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Good morning all. Yesterday I went to an open house here in Virginia to look at the layout of the house and get the idea of the square footage. The house , to me, was huge. I live in a shrinky dink house. The open house SF=3015. I could tell right away it was way more than what we need. But then I am looking for our needs, and a little of our wants, I know that is selfish. But back to this home. The living room was huge, I would say 4 of what I have now. There was a dining room that was 400 sf, but also a room right off of the kitchen that would hold a huge kitchen table. There were three very large bdrms upstairs, and you walk up about 5 stairs and just to your right a 4th room or a bonus room, this room also 400 sf. It was a nice room, also one that we wouldn't require. Soooo. We don't have big family gatherings. I guess only when it is my turn to have Thanksgiving, but I think the family will skip me due to the drive and go to the next sibling, but, I have a sister who is married w 3 kids, a brother, married w 3 kids, another brother, married with 3 kids. There are the 4 of us, and there would be my MIL. She will live somewhere in the area. What do I need for sf... I haven't a clue. I would bet the place I am in know is 1000 sf, too small. So, that other house was 3015, 800 could be taken right off the top, the living room was way too big, the master was way too big, I don't know what i need. Anyone else in the same situation? I apologize for the novel...;( and my kids are getting t be teens so I guess they need their space too... me crying
Sometimes its not about the square footage but the layout and use of space.
With you and the kids needing privacy perhaps you are looking for something with a spilt floor plan. My ideal house is one level with kitchen and living areas in the center. On one side is the master suite on the other are the guest bedrooms.
Coming from Jersey as a renter, I had little to no concept of square footage too. We are a family of four, with two boys, 8 and 13. Living with my 13-year-old can be a bit like living with an untrained puppy, his poor sense of boundaries and lack of coordination can make anyone feel closed in! Square footage as well as layout are considerations. We passed over a home that had more square footage but felt terribly claustrophobic due to the poor layout (no doubt a big reason why that house remains on the market today!).
Anyway, we have a little more than 2,100 sq. ft. and a split floor plan on one level. We love it! We also have very high ceilings which gives the illusion of more space. DH's cousin and his wife (they have a toddler) purchased a home almost twice this size and to me it looked like just a lot of wasted space and all I could think about was heating and cooling bills when I looked around their home. It just didn't make a lot of sense environmentally or economically, IMO.
If I recall your family composition correctly, 1800-2200 sq. ft. is probably enough room to make you feel comfortable. I'm sure the Realtors here will have thoughts to share.
Remember Layout is everything and bedrooms and what your needs are? do you like to cook, if so you want a decent size kitchen, where do all of you hang out family room??? then u want a decent size family room for when your nieces and nephews come to visit...Sq footage is interesting I have here in NJ a 3600 sq ft house, 5 bedrooms and 2.5 baths with an unfinished basement..we are a family of 4, I have an awesome layout but honestly we never never use the living room so for us its wasted space, we have 30 foot ceilings in my entry way and family room also dont really need...my builder used the sq footage here ok, but in NC Ive seen better...so honestly If you have a great floorplan and it flows and u have the bedrooms u need then that is more important than to what the sq footage would be... and Im a realtor here in NJ
I just recently purchased a home, and I am confused about how the square footage is calculated. The builder told me that what is reported in tax records does not include closet space throughout the home. I have many closets in my home - 13 to be exact, which includes the pantry. If I had to estimate, I think these closets would add at least 300 extra square feet. Is it a standard practice that closet space is not included in calculation of the square footage in NC or is that just something particular to the builder (the builder is Ryan Homes)? Wouldn't reporting this info be significant if I ever planned to sell the house down the road? I don't understand why this space would not be included. Can someone shed some light on this?
Fl they measure the back of the house length then the width...u can also do it by room size and I believe divided it by 12..but dont quote me..LOL...becasue when my appriaser here measured he gave me the sq footage when I did it room by room umm i was off....LOL...so if the room is 19x14 lets say total that up and then the res of the house...BUT you dont count closets as square footage at least here they dont...lol...when builders sell homes they give you the sq footage of the home....
Good morning all. Yesterday I went to an open house here in Virginia to look at the layout of the house and get the idea of the square footage. The house , to me, was huge. I live in a shrinky dink house. The open house SF=3015. I could tell right away it was way more than what we need. But then I am looking for our needs, and a little of our wants, I know that is selfish. But back to this home. The living room was huge, I would say 4 of what I have now. There was a dining room that was 400 sf, but also a room right off of the kitchen that would hold a huge kitchen table. There were three very large bdrms upstairs, and you walk up about 5 stairs and just to your right a 4th room or a bonus room, this room also 400 sf. It was a nice room, also one that we wouldn't require. Soooo. We don't have big family gatherings. I guess only when it is my turn to have Thanksgiving, but I think the family will skip me due to the drive and go to the next sibling, but, I have a sister who is married w 3 kids, a brother, married w 3 kids, another brother, married with 3 kids. There are the 4 of us, and there would be my MIL. She will live somewhere in the area. What do I need for sf... I haven't a clue. I would bet the place I am in know is 1000 sf, too small. So, that other house was 3015, 800 could be taken right off the top, the living room was way too big, the master was way too big, I don't know what i need. Anyone else in the same situation? I apologize for the novel...;( and my kids are getting t be teens so I guess they need their space too... me crying
We always have way too much sq. ft.! My husband and I, and a dog and cat, have had houses 1900 sq ft and 2200 sq ft. We've recently added another pup to the mix, and we have 2900. We buy what we like, what we want, in an area that we want to be in, and what we can afford. Although we could fit in a much smaller house, we don't like typical starter homes. We try to take investment into consideration, too, when making a purchase. We're also discussing kids, so having a couple extra bedrooms, we thought, was a smarter move than outgrowing a house and having to buy another in a couple of years.
Although we have a huge house, our master is on the first floor and we don't heat the upstairs in the winter. However, we do cool it for fear of mold growth. From living in FL, how I understand it, mold ideally grows at 78 degrees so we keep it around 76. Cooling is much more expensive than heating here... I keep the d/s clean and only do the u/s when we have guests. We just don't use it...
If you like the house, go for it. I imagine you will probably find a use for those rooms eventually. Take into consideration the utilities that you will have to pay and make sure you can afford it first. After living in 3 houses, it's not often you find your dream home...
[quote=FLtoNC;425725]I just recently purchased a home, and I am confused about how the square footage is calculated. The builder told me that what is reported in tax records does not include closet space throughout the home. I have many closets in my home - 13 to be exact, which includes the pantry. If I had to estimate, I think these closets would add at least 300 extra square feet. Is it a standard practice that closet space is not included in calculation of the square footage in NC or is that just something particular to the builder (the builder is Ryan Homes)? Wouldn't reporting this info be significant if I ever planned to sell the house down the road? I don't understand why this space would not be included.
know one count's closet space because it not heated sq foot
know one count's closet space because it not heated sq foot
I have 3 large closets in my master bedroom. All are heated as well as the large closet in my bonus room. The only closets I have that are not heated are the small ones and I also have a large one in my attic.
I just recently purchased a home, and I am confused about how the square footage is calculated. The builder told me that what is reported in tax records does not include closet space throughout the home. I have many closets in my home - 13 to be exact, which includes the pantry. If I had to estimate, I think these closets would add at least 300 extra square feet. Is it a standard practice that closet space is not included in calculation of the square footage in NC or is that just something particular to the builder (the builder is Ryan Homes)? Wouldn't reporting this info be significant if I ever planned to sell the house down the road? I don't understand why this space would not be included.
know one count's closet space because it not heated sq foot
Closet space is counted in the overall heated square footage because they are not considered separate rooms. If you had a storage room that was not heated it wouldn't be counted.
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and Im a realtor here in NJ
What does square footage include?
Sq. ft.?
