We have two different places that we are looking at and there are positives and negatives to both places.
On one hand we have a house. It’s 1800 sq ft…with a FREAKING HUGE YARD….there is a smallish deck off the kitchen (big enough for some chairs and a coffee table) with stairs that lead down to a HUGE house width deck and then miles (okay not quite miles) but a seriously HUGE back yard. It’s all fenced in and there is already a GIANT garden that needs to be weeded, filled with new dirt and then planted. We’d have the MOST AMAZING veggie garden next year. There is a huge tree in the back yard that would provide shade for the house and there is space to put our compost machine…in fact there is already a wood corner built in to put all the leaves that the tree dumps…can we say major work in the fall as they drop.
There is a huge tree in the front of the house and it makes it feel charming and private.
The house has been reno’d with new fake wood floor and painted all nice and neutral and we’d basically move in and enjoy. We would want to add our own touches here and there but it looks new for a 25 year old house. There is an issue with the plumbing in the kitchen and because this is an old house….all the rooms are separated. This is not a newer open concept house. It is still nice and we could be very happy there.
We’ve been working towards a different lifestyle over the past few years and this house would easily accommodate the “green” granola, crunchy, organic, whatever-you-want-to-call-it type of lifestyle….yah we’re working on becoming hippes…there I said it…now stop all the whispering. we’re urban hippies….does that even make any sense? I don’t even care cause that’s not the focus of this post.
Aside from the small master bedroom and a few issues, we do like this house it’s just not perfect.
Then, last night we went and looked at a 2600 sq ft townhouse. It is 13 years old and in original condition….old people lived there and so they’ve taken good care of it. There is no yard maintenance to do which would free some time up and we could focus that time on the kids. The Town house backs onto a central grassy area where the kids could go out and play. They would also be a 10 minute walk to school. The other house would be about 20 minute walk. and at the townhouse, they could come home after school and even if we weren’t there………..MY PARENTS LIVE IN THE COMPLEX ACROSS THE STREET….literally a 1 minute walk to their place.
So, my kids would be totally fine and if there were any issues….run over to grandma’s. They already have some friends in my parents complex and so that would be awesome.
The difference in price between the townhome and the house is $60,000. The townhome is $60,000 less than the house, BUT with taxes and the strata fee included, the monthly payment for the townhouse is actually about $40.00 more expensive than the house. BUT IT’S HUGE and we could decorate it the way we want it.
Seeing as the house has just been done, it would be a little bit stupid to rip all the new stuff out.
So, what do we do?
There are so many positives to both sides….and some negatives to both sides.
All of this might be taken out of our hands if the house won’t sell to us for our offering price…..But if it were to accept…then what do we do. Take the smaller house that has enough rooms for each kid to have their own room and a huge back yard, but the kitchen/dining room/living room is all segregated OR…..do we take the giant townhouse that has enough rooms for us, but two kids have to share but the room they’d be sharing is HUGE….as in bigger than the master bedroom…..AND…the house is an open concept floor plan…the kitchen, runs into the eating are which runs into the dining room which is open into the living room which open s back around again onto the kitchen….it’s amazing.
We could be so happy in both….
What would you choose and why?
Tough decision! That’s for sure!
I think I would choose the house. I wouldn’t trade my fenced back yard for anything. My kids practically live in our yard in Spring, Summer and Fall. I also love my veggie/fruit garden and even though our yard is already huge I would love to have an even bigger one.
It is a lot of work though to keep up with everything!
Also my kids are noisy so I don’t know how they would do in a townhouse.
But the house sounds a bit small. We have 2300 sq feet and most of the time I feel like it’s too small for all of us and we only have 3 kids. Also I’d worry about the plumbing issue. What if there is more to it than just the kitchen? Definitely something I would have thoroughly checked out by an independent professional and I would write that right into the offer as a “subject”.
I have to say though that the thought of having family so close by in the Townhouse definitely makes the townhouse sound very appealing! It also sounds like it’s huge so maybe sharing walls with neighbors might not be such a big deal.
Anyway just my thoughts….
I’d go for the townhouse…..I’m always into more space….The huge backyard in the house does sound awesome for the kids to play in, but I know for myself, even in our last house, we hated all the yard work that came along with a big yard! no really our thing…but it would be amazing to have your own veggie garden….you could open your own veggie stand 🙂
(It’s also amazing that your parents would be so close in the townhome…man, I keep dropinghints for my mom and dad to move into the town homes next to us! such a bonus!!!!)
happy decision making! 🙂 🙂
Maybe you can tear down some walls to open things up????
If it’s possible, it’s not a hard fix…
Wow. That’s a tough decision!
After reading through the post.. my initial response is to go for the townhouse.
Here’s the BIG pros, in order as I see them:
– close to family. With that kind of proximity, your kids will have a different relationship with your parents… in my eyes that a good thing, but it really depends on your parents and if they are capable of respecting any “boundries” you set up. (ie: Do you really want them coming over all the time just because hey.. it’s only a minute away? Or do they want your kids coming over all the time because hey.. gramma and grampa are only a minute away? But then, that could be a good thing, too. Every family is different.)
– If there is greenspace behind the townhouse.. that seems like a pretty good equivalent to the yard concept. Your kids are old enough that you don’t have to have a fence to keep them safe.. and the older kids can look after the younger? If there is a heavily used road next to the greenspace, then that could be a showstopper.
– I don’t know if you guys are “indoor people” or “outdoor people”.. or both, or what. It seems to me, however, that most entertaining is done indoors (dinners, etc..) and the big open-space concept is perfect for that kind of thing. If it feels “cramped” when someone comes to visit at the smaller house.. then they won’t come as often. That’s just a sad fact. If the bigger house feels big and open and “inviting”.. then you’re much likely to not only invite people over (and more of them), but they’re more likely to swing by. Depends on if you like that sort of thing. 🙂
– An older house is a money sucking pit of dispair and doom. Ok.. maybe not so much.. but an older house is MUCH more likely to end up costing you more $$ in ongoing repairs and maintenance. Have you seen the cost of repairing a roof recently? Ack! Any owner of an older home will tell you that you should be prepared to through dollar after dollar into it.
Some of the big CONS that I see for the townhouse (besides the ones you mentioned):
– Less privacy. This is highly dependent on your family needs. Me? I like caves.. so the idea of living in a townhouse frightens me. That being said.. I have seen some pretty nice townhouses that are indeed fairly private.
– A townhouse most likely has less resale value. It is also more likely to have a “growth cap” with regard to increased value. For example, a house is unique, so the price can be unique.. based on “similar” houses of course. However, a townhouse is exactly identical to the one next door.. so the value is more likely to be lower and grow slower.
I hope that helps? Good luck with the decision.. this is exciting!!
Oh ya… keep in mind that with a smaller house, Jon is going to go bat-shyte crazy if he ever works from home again. 🙂 Just saying..
And sharing a room isn’t so bad. In fact, our kids or more then likely to wind up sharing a room even if we have one for each of them. I think it’s healthy, despite the fighting.
Ok … so – in BC, how many days do you spend outside?? I always think that the larger the house, the better for the kids. And a central grassy area may be enough. having the folks close by is a huge plus. However, owning a home with land has definate benefites. Renos and such, expansion, are possibilites. Property taxes are more though … Sounds to me, though, that you are loving the townhouse … I think it’s already got you sold :-).