bobosensei
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Post by bobosensei on Jan 7, 2019 9:35:25 GMT -5
I bought my 5 bed/4 bath finished basement home in a place with a good school system with the intent that I will have kids, even if I end up getting a sperm donor and doing it myself (I'm about to turn 37 so this becomes a closer reality every day). I figured even if I do marry again I can sell the house and if I don't, that I needed to buy sooner rather than later anyway. And if I don't end up having kids I probably will sell and buy something much smaller.
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jan 7, 2019 9:49:35 GMT -5
When I was looking for this house, I looked at a two bed, two bath condo for seniors. It was wallpaper everywhere, too. Every room had been wallpapered, including the ceilings, outlet covers, etc. It was being sold "as is" by an estate. Since I am not a DIY person, it didn't take long to know that was not my house.
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dannylion
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Post by dannylion on Jan 7, 2019 12:12:51 GMT -5
This seems to be a not-uncommon reaction to single people, especially single women, choosing to live in a "family-sized" house. I had a (now deceased) relative who actually berated me every time she saw me because, in her mind, by living by myself in a 4-bedroom house, I was "depriving a family of a home." As long as they don't expect anyone else to pay for it, people get to decide what size house they want to live in. Even single women with no children or pets. We don't have to feel we only deserve to live in a studio apartment or tiny condo. I want to live in a 4-bedroom house in a nice neighborhood. I can afford it, so that's where I live. In my area, even if I wanted a studio apartment or a tiny condo, they are not located in neighborhoods I want to live in. I want a home in a safe neighborhood with good schools and stable home values to protect my investment. The choice is not always made on the basis of size but rather on the location in terms of safety or other amenities. But even it the choice is based on size, so what? I like my house. I like my neighborhood. I like my neighbors. I don't care what anyone else thinks about where I choose to live. yes, you can live wherever you want and I'm allowed to have an opinion on it. Fair enough. But in the modern world, tiny, unwholesome hovels in the woods are becoming very difficult to find and are often specifically disallowed by local zoning laws. The folks who have achieved a social status that renders them deserving of nice homes in good neighborhoods are just going to have to resign themselves to the presence of underserving single people in their midst.
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Jan 7, 2019 12:22:05 GMT -5
LOL! My opinion is largely influenced by my own laziness. More rooms = more to keep clean. Nope.
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laterbloomer
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Post by laterbloomer on Jan 7, 2019 12:26:04 GMT -5
LOL! My opinion is largely influenced by my own laziness. More rooms = more to keep clean. Nope. That's my thinking. When anyone admires a large house my thought is always, you have to be able to afford the maid to go with it!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2019 12:30:31 GMT -5
LOL! My opinion is largely influenced by my own laziness. More rooms = more to keep clean. Nope. Bedrooms are easy though. I hadn't been in our guest bedroom since July when I went in there to get the Christmas tree out of the closet last month. It still looked exactly as I left it. I think with no people/pets in there ever they stay pretty good. If I was having guests over it would just be a quick vacuum/dust and it would be ready in 5 minutes. Of course, if you use the space as a storage room and excuse to hoard crap it can be bad.
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engineerdoe
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Post by engineerdoe on Jan 7, 2019 12:30:44 GMT -5
LOL! My opinion is largely influenced by my own laziness. More rooms = more to keep clean. Nope. I love my little house. 768 sf on the main level and a decent basement that I need to set up a portion for a craft space. People thought I was crazy for looking at 2 bedroom homes only. I don't want guests!!
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MJ2.0
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Post by MJ2.0 on Jan 7, 2019 12:33:45 GMT -5
LOL! My opinion is largely influenced by my own laziness. More rooms = more to keep clean. Nope. Bedrooms are easy though. I hadn't been in our guest bedroom since July when I went in there to get the Christmas tree out of the closet last month. It still looked exactly as I left it. I think with no people/pets in there ever they stay pretty good. If I was having guests over it would just be a quick vacuum/dust and it would be ready in 5 minutes. Of course, if you use the space as a storage room and excuse to hoard crap it can be bad.
I know myself, and this would definitely happen.
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gs11rmb
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Post by gs11rmb on Jan 7, 2019 12:36:26 GMT -5
LOL! My opinion is largely influenced by my own laziness. More rooms = more to keep clean. Nope. Bedrooms are easy though. I hadn't been in our guest bedroom since July when I went in there to get the Christmas tree out of the closet last month. It still looked exactly as I left it. I think with no people/pets in there ever they stay pretty good. If I was having guests over it would just be a quick vacuum/dust and it would be ready in 5 minutes. Of course, if you use the space as a storage room and excuse to hoard crap it can be bad.
Has anyone been watching the "Tidying Up" series on Netflix. Those homes give me hives! Even when they are finished I think they still need to throw away another 50% of just stuff, stuff, and more stuff.
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swasat
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Post by swasat on Jan 7, 2019 12:43:54 GMT -5
I never understood 1 person with no kids/pets needing a 3 bedroom house. Unless you have overnight guests a lot, it seems like way too much living space. The problem is that a house with less than two bedrooms is very hard to sell, unless it is a townhouse. At least in my area. My aunt was a realtor for years and she said that it takes forever to sell a two bedroom house because everyone wants a minimum of 3 bedrooms. I can understand it though. Even once my oldest moved out I would still never want less than 3 bedrooms. I need a place for my grandchildren to stay when she is older and has them. And its very location and school district specific. We had a 2500 sqft 4BR home back in Ohio. We move to this city in this state and none of the homes in the school district we wanted to live in have anything less than 3000 sqft. Its the 1000 sqft condos and then 3000 sqft plus homes. Like the starter homes never exist!! Its a very rich area too so I guess housing reflects the median income. I am almost scared to say just how big my home is, and how expensive YM is going to eat me alive
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Jan 7, 2019 14:16:09 GMT -5
I never understood 1 person with no kids/pets needing a 3 bedroom house. Unless you have overnight guests a lot, it seems like way too much living space. Because you think you'll need it down the road. You think you'll have more guests or have guests more often than twice a year. You think you'll turn one room into XYZ and the other will be an office. Because two bedrooms just seems too small. Because it's what you grew up in and it seemed cozy (not realizing that it was the three other people in the house that made it cozy). Shall I go on? My next place--because, yes, I bought my second three bedroom house for all those reasons--will be no more than two bedrooms and probably not even that. I don't have the company that I thought I would have so I realize, now, that a one-bedroom apartment, in a nice complex, will be just fine.
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jan 7, 2019 14:23:58 GMT -5
So, when someone sez a 3 bedroom house - what size house does that make you think of? A less than 1000 sq ft house with 1 bath (and a full basement that's not included in the square footage)? Or some other bigger square foot sized house?
I don't think it's all about number of bedrooms - it's about square footage and I would think bathrooms. I don't think a family of 3 or 4 wants to live in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house no matter how much square footage it has.
FWIW: I've been looking for a 'second home' and I've been seeing plenty of 3 bed/1 bath (sometimes with a .5 bath) houses/condos for sale. And some of them are 1K or less square feet.
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greeniis10
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Post by greeniis10 on Jan 7, 2019 14:32:15 GMT -5
I can understand those with median or lower incomes but what's interesting is those with high incomes. It's not uncommon at all for those who make 6 figures individually (x 2 with a spouse) to be living paycheck to paycheck. Children and pets and big houses and expensive cars and constantly dining out and vacations and new clothes and so forth. Most people as they make more they just increase their lifestyles by that much or even more. This one girl I dated is an example of that and she had a modest house and no pets. Making $140k in a $250k house but drove an SUV, a 5 series BMW bought new, and her 3bd 3 level townhouse (including finished basement) had all closets throughout the house and all the drawers in all 3 bedrooms filled up with clothes when she's living there by herself. The 3rd bedroom had piles of jeans and shirts waist high all over the floor of the room that she wanted to donate/get rid of. Some of those clothes still had tags on them. She had 1 closet with nothing but jackets and coats in them. Needless to say, she didn't have very much in retirement. She's in her late 40's. She admitted she hadn't been saving over the years like she should have been. At the same time what annoyed me sometimes is she'd keep saying that she's not making that much. And she didn't seem to understand when I would tell her that she's making 2 times the median FAMILY income in her county and surrounding counties as a single person. She would point to anecdotal evidence of how she knows many people who make the same and also have a working spouse. And she would say that it's an expensive area, which is true but again, she's making something like 2 times (or close to it) the median family income, at least from the last time I saw the figures. My (now ex-husband's) first wife made 6 figures as did he and they lived paycheck-to-paycheck and were on the verge of bankruptcy due to her excessive spending and want of material possessions. After their divorce and we got married (I made 1/3 of what he did) he was shocked at my thrifty spending habits. Not perfect, of course and I could have saved more but we lived quite comfortably with no financial issues mainly because I'm a minimalist and have no desire to "keep up with the Jones's". I'm convinced the "Jones's" live in debt and I have no interest in that. Due to that ex-H was able to retire early. We divorced for other reasons, not due to financial troubles.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2019 14:37:06 GMT -5
So, when someone sez a 3 bedroom house - what size house does that make you think of? A less than 1000 sq ft house with 1 bath (and a full basement that's not included in the square footage)? Or some other bigger square foot sized house? I don't think it's all about number of bedrooms - it's about square footage and I would think bathrooms. I don't think a family of 3 or 4 wants to live in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house no matter how much square footage it has. FWIW: I've been looking for a 'second home' and I've been seeing plenty of 3 bed/1 bath (sometimes with a .5 bath) houses/condos for sale. And some of them are 1K or less square feet. I was from a family of 5 in a 3 bedroom 1 bath. I think there are a lot of families of 3 or 4 in 3/1 houses. There must be because there are a ton of 3/1's in this town.
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giramomma
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Post by giramomma on Jan 7, 2019 15:05:38 GMT -5
So, when someone sez a 3 bedroom house - what size house does that make you think of? A less than 1000 sq ft house with 1 bath (and a full basement that's not included in the square footage)? Or some other bigger square foot sized house? I don't think it's all about number of bedrooms - it's about square footage and I would think bathrooms. I don't think a family of 3 or 4 wants to live in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house no matter how much square footage it has. FWIW: I've been looking for a 'second home' and I've been seeing plenty of 3 bed/1 bath (sometimes with a .5 bath) houses/condos for sale. And some of them are 1K or less square feet. square footage does matter to me, actually more so than anything else. Our first place was a 2 bed 850 sq foot condo. There were four of us in 4-5 rooms, depending on how you counted. Long term, there's no way in heck I would have wanted to stay in a place that small, with four people. Especially since I need a room with a door to run my business out of.
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hurley1980
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Post by hurley1980 on Jan 7, 2019 15:13:08 GMT -5
So, when someone sez a 3 bedroom house - what size house does that make you think of? A less than 1000 sq ft house with 1 bath (and a full basement that's not included in the square footage)? Or some other bigger square foot sized house? I don't think it's all about number of bedrooms - it's about square footage and I would think bathrooms. I don't think a family of 3 or 4 wants to live in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house no matter how much square footage it has. FWIW: I've been looking for a 'second home' and I've been seeing plenty of 3 bed/1 bath (sometimes with a .5 bath) houses/condos for sale. And some of them are 1K or less square feet. They are very popular in my suburb which was built mostly in the early 50s. I have a 3/1 built in 1953 that is 1150 sf. One bedroom is my office, and the other is a guest room that is closed off most of the time, so I only clean it when I know it is going to be used. Some times I put my dogs in there when they are on a "time out."
I have 250 lbs of dogs running around my house, so I couldn't do a condo. And I seriously hate how long it takes me to clean my tiny house already. If I could do smaller I would, but finding a 2 bed house is really hard!
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TheOtherMe
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Post by TheOtherMe on Jan 7, 2019 15:23:54 GMT -5
I grew up in a 950 sq ft house with 3 beds/1 bath. It was built in 1960.
The same kind of house as all my friends were living in. I never knew the difference and it was fine.
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 7, 2019 15:36:37 GMT -5
Our house was built in 1911 and is a 3/1 (1480 sq. ft.). I would have loved a two-bedroom house but those are apparently unicorns. So three bedrooms it is. Our big project in a couple of years will be redoing our mudroom and adding a half bath and bringing laundry upstairs from the scary, scary basement.
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TheHaitian
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Post by TheHaitian on Jan 7, 2019 16:53:24 GMT -5
bringing laundry upstairs from the scary, scary basement. I would like to do that do, have the laundry on the second floor vs the basement but then that will either take away from the bedrooms that are already small or we give up the linen closet (also small). 1950 townhome, 3 bedrooms 2 baths and 1120 sqft
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Post by Deleted on Jan 7, 2019 17:01:13 GMT -5
bringing laundry upstairs from the scary, scary basement. I would like to do that do, have the laundry on the second floor vs the basement but then that will either take away from the bedrooms that are already small or we give up the linen closet (also small). 1950 townhome, 3 bedrooms 2 baths and 1120 sqft My laundry is in the middle. I really like that over the basement laundry I had before. It's a split level house, so you come in to a foyer and the laundry room is off of that. The basement bedrooms bring their laundry up and I take mine down a few steps. If I could do it all over, I would also put a half bath in with that laundry room. I host several outdoor gatherings and it would nice if people didn't have to track back and forth through the house, meanwhile the laundry has all this extra room which just has a chest freezer and a large dog crate for when I babysit (the dog, not kids)
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Tiny
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Post by Tiny on Jan 7, 2019 17:15:17 GMT -5
So, when someone sez a 3 bedroom house - what size house does that make you think of? A less than 1000 sq ft house with 1 bath (and a full basement that's not included in the square footage)? Or some other bigger square foot sized house? I don't think it's all about number of bedrooms - it's about square footage and I would think bathrooms. I don't think a family of 3 or 4 wants to live in a 3 bedroom/1 bath house no matter how much square footage it has. FWIW: I've been looking for a 'second home' and I've been seeing plenty of 3 bed/1 bath (sometimes with a .5 bath) houses/condos for sale. And some of them are 1K or less square feet. I was from a family of 5 in a 3 bedroom 1 bath. I think there are a lot of families of 3 or 4 in 3/1 houses. There must be because there are a ton of 3/1's in this town. Yes. my family of 6 was in a 3 bed/1 bath until I was 5 years old and I was the youngest. Then my parents de-converted the upstairs apartment - by putting in stairs (used one of the barely 10*10 bedrooms). So, my 3 older sibs had 2 bedrooms upstairs with a bath and I and my parents got the 2 remaining bedrooms on the first floor. There was never a shower in the upstairs bath - just tub, toilet, sink. And I agree with you that there are alot of families in 3 bed/1 bath houses (and apartments). There's a lot of old housing stock out there in suburbia. I don't think many 3 bed/1 bath houses or apartments or condos were built after the 1970s, though. So, I'd venture to say that houses built post 1980 will almost always be a minimum of 3/2 or 2/2 houses.
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laterbloomer
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Post by laterbloomer on Jan 7, 2019 17:25:06 GMT -5
I would not want to give up the second bathroom. I grew up with one bathroom and there were times you'd end up dancing at the door when someone was taking a long time! It would be a treat to have an en suite but it's not a must have/ Right now I only have to share a bathroom with ISO so it's almost an ensuite.
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imanangel
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Post by imanangel on Jan 7, 2019 19:24:13 GMT -5
Our house was built in 1911 and is a 3/1 (1480 sq. ft.). I would have loved a two-bedroom house but those are apparently unicorns. So three bedrooms it is. Our big project in a couple of years will be redoing our mudroom and adding a half bath and bringing laundry upstairs from the scary, scary basement. If Goose gets the Philly job, you will have to help me find a house!
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imanangel
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Post by imanangel on Jan 7, 2019 19:25:06 GMT -5
I would not want to give up the second bathroom. I grew up with one bathroom and there were times you'd end up dancing at the door when someone was taking a long time! It would be a treat to have an en suite but it's not a must have/ Right now I only have to share a bathroom with ISO so it's almost an ensuite. 2 bathrooms is a MUST. I love my husband, but we would probably end up divorced if we only had 1 bathroom.
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Blonde Granny
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Post by Blonde Granny on Jan 7, 2019 19:40:36 GMT -5
I have 2 bd 2 ba, 2 car garage, zero lot line and 1750 sq ft. Over 55 community so no kids allowed allowed.
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Jan 7, 2019 19:45:10 GMT -5
I would like to do that do, have the laundry on the second floor vs the basement but then that will either take away from the bedrooms that are already small or we give up the linen closet (also small). 1950 townhome, 3 bedrooms 2 baths and 1120 sqft My laundry is in the middle. I really like that over the basement laundry I had before. It's a split level house, so you come in to a foyer and the laundry room is off of that. The basement bedrooms bring their laundry up and I take mine down a few steps. If I could do it all over, I would also put a half bath in with that laundry room. I host several outdoor gatherings and it would nice if people didn't have to track back and forth through the house, meanwhile the laundry has all this extra room which just has a chest freezer and a large dog crate for when I babysit (the dog, not kids) Hahaha. I was totally about to ask why you need a dog crate when you babysit...
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Miss Tequila
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Post by Miss Tequila on Jan 7, 2019 19:47:08 GMT -5
I was from a family of 5 in a 3 bedroom 1 bath. I think there are a lot of families of 3 or 4 in 3/1 houses. There must be because there are a ton of 3/1's in this town. Yes. my family of 6 was in a 3 bed/1 bath until I was 5 years old and I was the youngest. Then my parents de-converted the upstairs apartment - by putting in stairs (used one of the barely 10*10 bedrooms). So, my 3 older sibs had 2 bedrooms upstairs with a bath and I and my parents got the 2 remaining bedrooms on the first floor. There was never a shower in the upstairs bath - just tub, toilet, sink. And I agree with you that there are alot of families in 3 bed/1 bath houses (and apartments). There's a lot of old housing stock out there in suburbia. I don't think many 3 bed/1 bath houses or apartments or condos were built after the 1970s, though. So, I'd venture to say that houses built post 1980 will almost always be a minimum of 3/2 or 2/2 houses. I only have one full bathroom. And it’s decent size as I have a full size jacuzzi tub in there. But there are four of us and it sucks when we all have to get ready. We have a half bath downstairs that was added when the prior owner remodeled
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Cookies Galore
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Post by Cookies Galore on Jan 7, 2019 19:52:19 GMT -5
Our house was built in 1911 and is a 3/1 (1480 sq. ft.). I would have loved a two-bedroom house but those are apparently unicorns. So three bedrooms it is. Our big project in a couple of years will be redoing our mudroom and adding a half bath and bringing laundry upstairs from the scary, scary basement. If Goose gets the Philly job, you will have to help me find a house! Yes please!
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nidena
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Post by nidena on Jan 7, 2019 19:57:54 GMT -5
Grew up in a 3/2 of 1200 sq ft. First house was almost identical to the house I grew up in and they were in completely different states. My current house is 3/1.5 and ~1500 built during the Harriet Tubman days.
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jelloshots4all
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Post by jelloshots4all on Jan 7, 2019 21:12:44 GMT -5
I have lived in a 3/1 with 2 kids (now teenagers) for 9 years. Built in the 1950's. It never feels "too small" for us, as the layout is really good. And the inside was remodeled before I purchased with an open concept. I would love an extra bath, but it has rarely been a problem.
I chose for school district, location, almost an acre lot, but 5 minutes to grocery, malls, everything I truly need. But it is a private, dead end street, so it's quiet. The newer houses within a mile are bigger and also cost at least 2x as much. I didn't want to be house poor as a single mom. It has worked out very well. It was very ugly from the outside when I purchased, but I have upgraded the outside over the years. I determined that was easier than updating the inside and living in chaos!
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