Would you buy this house?

[Moxie]

5 kids ages 17-5

3 bedroom house with a detached one bedroom apartment.

[carriede]

How many baths and other living areas are there? How big are the bedrooms?

[Ali in OR]

Nothing in that description makes me NOT want to buy it. Answer would depend more on location, price, if I like it, features, work needed, etc.

[FaithManor]

Not enough information. I would need to know how many bathrooms, how big the kitchen and living room are, backyard, storage, location....

[happypamama]

Depends if the kids can and will share. Maybe the 17yo gets the detached one BR now or in a year, and if the other four kids can share the other two bedrooms, that’s totally reasonable. We have four BR: one for DH and me, one for our oldest (our only DD), one for DS1, and one for the smallboys. If we had a different mix of boys and girls, two bedrooms for the kids would be fine.

 

It would depend on other factors.

[Rachel]

Maybe. Normally I would want 4 bedrooms with 5 kids but the apartment changes things. How much longer is the 17 year old living at home? The apartment could be a good launching pad.

 

We have friends who added an apartment over their garage where each child was allowed to live rent free after college until the next child graduated. It allowed them to get a good start and not have to pay rent for a couple years as they began their career.

[Element]

Is 17 yr old willing to go above the garage? Would you be able to afford utilities to use both house & garage as residences? 

[TheReader]

I'd need more info. On the surface, it sounds like it could work, or it could be horrible; a lot depends on age  & gender & personality distribution of the kids. 

[Guest]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

[JustEm]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

I would have zero problem with that if they were fine with it.

[skimomma]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

 

That really depends on the 17yo.  In theory, yes, I think it would be fine for some.  For others, no way!  The safety of the neighborhood would be another factor.

[Katy]

no

[Garga]

I plan on giving 1/3 of my house to the boys when they're in college/just out of college so they can save money.  My house is small but rambling, and so I could shut off a bedroom, bathroom, and livingroom sized space just for them--with a separate entrance into their space.  It would be like a tiny apartment, but separated from the rest of the family by only a door and without a kitchen. 

 

I'm a big one for privacy and a place of their own for college-aged kids, but I'm not sure I'd put a high-schooler out there until s/he was officially in college.  Until then, I'd want him/her included as part of the family.  Putting them out in the apartment would be them leaving the nest too soon. If s/he doesn't start college until next September, then the apartment isn't his/hers until next September.  But that depends on the size of the bedrooms in the main house.

 

Mostly I'd keep my kids in the main house for as long as possible to foster a sense of family and closeness.  I wouldn't be ready for my kids to fly the coop a year earlier than expected.  Perhaps if they go into the apartment only when they'd naturally use their own bedroom it could work.  But I wouldn't want them hanging out there all the time, alone.

 

Or perhaps if they have the bedroom in the apartment, but it was made clear that the rest of the family would be constantly in the apartment throughout the day.  Perhaps homeschool could be done in the living room of the apartment, so that it's clear that only the bedroom belongs to 17 yo, but the rest of the apartment is for everyone, at least until the 17 yo is ready to live on his/her own as an adult.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Garga

[displace]

I think a 17 year old in a detached apartment could be ok, depending on the maturity. It would be a great place to be a stepping stone. Close enough to do laundry at home, but separate enough to understand things like that are a privilege. Close enough to eat dinners at home, but separate enough to understand that's a bonus. I would keep/enforce all "regular" house rules even in a detached apartment (I'm thinking of overnight guests, etc).

[prairiewindmomma]

Nope. The detached apartment would be my quiet space.  I don't have any problem with putting 5 kids in a 3BR house, provided there are at least two bathrooms in the house.

[FaithManor]

A seventeen year old in a detached apartment? No issues. One year away from being a legal adult so not a big deal.

 

But I went to college at sixteen and was in an apartment with friends on campus at eighteen, didn't go home in the summers due to my music schedule so I tended to raise our teens to have a lot of self sufficiency by fifteen or sixteen. This is going to vary a lot by family and natural temperament of the child.

[Chris in VA]

Not my kid. 

 

YMMV.

 

I'd pass, though. Unless...

 

Could it be an income property? With a little time, you could build another bedroom on the main house. It might be nice! 

Later, perhaps an elderly parent could move in. 

 

I've always wanted a home with an apartment either on another floor or, like, in the backyard. 

Not going to happen for us, though. 

Edited October 27, 2017 by Chris in VA

[Seasider]

Not enough information. I would need to know how many bathrooms, how big the kitchen and living room are, backyard, storage, location....

Ages of each child, not just a range.

Edited October 27, 2017 by Seasider

[Rosika]

Depends if the kids can and will share. Maybe the 17yo gets the detached one BR now or in a year, and if the other four kids can share the other two bedrooms, that’s totally reasonable. We have four BR: one for DH and me, one for our oldest (our only DD), one for DS1, and one for the smallboys. If we had a different mix of boys and girls, two bedrooms for the kids would be fine.

 

It would depend on other factors.

 

This is exactly what I first thought, too - what ages/genders are the kids, and is room-sharing going to work. LOL

 

So, it's too early for me to say if I'd take the house described, but I wouldn't automatically rule it out on its description alone. 

[QueenCat]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

 

I'd be fine with it. All really depends on the teen. 

[milovany]

We just did this -- only four kids, not five.  Our 17yos is converting a large tack shed on the property to be his cave.  It's pretty close to the house so he uses the bathroom in here.  It's a great set up for our situation.  We have one teen girl who gets her own bedroom and two pre-teen boys sharing a room.  

 

For me, as a single unit rental owner and the Airbnb host of a different unit, when I see "detached apartment" or anything similar to that, I immediately think rental income (vacation or otherwise) .  :)

 

Would it function well for that purpose?  The house we just purchased is a basic '60s rancher and it's set up in such a way that with the addition of a shower in the already existing powder room at the one end of the house, that end could be closed off and function as an apartment some day.  That works in our situation because we live in a college town and aren't too too very far from the campus, but I'd also consider doing Airbnb if we're still into that in ten years.  

Edited October 30, 2017 by milovany

[Carrie12345]

I would be fine with putting the 17yo in the apartment, assuming a trustworthy kid and a safe neighborhood.

I'm currently in love with a 4 bedroom house with a heated, detached garage.  I'd make that garage an apartment for my now 14 and 15yos to stay in in another year or so.  I'd still hog the rest of the spaces by making the small bedroom a guest room/19yo's room (he's not here often), bunk the youngest two together, and make an office/school room.

I am a space hog.

 

Sadly, that house is *this* much out of reach for us right now.

[fraidycat]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

My 17 year old niece lives in an apartment 10 hours away from home and is attending college.

 

10 yards away - no biggie, at all.

[Twolittleboys]

I lived at boarding school thousands of miles from home when I was 16/17 so a detached apartment would be no problem at all (provided kid is somewhat responsible and neighborhood okay).

[luuknam]

No problem at all. 

 

When I was an exchange student in Thailand (I turned 18 after a few months), my host dad lived on their second property just outside of town pretty much the entire time, and host mom was sometimes with us (my 14yo host twin sisters and I) in their house in town and sometimes with him. I got the impression that my host sisters sometimes stayed home alone (together) even before I was there. Would I do that with my kids? Probably not, but 17 and in a detached apartment on the same property? Sure. 

[TheReader]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

 

For me it would depend on the kid and his feelings about it. 

 

My particular oldest child, I'd have been willing if he felt it was okay, and would assume he'd mostly spend his time in the main house but sleep out in the apartment. 

 

My particular middle child, I'm  not sure I would or not.....with our particular arrangement of kids, I could fairly easily imagine putting the 2 oldest there together vs. one kid alone.

 

My youngest, when he hits 17.....no idea. Right this minute I can't picture allowing it for him, but more due to his delays than anything. 

 

But, in general, if the parents felt the teen was mature & responsible enough to sleep in a separate building, and the teen felt it was a privilege not a punishment/banishment, I'd say go for it if the rest of the house made sense, etc. 

 

Even at that, it'd have to be a fairly compelling reason to buy that house vs. keep looking.

 

But "fairly compelling" could be anything from "we've been at this for months, are exhausted and love this house, and he'll be heading to college in a year anyway, so...." to "..it has my absolute dream kitchen, I'll never get another kitchen like this ever, it's on the perfect lot, we love it, if he has to do that for a year, so be it.." 

[foxbridgeacademy]

Sounds perfect.  I would have no issues with putting  my kids together(currently 14 and 16) in their own apartment as long as it was safe and well maintained.  At 17 DS or DD by themselves in a garage apartment would be fine too.  We hope to buy a house in 1.5 years and build DS (and DD if wanted)  a tiny home.  

 

 

ETA: clarity

Edited October 27, 2017 by foxbridgeacademy

[Element]

I’m mostly curious how other people would feel about putting a 17 year old in the detached apartment.

It depends on the child. I'd probably be fine with it if the child was fine with it. Dh & I both moved out at 17! 

[catz]

Mmm my son turned 17 a week ago and is almost 2 years out from college. I wouldn’t want him out there yet unless maybe if it were just for sleeping. I don’t think he’d like it actually.

[Annie G]

I wouldn't buy it unless I had a reason to have an apartment long term, such as for an air bnb rental, or needing a place for a parent to live.  Why? Because the separate apartment is probably adding more cost than a fourth bedroom would be in a typical house. I'm assuming there is also a living room, kitchen, and bathroom in the apt.   

 

Also it depends on how much time the teen would spend out there. I liked when my teens would hang out with us, especially when they came home from college. I'm guessing if they had an apartment on the premises we wouldn't see them as often. 

 

Having said that, I wouldn't worry about a 17 year old living out there as long as the kid is responsible. 

[Storygirl]

It depends upon your particular kids.

 

My oldest would not want to live separately like that. She would not even want a bedroom on a level of the house where no one else had a room (for example, in the basement).

 

My next oldest would not be ready at 17 to live apart from us, because he is immature for his age and not particularly trustworthy. He won't graduate high school until 19, and probably won't be ready to launch even then.

 

I'd love to have a house with an apartment, but the apartment would be for later use, when my kids were college age or above, so I'd have to have enough bedrooms in the main house for them to use currently.

 

And some of my kids can't share a bedroom, because of their particular dynamics. So that would come into play in the decision as well.

 

Could you have three kids share a room now and the other two share? Then when everyone feels comfortable and ready, someone could move out to the apartment.

Edited October 28, 2017 by Storygirl