kind of think so, too. But, I'm a little torn.

 

To answer the question of whether we would enjoy the journey - yes. Dh and I both enjoy the planning, the wrecking, the building, the decorating...all of it. So that's fine. But while we were discussing it again one night, dh said rather flippantly "Well, in a few years after this is done, the kids will be gone so we can make this room into...and that room can be..." and all of a sudden, the whole vision darkened for me. In my mind, I had always seen my kids growing up in the house in my head. In reality, they would be leaving me with the house in my head :001_huh:. It made me really sad. So, for the past few weeks I've been trying to justify the renovation - it was only kinda-sorta for me (okay, a lot for me), but mostly it was so I could see my kids in those memories when I get old. For a while, the best thing I could come up with was that everything would be on one floor, so I could wheel my wheelchair anywhere I wanted when I was too old to walk around. But then I started thinking of everyone else; the gardens would be able to help feed our extended family, my sister (who is handicapped) could come live with us after my parents are gone, friends could visit for a little longer and,

 

I say go for it. Think of what Christmas will be like down the road when all your dc and their dc come home for the holidays. :-)

 

This. This Norman Rockwell sort of idyllic thing. As it is, at Thanksgiving we can barely shimmie around the dining room table (and the darn light is on overhead). Makes me almost weepy thinking about it jammed with dd and ds and their spouses and kids.

 

So, I'm just coming back around to thinking it's a good idea again, but I wasn't sure because it will be only dh and I eventually.

[LauraGB]

I don't have an answer to your question. I wanted to let you know that after all this time of seeing it fairly often I finally know who your avatar photo is. LOL

 

LOL! No, that's not really me. Although, my dc chose it because they thought it depicted my usual stance and demeanor quite well :lol:.