when is a house too big?

TBagpuss

I don't think it'll be too big - I would only see it as an idssue if you were stretching yourself financially to be able to buy it and were likely to struggle to meet maintenance costs or to adjust to any changes in interest rates etc.

I am single, and am currently in the process of selling my 2 bed to move into a 3 bed. For me, what I really wanted was more living space, a garden, off road parking and to not be in a terrace any more.

If I could have have found all of that in another 2 bed property I would have been happy to move to another 2 bed, but as it is, a 3 bed is the only realistic option. I'm looking forward to being able to have a proper spare bedroom and a separate study, and to have more living space.

If my situation changes and I meet someone then he house will still be big enough, and hopefully in time when I want to move on will put me in a position where I have more choice as to size and location.

You spend a lot f time in your home so having a preference for houses over flat is a good reason to go for a house rather than a flat, if you can afford it.

Yes, it will probably cost a bit more to heat and you'll be paying more directly for maintenance, but on the other hand, won't have to deal with a freeholder or management company.

phoebe1989seb

You definitely are inclined to acquire *stuff* to fill even the largest of spaces - unless you are a very self-disciplined minimalist, lol - we sold our large family home when DS went off to uni in 2007 and at that point, for example we had eleven sofas in our six-bed house :eek:

I agree about the moving and renovation costs being prohibitive to doing too many moves too - whilst we are quite extreme examples as we always buy project houses - our three most recent costs to restore have been (approx) £80k, £40k and £100k.....and that's apart from all the attendant costs such as EA fees, sols, SDLT and removals

I'd definitely always go for the largest property that is easily affordable. When we were FTBs just over twenty years ago we had the choice between a very poky two-bed flat and one with double the footprint but only one bedroom. We actually chose the one-bed - mainly because the living room was a vast 30-odd feet! I confess it spoiled us as we were thereafter never content with small roomed properties, moving from there to a Victorian terrace with three generous reception rooms, then onto a detached four-bed, three reception character house......

Just try to not morph into Mr (or Mrs) Trebus from *Life of Grime* as I seem to have done, lol :rotfl:

sammyjammy

I'm single in a three bed and don't have enough room. There is certainly sense in the theory that you fill the space you have although i am a bit of a hoarder so was always going to be an issue. However my house is a traditional 2 up 2 down Victorian terrace so only has a kitchen and lounge downstairs, 2 beds and a bathroom upstairs with an attic bedroom (proper one with normal staircase, I find it really small and overwhelming if I have visitors.

BigAunty

I prefer houses to flats.

The issues I've personally experienced with flats include squabbles over the cost of communal repairs and cleaning. Also security issues, the front main door being continually left open (leading to theft and attempted theft of bicycles chained on landings) and people dumping bags in the bin compound rather than putting them in the bin which leads to problems with pests, birds and foxes ripping them open. Also, visitors buzzing me or even knocking on my window to be let in when the person they want to visit hasn't answered their door buzzer.

One of the unexpected joys I experienced when moving into a house from a flat was having my own bin, not having to gingerly step over split bags, including used sanitary items scattered everywhere.

In one property, one of the households used to 'exercise' their dogs by chucking them out the windows into the back court which led to them soiling it. They also seemed to take over the common areas - shoes and rubbish left in corridors, barbeques and sunbathing taking over much of the small shared space.

I've also experienced a higher degree of noise nuisance in flats than in houses. I know that any neighbour can be terribly anti-social but in a large block of flats, you could end up with 4 neighbours instead of two, plus there is a higher likelihood of rental properties and hence occupants with little stake in the building, leading to a great churn in residents and all the issues that transient/low income households can bring.

In the last three block of flats I've lived in, I've had party animals, the mentally ill, and alcoholics quite routinely as neighbours, with a high degree of renters rather than owners.

I also appreciate that owners can be nightmares too but have tended to find owner-occupier neighbours in adjacent houses much better behaved and quieter, more neighbourly and friendly, than many of the adjacent tenants in blocks of flats.

BigAunty

w00519772 wrote: »

i am interested to hear from other single people living in three bed houses. Is a three bed too much? Sometimes i think i may be more suited to an apartment. I just prefer houses.

As a couple, we are living in a 5 bedroom property. In the street, which as you can imagine is family sized housing, there are lots of childless couples occupying them, though some are occupied by 3 generations of family.

It feels too big to me but we each have a 'hobby room' or 'office' and just ignore the space that we don't use. I know that there is a theory that people fill empty rooms with unwanted belongings but materially, I live quite sparsely and don't feel that I buy stuff just for the sake of it despite having excessive room.

I'd be happy as a single person in a 3 bed house (not any bigger though). I would have one room made up for visitors and the other as my music/meditation room and office. I would prefer to have a second bathroom for other visitors to use. A two bedroom house would be fine, too - I'd make sure there's a sofa bed in the living room.

p00hsticks

ceecee1 wrote: »

I do find that 3 toilets for one person is a bit too many

You can never have too many toilets...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2OmmcsAZnw

DKLS

Like BigAunty, I live in a 5 bed house with my wife and two cats, and its just about right for us its a little inefficient to run but we are taking steps to remedy that, at some point we would like to knock two of the bedrooms together to make a huge dressing room.

My current garage is 3 times bigger than the bedsit I had in London.

lincroft1710

My first house, bought when single, was a small, modern end of terrace 3 bed (just!). But this was nearly 40 years ago and houses were much cheaper in relation to wages/salaries.

The current 3 bed, 3 reception semi is only just big enough for the two of us.

notanewuser

BigAunty wrote: »

As a couple, we are living in a 5 bedroom property. In the street, which as you can imagine is family sized housing, there are lots of childless couples occupying them, though some are occupied by 3 generations of family.

It feels too big to me but we each have a 'hobby room' or 'office' and just ignore the space that we don't use. I know that there is a theory that people fill empty rooms with unwanted belongings but materially, I live quite sparsely and don't feel that I buy stuff just for the sake of it despite having excessive room.

I'd be happy as a single person in a 3 bed house (not any bigger though). I would have one room made up for visitors and the other as my music/meditation room and office. I would prefer to have a second bathroom for other visitors to use. A two bedroom house would be fine, too - I'd make sure there's a sofa bed in the living room.

We were a couple in our 4 bed for 5 years before DD came along (lived in London during the week so it was our pied a terre).

We extended while expecting and now have a 5-6 bed/3 bath/4 toilet house with just the 3 of us living here.

ibizafan_2

I've lived on my own in a three bedroomed house for several years and have never found it too big. My OH is moving in soon, having sold his house and I'm finding it hard to fit him in as my clothes and stuff take up the wardrobes in all three bedrooms! We are planning to upsize to a larger house, hopefully with three double bedrooms, although it seems that you often have to buy a four bedroomed house to achieve this. We certainly wouldn't find four bedrooms too large either, as we could use one for a study. You definitely expand to use the space available. The only thing I do not want is a large garden.