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How quickly did y'all outgrow your first house?

7,930 Views | 49 Replies | Last: 6 days ago by Howdy Dammit
one MEEN Ag
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12:04p, 5/10/18
AG
My wife and I will be looking at buying our first house within about a year or so. Just have a simple question, how long did you stay in your first house before your family 'outgrew it?' That could mean needing more bedrooms for kids, wanting extra rooms, or simply had the financial means to go get the bigger, nicer, house y'all want to stay in for the long haul.

I know the rule of thumb is to stay in a house for at least 7 years, but I want to know how 'life' shaped y'alls homebuying trends.

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JaneDoe02
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12:35p, 5/10/18
AG
We're on our 3rd house.

1st was 1200 sq ft, 4 years

2nd was 2000 sq ft, 7 years

3rd is also 2000 sq ft but we moved to a better school district. Been here 5 years. Will stay at least 4 more years. Have a son about to start high school.

Will probably move again when school district isn't an issue anymore. Current house is 2 story. Our 4th house will be more retirement minded. One story, newer house, wider door frames, easier to age in place, etc.
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Aggiemike96
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12:36p, 5/10/18
AG
For my first house, we intentionally over-bought. It was just the two of us, moving from a 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment, into a 4-bedroom, 3-bath, 3,000 sq. foot house. Ten years later, kids had overtaken the other 3 bedrooms and the house was full. Know your budget, know the neighborhood, and know your future and you'll choose wisely. If not, just wait a few years and go get the house that fits you better.
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JaneDoe02
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12:45p, 5/10/18
AG
I guess I should add why we moved. House 1 was 30 minutes from work, in a terrible school district. Pretty much wanted to move closer all along. But, it was what we could afford as newly weds.

Second house was a great house in a great location, with decent elementary school but sketchy middle and high school. We knew moving in that we'd move before middle school. Our son was 2 at the time and middle school seemed a million years away.

But, time flies and as middle school started looming in the near future and interest rates were low (summer 2013) we decided to go ahead and make the jump across town to a better school district. Literally only moved 4 miles.

If I could go back in time I would have just bought in the good school district when my son was 2. But, live and learn.
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Beckdiesel03
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1:03p, 5/10/18
AG
We said we would stay 5-7 years and now we are still here 11 years later. Size wise we are okay since adding two kids but we really want more yard space -like acres instead of just the biggest yard on our steeet like now. We know we are here atleast two more years until the youngest hits kindergarten. I would have never thought we would be here this long but we know everyone and have a ton of friends for our kids and that makes it even harder to leave
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histag10
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1:29p, 5/10/18
AG
Bought in 2013. Moved in 2017. Cant get rid of the house to save my life.

Honestly though, we didn't outgrow it, and could have made it work for one or two more kids. Ultimately, I want a house with roughly the same sqft (much bigger, and its just too much house to clean and keep up), but with a larger lot or even a bit of land. Maybe 4 bedrooms instead of 3.

That's basically what we will be looking for when we can finally get rid of our house.

So to answer your question- we didn't necessarily outgrow it in 4-5 years, but our current house (rental) and the house we will look to buy next will definitely have some things different from our 1st house.
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jja79
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1:33p, 5/10/18
AG
First time buyers (those without kids but planning on kids) really should at least explore ARM options. What the rate in 7 to 10 years might be is irrelevant to most of them.
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MAS444
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2:01p, 5/10/18
AG
14 years and going on first house. That will probably end in the next year or two.
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fido00
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5:23p, 5/10/18
AG
Our first home was about 1600 sqft, and was perfect for the two of us. I thought we would only be there about 4-5 years. Well, a career change for me and two kids later we finally sold the place after eleven years. We are now in a house that is in a better neighborhood and is about 3000 sqft. Now, Im really wanting to get out of a neighborhood and onto some land where my neighbors cant see me peeing off my back porch.
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The Fife
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5:45p, 5/10/18
Four years. Doubling your pay and wanting to live closer to the action will do that to a person.
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TXTransplant
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In reply to jja79 • 6:38p, 5/10/18
jja79 said:
First time buyers (those without kids but planning on kids) really should at least explore ARM options. What the rate in 7 to 10 years might be is irrelevant to most of them.


This is good advice. I did an ARM on my first home purchase...mainly because it only required 10% down (I had the money, but why part with it if you don't have to?). It was a 7 year arm (fixed for the 7 years and would go up or down after that, depending on interest rates), and I refinanced to a 15-year fixed with a slightly lower interest rate at year 5, only to end up selling in year 6. Probably shouldn't have bothered with the refi, but I didn't have a crystal ball.
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will.mcg
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8:31a, 5/11/18
AG
I'm trying to figure out how "family homes" in the 1950s were 1500 sq. ft. three bedroom, one bath( extra half or full bath if you're lucky)? Was everyone constantly on top of each other & coordinated very well for everyone to get out the door on time in the morning for work & school?
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TXTransplant
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In reply to will.mcg • 8:49a, 5/11/18
will.mcg said:
I'm trying to figure out how "family homes" in the 1950s were 1500 sq. ft. three bedroom, one bath( extra half or full bath if you're lucky)? Was everyone constantly on top of each other & coordinated very well for everyone to get out the door on time in the morning for work & school?


My dad grew up in a house with 6 other people and one bathroom. When he built our family home in the early 80s, he intentionally built the second bathroom as two separate rooms - one with a shower and the other with a sink and toilet. He wanted to make sure his kids never had to suffer "holding it" while someone was taking a shower like he did.
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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9:07a, 5/11/18
Bought first house towards the end of 2015. 1885 SQFT now selling and relocation and definitely upsizing. Looking around 3300 SQFT to get the extra rooms we want/need
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FincAg
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In reply to will.mcg • 9:25a, 5/11/18
AG
will.mcg said:
I'm trying to figure out how "family homes" in the 1950s were 1500 sq. ft. three bedroom, one bath( extra half or full bath if you're lucky)? Was everyone constantly on top of each other & coordinated very well for everyone to get out the door on time in the morning for work & school?
Parents and children did not spend their downtime in the house. No one needed walk in closets; you didn't really have that many cloths. Chifferobes were common.

Mornings and evenings went like this:
Father and mother were up early, dressed and then the kids got up.
Kids got baths and sent to bed, then father and mother did their nightly routine.

You get used to it. We lived in 1920's and 1940's woodies growing up and not until we moved within the city limits did we get a modern 1,800 sqft 3/2 brick home. Now my wife and I are in a 1,500 sqft 1950's 3/2 and enjoy the closeness. Yes we have a toddler and another due in June. We try to keep it simple. Having a small home helps to keep us from collecting junk. The modern home has so much "stuff" in it. We spend a lot of time outside.

And to answer the OP, purchased our first home in 2015 and have no plans of moving. If anything add a true master suite to the back.
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HalifaxAg
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9:55a, 5/11/18
AG
You can't predict the future...you make the best decision you can and go.

But do some math, if you aren't going to gain 6% of the purchase price of your dwelling in new equity before your best guess ETD, then rent. When you go to sell, your realtor gets 6%...so factor that in your decision making. Consider income taxes and the new laws regarding property tax deductions, the game has changed a bit.
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94chem
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10:15a, 5/11/18
Bought a 5 BR as newlyweds. Outgrew it after 16 years.
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powerbelly
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10:19a, 5/11/18
AG
1100 sqft. Outgrew it in 5 years.
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will.mcg
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12:35p, 5/11/18
AG
Bought 1200. 2/2. Three years later bout 1600 3/1 in a bigger "city" 20 minutes away. Drive to work is only 5 minutes shorter. Probably will add another bath to this house.
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NoahAg
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In reply to will.mcg • 2:16p, 5/11/18
will.mcg said:
I'm trying to figure out how "family homes" in the 1950s were 1500 sq. ft. three bedroom, one bath( extra half or full bath if you're lucky)? Was everyone constantly on top of each other & coordinated very well for everyone to get out the door on time in the morning for work & school?
This was my grandparents. Built their home in north Dallas in the early 50s. 3 bedrooms, 2 small bathrooms. About 1400 sq ft. 3 kids.

Maybe a generalization, but I think people just didn't have as much crap back then. And often, those who grew up during the Great Depression maintained a frugal lifestyle, and weren't into "keeping up with the Joneses."

Awesome house on 1/2 an acre w/ a creek. Wish I could go back 15+ years and buy it when my grandmother moved out.

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NoahAg
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2:57p, 5/11/18
As for us, we're going on 10 years in our first home. 2,000 sq ft. 4/2/2. 2 kids, w/ no more on the way. We won't need to go anywhere. Any future move is simply a want. Yeah, it'll be nice to have more space, more property. But it will also be nice to have this paid off sooner than later.
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Oogway
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In reply to FincAg • 5:16p, 5/11/18
Exactly. We consciously chose a smaller house than what the agent was at first guiding us towards. Some of that may have been that it can be difficult to find a well built smaller home these days (depending on where you live).
Fortunately, as soon as our agent understood that we didn't want a Mcmansion or a country club but a small home in an area with parks and sidewalks, she really went to work for us and we love our home. Been here 15+ years and our kiddos can't picture us ever moving.

Yes, it keeps the clutter down and we learned how to respect space and privacy and get along! We garage our cars but do have a small shed for the mower.

I can admire a large house without being envious nor judging someone's decision on how they like to live but this works for us and so we are happy! (The extra $$ in the portfolio doesn't hurt either)
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LostInLA07
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6:34p, 5/11/18
AG
Bought first house in 2013, 2200sf plus a 500sf garage apartment. Moved to a new house after 4 years and adding 2 kids. New house is larger but size wasn't the issue...wanting both kids bedrooms and the master downstairs was the main driver.
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Texker
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12:34a, 5/12/18
AG
We planned ahead a bit and skipped the starter home and went straight to the family house. After grad school we left our dumpy duplex, maxed out our ratios and bought the largest, most expensive house we could afford in the best, most established neighborhood we could afford in the one of the best school districts(Plano ISD) in the state, if not the country. There were some early sacrifices but the risk paid off. Almost 24 years later we're looking to sell and buy our retirement place.
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DannyDuberstein
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4:49p, 5/12/18
AG
We bought a good-sized 4 bedroom house and didn't really outgrow it. Ended up staying in it nearly 11 years even tho we thought we'd only be there 5-7 years when we bought. Been in our 2nd house 7 years now and plan to stay in it until we're retired and ready to downsize.

The ARM loan can make sense for some, but with all rates so low, I personally don't think the savings are worth the risk right now. But that's just me.
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one MEEN Ag
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8:55p, 5/12/18
AG
Thanks guys for all your responses! Seems like there's more than one way to skin a cat. Have y'all all just anticipated large increases in property taxes every year? My big issue with buying the large home right out of the gate is getting swamped with property taxes.
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PrestigeWorldwideAg12
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In reply to one MEEN Ag • 9:28p, 5/12/18
If I could go back I would buy my start home all over again. It made us realize and else what we truly want and need in our family home and what we don't want or need. Also, it helped us learn to budget. Having the bills, upkeep, etc. going from an apartment to a 3300 SQFT Home I feel would have been a terribl3 mistake.
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DannyDuberstein
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In reply to one MEEN Ag • 9:45p, 5/12/18
AG
Yes, you need to make sure things like property taxes, insurance, etx all fit your budget. Ans also keep in mind that the bigger you go, the more everything will cost - utility bills, more sq ft when need to reolace flooring, more robust A/C units, etc.

If you dont have kids yet, another factor to consider is your working situation after kids. There are lots of people that think they will remain 2 income households. But then once kids come along and the challenge of both of you working sets in (and sometimes other unexpected challenges with the kids), minds change and plans change. So getting something that you could still manage on one income is not a bad idea.
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Esteban du Plantier
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11:38p, 5/12/18
AG
Our house could probably work forever, but I don't want to deal with it being crowded.

My wife and I rented until we had a baby, then closed on a 5 bedroom 4 days before birth.

Wife works at home, so we have master, baby 1, guest, office, and then a downstairs guest for my grandparents during football season.

When we have a second, one of the guest rooms will disappear. I typically have a very full house all football season, so I'll be tempted to upgrade when we have another.

We could make it work, having the wife work in a guest bedroom for a while, but that's probably not sustainable having guests around during meetings and video conferences with clients.
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Beckdiesel03
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7:33p, 5/13/18
AG
Danny has a great point. We figured we would have kids sooner than later so we opted for something affordable so I could stay home for a few years. What happened? Housing and oil tanked and we were both out of jobs and no kids. It was beyond awful but taught us about relying on a lot less than you make. We finally had kids much later than planned and our mortgage is very easy on one income vs two. Its the whole reason we dont upgrade. I never want that stress again.
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DannyDuberstein
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8:00p, 5/13/18
AG
Yeah, it's just real easy to have your whole life planned in your head when you are a both employed and don't have kids yet. But there are so many things that can happen. In our case, we had a plan for my wife to work a 25-30 hour schedule, which worked for 2 years after our first daughter was born. But in that time, we had some challenges with our daughter (not autistic, but timid, shy, and sensitive to such an extreme that she pinged some flags on the scale). So we made the decision that it would be best for my wife to stay home and work with her. Thankfully, while we had a nice house, it was within range for us to live on just my income.

Now, many years later, that little girl is a straight A kid and captain of the cheerleading squad at her 6A HS. I have a lot of doubts as to whether she would have blossomed like she has without the decision we made.
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ElephantRider
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In reply to DannyDuberstein • 6:04a, 5/14/18
AG
DannyDuberstein said:
If you dont have kids yet, another factor to consider is your working situation after kids. There are lots of people that think they will remain 2 income households. But then once kids come along and the challenge of both of you working sets in (and sometimes other unexpected challenges with the kids), minds change and plans change. So getting something that you could still manage on one income is not a bad idea.


My situation right now. We bought thinking we would both be working. But now that we actually have one on the way, we decided that my wife would stay home, at least until kids are in school. So we are downsizing and trying to move closer to our families.
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coolerguy12
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7:18a, 5/14/18
AG
Bought 2200' in 2013 with wife still in school. She worked for about 14 months before we had a kid in 2016. Moved in 2017 into 4000' and plan to be there as long as my career allows. We have always budgeted for one income so we're not stretched too thin. Goal is to pay it off before the oldest is in college. We're on a 20 year note so that means only cutting 3 years off of it.
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JSKolache
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1:07p, 5/15/18
AG
Don't know yet.
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jopatura
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5:19p, 5/15/18
AG
We grew out of our house within 6 months once we had a kid. Our house is a nice starter house, but the layout is not conducive for a family.

I really wish that instead of buying a house when I was pregnant that we had waited until the first few months to really figure out what we needed for a kid.

We've made it work for four years though. We've gained about $70k in value, but so have the houses we want to move to. We need to move in the next year because our elementary school is bad and unlikely to change cultures in a year. But I'm not looking forward to how much it's going to cost to upgrade.
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