Living space is something Utahns and migrants moving to the Beehive State value a lot. The real estate industry statistics attest to their demand for bigger houses. According to Zillow, the prices of properties with five bedrooms or more have shown steadier growth than their smaller counterparts over the past years.
However, buying an oversized house is more disadvantageous than you think. Unless you truly need a large property to raise your family, you should look for something less spacious when exploring real estate listings in Eagle Mountain, Saratoga Springs, Mona, or Woodland Hills. If you “right-size” your place of residence, you will deal with less maintenance and enjoy a happier home lifestyle.
So how do you know if your prospective house is too big? Here are the following red flags to watch out for:
It Is Overwhelming
Claustrophobic indoor areas can bring discomfort to inhabitants, but so do outrageously huge interiors. Feeling overwhelmed by the overabundance of space is something many American homeowners share.
The excess square footage can open a world of opportunities, for you can get to have more latitude in designing and organizing your house. Too much available floor and wall areas, though, can erode the intimacy you might yearn for your home.
It Has More Rooms than You Can Think of Using
First-time homeowners usually make the mistake of moving into a property with too many rooms. Indeed, the space surplus gives you more flexibility to enrich your home lifestyle in the future. The spare room could house your future entertainment system or could become a cozy hub for all family activities. Your imagination (and budget) is the only limit.
If you fail to finish and furnish your extra space, though, it might end the designated location for stashing clutter. Every house needs a dedicated storage room, but realize that having a portion of your property just for this purpose is not free. It accounts for the additional money the seller wants to part ways with the house.
Purchasing a house with more square footage than you need will unnecessarily inflate the cost of your mortgage. If you use two rooms with a total size of over 210 square feet for storage, you can spend about $160 extra in monthly mortgage payments to have a place for hiding the unwanted items you can otherwise ditch.
It Requires Sound Waves to Travel Slower
You will know that the house is too large for your family if you might need an intercom to communicate with one another with ease. Another indication of excessive square footage is not hearing the doorbell that much when you are at the other side of the house.
Frequent social interactions are mistakenly considered a drawback of smaller homes. In reality, they are a benefit because they can help strengthen family bonds.
It Costs More than You Can Afford
Not being able to afford a “big” house can be a blessing in disguise. Your limited finances can motivate you to look harder for a smaller and less costly property that suits your family’s needs. On the contrary, it is all too easy to choose an oversized house and not to think about its long-term implications.
Buying an enormous house seems impressive, but residing in it does not always translate to happy and practical living. More often than not, selecting the smaller version of your prospective property is not going to cause regret.
