Which house? (large 3br vs normal 4 br)

There is no reason to settle for one or the other, considering the amount of money you are shelling out.

My suggestion is to keep looking.

It should be easy to find a 4 br house with about the same sq ft and not 100K more expensive than the 3br house.

 

This for sure.

If not and your kids are young, my sister and I from the time we were 6 yo/4 yo for till about 12 yo / 10 yo, we shared a room, but then we started wanting our own room, so we had to make bedrooms smaller and build a wall in between (let me tell you that is not as good of an idea as you think it is, really make 2 tiny bedrooms).

Sharing bedrooms isn't a big deal, but as the kids get older, they will really not prefer it. If you only play on staying in that house for about 7-10 years (as you said) it could work out great, but as they get older you will need to start looking for a new home.

 

Heck for $80-100,000, you could convert the garage into a temporary garage-apt type thing until son #1 moves out, then convert it back, and probably still come out way ahead. Definitely go with the 3br.

 

The brick is just a facade. You can put in another window and build a wall and it'll cost you less than $2k. With the other $78k, you can build another wing on the house.

If you're saying that these two houses are basically equivalent in size, neighborhood, schools, quality etc and the only appreciable difference is the bedroom configuration and an $80k difference in price, then there really is no contest. You can do an awful lot to the house for $80k.

 

God bless you.

People in the burbs that bought 3800-4000 sq. ft. homes are looking to downsize. I never could understand why you need to go from a 2200-3000 sq. ft. to something bigger just because your 2 kids are getting bigger. What are they turning into? Gorillas?

 

except whatever you gain in appreciation is offset by higher utility, maintenance, and property taxes. don't buy a bigger house just because you can afford it. buy just enough house for you to live in comfortably without stretching your dollars. ideally, you should buy a house that if either you or your wife lose your job you can still make payments.

i think one of the biggest mistakes people make is to treat their house as an investment. a house is just a place for you and your family to live. enjoy it because of the benefits it can provide, but you will bleed money while you have a mortgage.

i recommend this book: http://www.amazon.com/Street-Journa...sr_1_3_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

 

This...they dont need windows in their rooms, do they? I think it's wayyy to early to know if your kids will have a problem sharing rooms or not. Generally they don't early on, but as they become teenagers it may change. Not all siblings get along great and want each other in their business.

i think you should take the 2nd biggest room with your wife, let one kid get the third and two kids share the biggest one, for now. As they get older you can let them keep sharing if they're ok with it, if not then split the room. If you're planning on upgrading in 7 years, then definitely go for 3bdrms now. The 100k difference is the key here. For 10-20 k i think most would say just get the extra room, but 100k is too big of a difference.

If you have a big yard you could even eventually build something like this out there for less than the 100 k, let the oldest kid stay there , i'm sure they'd love being away from the parents, or if they still want to share, it would be a great office, free of distractions, for your wife:

http://www.micromedia.li/microhouse/

 

100k is a lot of money.

My little brothers shared a room through high school. It was no big deal.

 

Get the cheaper house and save the money in case your kid wants to transfer to UCLA for junior and senior year of undergrad.

But if you've already made the mistake of telling your kids they might have their own rooms, and you're not at the tail end of your housing search, try to get some extra chores or summer reading out of them while you try and find a better priced four bedroom home.

 

My immigrant parents may or may not have had my younger brother and I share a bed for three years.

 

I guess I'm the only one who doesn't think the market has completely bottomed out yet, especially since the first wave of boomers are now deep into retirement age.

 

no, you're not. but if he NEEDS a house to accommodate his growing family i don't see much wrong with it as long as he does his research and takes into account the hidden costs of owning a home (this coming from someone who thinks home ownership is overrated). the issue is paying 100K just for an extra bedroom. adding 100k debt isn't chump change, especially if one is planning to move in 7 years.

Bigsherv, i forgot to add my personal experiences. our family of 6 lived in a 2 bedroom house. the den was eventually converted into a bedroom. my parents had a room, two of my sisters shared a room, and up until I was 15 years old I shared one with my third sister. because I never knew what it was like to have my own room, I thought it was perfectly normal.

Now, one of my sisters with two kids stays at the same house in one room, WITH both kids. Neither of them, 4 and 5 years old, seem to have much trouble sharing with the bunk bed. i'm sure as they get older they have to "move out" of mom's room just because by the mere fact they are growing bigger. but unless my sister somehow manages to get her own apt (doubtful with a deadbeat dad), the kids will have to continue sharing.