Anyone downsized from a big house to a much smaller one with success?

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My wife and I want to downsize and we have bought some land right next to our present house as we like our area.

I really hate the thought of it but it is getting harder each year to take care of the large house. It is also hard to find people to help in our area.

How did it work for you?

What size house did you downsize to?

Any recommendations?

Thanks a ton!
 
CB,

We just cut our living space in half (only two of us), and we are liking the smaller space. Wife and I are in our late 50's

A few suggestions if you are building a new home in a smaller space.

* Nine foot ceilings minimum throughout

* Single story

* open floorplan

* large pantry, plenty of kitchen cabinets

* large bathrooms

* crown moldings in all the rooms

* larger size solid core interior doors- both in length and width

* three car garage

Do the above configuration, your downsized home will feel large and open
 
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I would also suggest spray foam insulation for all the walls. Might as well cut your utility bills while you are at it. Just make sure you get a reputable company to do the job. There can be horror stories of jobs gone wrong.
Spray foam is ok for hard to insulate locations. Bigger benefits in 2" external sheathing insulation. It covers the studs, which is a big heat transfer point, with spray foam or batt insulation.
 
Well, how much of the home do you use now?
Also, depending on your region, you may spend more time outdoors, or if the weather is not so comfortable you need a bigger home.
Our house is pretty samll, 1200 square feet on a good day. Love it.
 
Spray foam is ok for hard to insulate locations. Bigger benefits in 2" external sheathing insulation. It covers the studs, which is a big heat transfer point, with spray foam or batt insulation.
Point noted. Regardless, if you move and build a new place, I would try to incorporate better building practises.

I could downsize if I got rid of a lot of stuff. I'd still want a larger garage 😂 and a nice shed for the yard stuff.
 
My bride and I just did...

I rented a 20 yard dumpster, put it in the front yard, and we did some serious de-cluttering. Mind you, we did not have a cluttered house to begin with as my bride is extremely neat and tidy...we just got rid of what we really didn't need. A ton of it was donated as well, but obviously there is stuff you wouldn't buy at a garage sale for $1.
 
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I really hate the thought of it but it is getting harder each year to take care of the large house. It is also hard to find people to help in our area.

Building a smaller house won't make it easier to find property maintenance people. Are you expecting that you would be able to take care of the new property & home by yourselves? How large is your current home?
 
My brother went from a 5800 sqft house to a 2100 sqft house with a 1200 sqft garage. He likes it much better, as does his wife who spoke of the larger house "way too much house to try to keep clean."
 
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My wife and I want to downsize and we have bought some land right next to our present house as we like our area.

I really hate the thought of it but it is getting harder each year to take care of the large house. It is also hard to find people to help in our area.

How did it work for you?

What size house did you downsize to?

Any recommendations?

Thanks a ton!
I have a 2400sf 3br house in FL with a "great room" setup, and large shower/master bath. And a much smaller 4br house in PA built in 1928. I do not like the smaller house. I find that I only feel comfortable there when by myself. As soon as mama and the pup show up, it feels like we are walking on top of each other. The small master bath is particularly annoying. My shoulder constantly rests against the features in the shower and there would never be a way to get a wheelchair in there.

If I could re-design the PA house, on it's current footprint, I would reduce it to 2 bedrooms and one large bathroom, a small storage room, have much higher ceilings and and a very open floorplan. And I'd absolutely make it wheelchair capable.
 
No.
I've lived in everything from dorm rooms, barracks rooms, communal military tents, small apartments, small houses, medium houses, and large houses. For me, I require minimum 3000 sq/ft and 3 car garage, and a storage shed or workshop on at least 1 acre and with neighbors no closer than 25 yards. I've got a dozen hobbies that require supplies, mechanics tools sets, woodworking tools, cars, car parts and supplies, 1-year worth of food in the pantries and 3 freezers, etc. I once owned a 3600 sq. ft. house and it was so wonderful to just have big spaces, huge doorways, storage, etc.

Having done "tiny spaces," its a lifestyle definitely not for me, nor understand how people can live in shoeboxes. They are resigned to just never being home and not owning much, no collections of anything, no momentos, no hobbies that require any supplies, no supplies at all. Constantly relying on "going to the store to get..." and hoping it's in stock and on sale. Tiny rooms, tiny doorways, tiny cabinets, tiny hallways, constantly bumping into things, wrestling with confined spaces, etc. Relying on streaming services and downloads for any books, movies, or music since there's no room for any physical possessions. Never having anything, it's either in boxes in storage or you have to go buy it if you need it. It's not efficient nor economical IMO. I also do not want to be able to hear my neighbors talking or even barely hear them if they are yelling. Tiny houses often come with cramped neighborhoods and that drives me bananas.

As for "it's too hard to clean," I'd say dial back the cleaning regiment or get a maid. I'm not a cleaning fanatic so I don't lose my mind if a window gets dusty. I'd much rather have the space.
 
The small master bath is particularly annoying. My shoulder constantly rests against the features in the shower and there would never be a way to get a wheelchair in there.

If I could re-design the PA house, on it's current footprint, I would reduce it to 2 bedrooms and one large bathroom, a small storage room, have much higher ceilings and and a very open floorplan. And I'd absolutely make it wheelchair capable.
One of the reasons why we snapped up our current home was because of this. Prior owner had made some upgrades for this (hand rails in select places) and the overall layout is conducive to future needs like that. It's a ranch so single floor living, but with a full basement for hobbies while we are still able bodied. It's not the bestest layout but it has enough space that we could knock out walls and rearrange if it came down to it.

Will say it was good to have lived in a small house for years, it kept my clutter to a minimum (couldn't store it). We've been accruing since we moved, but no real desire to greatly expand what we own.
 
Unless it's very very well planned out, with intelligently placed items, tall ceilings with tall cabinets, etc. pocket doors, lazy susans, and other space efficient items, small houses are constant frustration in my mind. No storage. No room to put furniture. Constantly bumping into everything. 28" wide doors, narrow hallways, tight awkward spaces and corners angles, etc. make for near impossible to move furniture or position furniture for comfortable living.
 
We downsized a few years ago from a 2300sf house to a 1200sf house. Since it is just two of us the space is fine.

The trend going forward will be smaller homes. As utility prices continue to rise homeowners will want smaller homes that cost less to heat and cool and keep lit up at night.
 
We downsized a few years ago from a 2300sf house to a 1200sf house. Since it is just two of us the space is fine.

The trend going forward will be smaller homes. As utility prices continue to rise homeowners will want smaller homes that cost less to heat and cool and keep lit up at night.

You can close off unused rooms and not heat/cool them.

I see the opposite trend. With the rapidly declining dollar, there's not many good harbors. Having a home, where you can buy and stock goods as the dollar falls, is wise.

A $300,000 mortgage locked in at 2015 dollars, has appreciated to $500,000.
Meanwhile you're paying the bank in depreciating dollars on an appreciating asset that has inherent value.

Imagine if you could buy a 1950s era cost/location house today with 2021 earned dollars. You'd be buying a $25,000 beachfront house on a salary that could easily accomodate that purchase.

Same situation now. The $500,000 house you buy today, as the dollar collapses, will be worth millions in a decade. And you can live in it, unlike most investments.
 
Except you pay huge money in interest. Plus if you artificially limit the space you have, you can also force yourself to not buy things—no place to keep them. Double savings.

Also a larger house tends to have larger maintenance and repair costs.
 
You can close off unused rooms and not heat/cool them.

I see the opposite trend. With the rapidly declining dollar, there's not many good harbors. Having a home, where you can buy and stock goods as the dollar falls, is wise.

A $300,000 mortgage locked in at 2015 dollars, has appreciated to $500,000.
Meanwhile you're paying the bank in depreciating dollars on an appreciating asset that has inherent value.

Imagine if you could buy a 1950s era cost/location house today with 2021 earned dollars. You'd be buying a $25,000 beachfront house on a salary that could easily accomodate that purchase.

Same situation now. The $500,000 house you buy today, as the dollar collapses, will be worth millions in a decade. And you can live in it, unlike most investments.


A whole lot of assumptions going on there. Nobody has a crystal ball.
 
I love the idea of downsizing and saving money but instead I will sell off other properties.

I have always appreciated large spaces and am very energy conscious. ( mental struggle) and require a bunch of room but now keep the large space but have no clutter and instead I keep it minimal and clean.

I no longer need a bunch of stuff.
Don't care for knickknacks all all of that nonsense.

Dumping the junk is key to downsizing. Good luck and congratulations.
 
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We downsized a few years ago from a 3500 ft split to a 1100ft ranch a few towns over extremely happy. Easy to get around the house no stairs and enough room for us. A little tight when we entertain but the guys go in the 1000 ft man cave in the basement if needed. I will say my utility bills and property taxes are half what they were I can retire here no cash flow problem
 
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