Browse Forums General Discussion 1 Nov 19, 2009 11:53 am So after a discussion with some girlfriends, we were undecided on the better option. For example if you had say $400,000 would YOU prefer and why?: 1. A smaller house, say three bedrooms two bathrooms, two living areas completed with nicer tiles say porcelain, or real timber floors, upgraded doors, kitchen etc etc.... Basically a house with a A+ finish. Or 2. A much larger house, say four bedroom plus study, home theatre, living room, rumpas room, large alfresco but finished to a more basic standard, ie. normal laminate not stone, or laminate floors not real timber. V Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 3Nov 19, 2009 12:00 pm Depends on how many people were moving into the house. If the smaller place is plenty big enough, then the smaller. But if the the extra space was really needed, the bigger. Finishes can always be upgraded over time so it would probably be better long term investment. I leave you to fend for yourself, figure things out yourself. Terrence Malick Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 4Nov 19, 2009 12:18 pm I guess it depends on your needs/requirements - do you/or are you going to have children? How long do you plan to stay in the house? Take into consideration the area, and surrounding homes to give an indication for resale potential... If you have the space and plan to stay for a while, you can always upgrade the things you wish to slowly as time goes by, whereas you can never regain that floor space (unless extending) despite having the luxurious finishes... $400K would get you a pretty good size home WITH a good level of finish in my opinion though... Building on the Sunshine Coast - Land settled 22nd July 2009 Building contract finally signed (after much deliberation on our part) 11th November 2009 Building commences 25th January 2010 - small local builder End of June - almost completed fit out 26th July - MOVE IN DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 5Nov 19, 2009 12:43 pm I'd go with smaller and completely finished off Its only me and my son so we don't need the big house anyway. viewtopic.php?f=31&t=22766 - my build thread! Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Chuck Norris. Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 6Nov 19, 2009 1:54 pm hey ATS, I have already done option 1 (but it didn't cost me $400,000.00 ) i built a 202m2 house with alfresco addition, c/s benchtops, coffered ceilings, render, laundry upgrades and front door upgrade etc for $195,000.00 approx inc dirveway - for this price with my builder I could definitely have built a 250m2 plus home with all the basic furnishings etc At the end of the day it comes down to your individual needs - I didn't need the extra space (It's only me and N ) and preferred to have a bigger backyard than a bigger house - but I do have a bit of champagne taste apparently 2014 - Prepping to build the Soho 4 with Plantation homes, industrial style 2009 - Built the Brampton with Coral Homes viewtopic.php?f=31&t=15399&start=280 Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 8Nov 19, 2009 4:36 pm From an investment perspective, definitely the bigger house. As other have said, you can upgrade almost everything over time but extending the house is often very costly and sometimes impossible (and isn't the best for resale). Then after a few years I'd sell the bigger house and with the profits, buy myself Option 1 (complete with all the bachelor pad toys/finishes) and still have money left over to reinvest. Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 9Nov 19, 2009 5:02 pm Thanks all the sand for such an interesting post!!!! This is SOOOOO interesting to me cos I've recently had just this discussion with a gf of mine I think it's better to spend on the bigger house cos, stating the obvious, there are some things that simply can't be changed *after* the build is complete. I've heard so many people say they wished they'd paid for heigher ceilings or a larger family room etc etc. My gf, on the other hand, would rather compromise on the size of the house and fill it with brand new furniture and appliances. She openly admits she would happily live on a "pile of dirt in a house that looks like it's straight out of the pages of Vogue Living" LOL Pix Built a (highly) modified Allcastle Maxworth 38.7 in Sydney. Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 10Nov 19, 2009 7:18 pm joles Depends on how many people were moving into the house. If the smaller place is plenty big enough, then the smaller. But if the the extra space was really needed, the bigger. Finishes can always be upgraded over time so it would probably be better long term investment. Yes, there are too many variables on this one: if I had a family of 4 children I'd go for bigger house - the space would be of more value to the family than, say, stone benchtops and more expensive tiles. Like wise if it was an investment and resale was prime consideration you would get more money back on a larger house than on fancy finishes. However if, like us, you are a smaller household and dont intend selling in foreseeable future, I would (and did) choose the smaller house : upogrades l wanted like higher ceilings and better air con I upgraded, other things like stone bench tops that didnt really interest me, I did not. As I have said many times on this forum, we built the size house we wanted, not just bigger for the sake of bigger or just because we could of. Personal value for me too was in a larger garden rather than, say, a home theatre when I hardly ever watch movies or TV - so lifestyle factors come into play as well. hehehe, I should of been a politician - 3 paragraphs to answer a yes/no question Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 12Nov 19, 2009 7:57 pm thanks for the responses, its very interesting. FWIW - My house cost nothing near $400,000 - i just sort of pulled that figure out of the air. I figured that some people on here would spend around what i have while others have spent much more, i guess it shouldnt be a figure but more on what you could afford to spend. Im spending more around $280,000 including land so no way near the $400,000, i would prob spend around that figure on land and an affordable dream house. I think i have gone somewhere in the middle, the house i have built is on a small block and ive prob squeezed as much house as possible onto it, although since signing i have seen bigger houses that may have possibley fit. I have kept most things as standard but do plan to upgrade some things that are important to me. At this point in life im happy to have a semi-standard kitchen (have added some pot drawers, and still deciding if i should pay to have vinal wrap doors rather than laminate), we have opted for standard tiles in bathroom, but i plan on having some nice tiles throughout for the flooring. So yep at the moment i have the happy medium for what i can afford. Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 13Nov 19, 2009 8:03 pm Agree with all the points that other posters have made. I would tend to the bigger side only from a point of resale. Also depends on location....if its in a trendy inner city suburb like elwood, st kilda, port melbourne etc then your market would probably be couples/singles who look for quality throughout the house and will pay a premium for such a property. So....big for suburbs that appeal to families smaller for inner city where buyers want quality. Hope that makes sense Mrs B Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 14Nov 20, 2009 12:21 am This is a really interesting topic. At the moment we are just about to move and sell our 3 bedroom townhouse. Must admit love my townhouse as i can clean it in 2hrs. We are moving to a 3 bed + study, 4 toilet and 3 bathroom house. No formal areas. Just a big open space. Most of the time there is just me and the dog there, as partner works away, and son stays at his dads for work. Total overkill but we bought the place for the view. Does anyone have a cleaner lol Me personally would rather have mid size house and no mortgage. Caz Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 15Nov 20, 2009 10:24 am I had the exact same decision to make about a year ago! It all depends on your circumstances and many many other factors! Do you have kids yet, are you married, how many kids do you plan on having, is it your first home etc etc. For example I ended up choosing a very small Duplex in a better suburb than a big project home in a new estate out west, the Duplex (only my side of it) is costing over 200k more than what the big house would be out west. But was the better option for me as I've only just turned 22 and not married. Although I under estimated a cost of a custom Duplex with good inclusions so could have had a project home with every inclusion in the world with money left over, so bit annoyed at the moment, but my in my circumstances I'll only be there only for a few years anyways. DA approved Waiting on a few more Builder's quotes. Re: Bigger & Cheaper or Small & More Expensive ? 16Nov 23, 2009 3:35 pm It's strange that no-one yet has considered the environment as a factor. Big houses use up so much more energy than smaller houses, in heating and cooling costs, as well as initial building footprint and ongoing maintenance costs. If you don't have a large family, why spend the extra energy on space you don't use? Although 'bigger' houses are often thought to have a higher re-sale value, we are luckily slowly moving towards a trend where smaller but better-designed and energy-efficient houses are having their value recognised in re-sale. I'm glad to be living in a solar-passive house with minimal heating costs, absolutely no cooling costs, energy-efficient appliances and designs, and architectural style that many 'bigger-is-better' homes lack. I'd always go for the well-designed house that meets my current needs. Choosing environmentally-conscious features may be more of an initial investment, but you'll get more when you sell it, and have the added peace-of-mind that someone else will be continuing a low-footprint lifestyle in your house. Hi all, We are looking to build a new two storey house in western Sydney. Can anyone recommend a smallish builder to go with? We are trying to stay away from the big… 0 8380 consider putting in wall WC instead of robe in the same bedroom, then it might be doable to hook up to the existing piping. 4 4634 Hey, I am wanting to add a second toilet to my house, bit we have limited room. There is a hallway/entry that is never used, so was thinking this could be an option. Only… 0 3000 |