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buying a smaller house & expanding?

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DMDT087
LIF Infant

Member since 4/18

54 total posts

Name:

buying a smaller house & expanding?

Hi -

My boyfriend and have been house hunting for what feels like 300 years but has only been a few weeks, lol. I'm wondering if we should consider buying a smaller house that we can make-do with in the meantime (ie., only has EIK/LR, but enough bedrooms, a basement) and expand on it when the time comes. I know it's not unusual & it seems to be a way to get in the neighborhood you want even if the house isn't as large as you want.

I guess my concern is relying on expanding the home and then not being able to do it for whatever reason. I don't know if there are certain restrictions with changing the footprint, or how far we can be from the fence, etc.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Posted 5/1/18 2:54 PM
 
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w8andsee
LIF Adult

Member since 10/09

1193 total posts

Name:

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

I bought a home in a neighborhood I liked, but hated the layout on the main floor. At the time I said "oh we can just fix it", not really knowing the amount of money and time it it was going to take.

Fast forward 10 years, I still love the neighborhood and still hate the layout. We looked at getting it renovated and dormered, but it's going to cost approx 200k and the bigger issue is where are we going to go during the work that is going to take months. I have family I can live with in the boroughs, but my kids go to school, so I would have to commute to LI everyday for drop offs and pick ups.

If I could do it again, I would buy a home that needs updating, but not a total renovation or something that has at least a nice layout on the main floor, so you only have to work on the 2nd floor (and hopefully live in the house during the work).

Also, keep in mind that any expansion/dormers are going to increase your taxes by a lot.

Posted 5/1/18 3:16 PM
 

b2b777
LIF Adult

Member since 9/09

4474 total posts

Name:

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

Posted by w8andsee

I bought a home in a neighborhood I liked, but hated the layout on the main floor. At the time I said "oh we can just fix it", not really knowing the amount of money and time it it was going to take.

Fast forward 10 years, I still love the neighborhood and still hate the layout. We looked at getting it renovated and dormered, but it's going to cost approx 200k and the bigger issue is where are we going to go during the work that is going to take months. I have family I can live with in the boroughs, but my kids go to school, so I would have to commute to LI everyday for drop offs and pick ups.

If I could do it again, I would buy a home that needs updating, but not a total renovation or something that has at least a nice layout on the main floor, so you only have to work on the 2nd floor (and hopefully live in the house during the work).

Also, keep in mind that any expansion/dormers are going to increase your taxes by a lot.



This is my life word for word. I wound up just selling and having to buy a new larger home in the same neighborhood. Such a hassle. I wish I just purchased an older home with the layout i wanted so i would be able to make the reno's over time while living in the home

Posted 5/1/18 3:23 PM
 

DMDT087
LIF Infant

Member since 4/18

54 total posts

Name:

buying a smaller house & expanding?

Ok - thank you. I'm just trying to consider all my options since this market is so rough. I definitely don't want to go into a house with too many unknowns. I'd prefer to find something that just needs some updating, but it hasn't come along yet. Everything is either immaculate (so everyone wants it) or trash. Or, missing something major for us. I'm hoping inventory opens up a bit now that we're going into May.

Posted 5/1/18 4:00 PM
 

GoldenRod
10 years on LIF!

Member since 11/06

26792 total posts

Name:
Shawn

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

I had the opposite experience. We bought a smaller house, and roughly doubled it many years later. It was so much easier than selling our house and buying a new one somewhere else.

Now I have the house I want, since I helped to design it.

We wouldn't have been able to afford the house we have now when we first bought the smaller house. We would have had to do something about the house one way or another (move or add on).

I'm very happy with how everything worked out.

Posted 5/1/18 4:10 PM
 

DMDT087
LIF Infant

Member since 4/18

54 total posts

Name:

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

Posted by GoldenRod

I had the opposite experience. We bought a smaller house, and roughly doubled it many years later. It was so much easier than selling our house and buying a new one somewhere else.

Now I have the house I want, since I helped to design it.

We wouldn't have been able to afford the house we have now when we first bought the smaller house. We would have had to do something about the house one way or another (move or add on).

I'm very happy with how everything worked out.



Many owners built up in my childhood neighborhood. The ranches in the area are smaller, but people love the development so they seem to deal with it & just make the home what they want down the road.

We're seeing a house today that is just a small EIK & LR..my concern is the kitchen will be too small and the only option would be to push it out, which then changes the foot print of the house & I don't know what issues I would run into with that. If the bedrooms are too small as well, then it's definitely a no-go. So we'll see.

Posted 5/1/18 4:38 PM
 

Christine Braun - Signature Premier Properties
LIFamilies Business

Member since 2/11

3992 total posts

Name:

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

I think it really depends on your circumstances and priorities.

Location is something you can't change, so if buying a smaller home is the only way you can get into a certain neighborhood or school district, and you really won't settle for anything else, then it seems like the way to go.

I'll also say that I've seen many buyers go through the process, and sometimes people anticipating needing more space than they actually do. I have newly married couples with no kids wondering where they will put their hypothetical 4th child! LOL. You just don't know where life will take you. I was concerned that my house was only 3 bedrooms because I wanted a home office/guest room, and I anticipated having two children (I was pregnant with my first at the time). As life panned out, we only have one child, and he's 9 now, and that's all we will ever have, so our house is plenty big. I think sometimes people find that their concerns -- dining room being too small, that type of thing -- don't pan out when they actually live there and find they only host a big gathering once a year or something. Or they find that a finished basement or large yard balances out lack of interior space. Some people just aren't realistic about the size of most homes on Long Island... they aren't the huge homes you see on HGTV.

That being said, it's not so easy to expand. Breaking through exterior walls are costly. Dormering is quite expensive, even just the shell. For that reason, a lot of people try to utilize existing space (e.g., finishing an attached garage or basement) versus building up or out. Some of my clients are in construction or have contractors in the family, which of course makes it easier. But it is expensive and that should be factored in.

Also, does this first home need to be your forever home? Maybe you buy a smaller home that suits your needs now, and in 5 or 10 years, if you outgrow it, you can evaluate whether it makes sense (financial and otherwise) to expand the house versus just selling and buying a bigger house at that time.

ETA - I always think it's better to buy a larger home with the layout you want even if it's not in the condition you want (versus a smaller home that's "done"). Interior upgrades are easier to do over time and usually less complicated and costly than additions.

Message edited 5/2/2018 10:07:06 AM.

Posted 5/2/18 10:06 AM
 

Christine Braun - Signature Premier Properties
LIFamilies Business

Member since 2/11

3992 total posts

Name:

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

Posted by DMDT087

Ok - thank you. I'm just trying to consider all my options since this market is so rough. I definitely don't want to go into a house with too many unknowns. I'd prefer to find something that just needs some updating, but it hasn't come along yet. Everything is either immaculate (so everyone wants it) or trash. Or, missing something major for us. I'm hoping inventory opens up a bit now that we're going into May.



Where are you looking? Are you locked into just one area for a particular reason?

Do you have a real estate agent helping you/guiding you? Having a buyer's agent really helps in this market.

Have you made any offers? I think if you see something in your price range that everyone wants, you still have to go for it. Put in an offer even if there are multiple offers or even an accepted offer, because you just never know. In this market, you really can't shy away from those situations. Deals fall through, and you have to be in it to win it, so to speak. Sometimes sellers will need to go to back up offers, or sometimes in multiple offer situations, terms can prevail over top price. I just sold a listing in N. Bellmore where we had abut 12 offers come in, and they were all pretty much in the same range. But my sellers didn't take the absolute highest offer because someone else had better terms.

Sometimes buyers get stuck in the looking phase, but in this market, you have to act fast, get your offer in quickly... there's really nothing to lose as you aren't legally committed to a sale until you sign the contract.

Posted 5/2/18 10:11 AM
 

DMDT087
LIF Infant

Member since 4/18

54 total posts

Name:

Re: buying a smaller house & expanding?

Posted by Christine Braun - Signature Premier Properties

Posted by DMDT087

Ok - thank you. I'm just trying to consider all my options since this market is so rough. I definitely don't want to go into a house with too many unknowns. I'd prefer to find something that just needs some updating, but it hasn't come along yet. Everything is either immaculate (so everyone wants it) or trash. Or, missing something major for us. I'm hoping inventory opens up a bit now that we're going into May.



Where are you looking? Are you locked into just one area for a particular reason?

Do you have a real estate agent helping you/guiding you? Having a buyer's agent really helps in this market.

Have you made any offers? I think if you see something in your price range that everyone wants, you still have to go for it. Put in an offer even if there are multiple offers or even an accepted offer, because you just never know. In this market, you really can't shy away from those situations. Deals fall through, and you have to be in it to win it, so to speak. Sometimes sellers will need to go to back up offers, or sometimes in multiple offer situations, terms can prevail over top price. I just sold a listing in N. Bellmore where we had abut 12 offers come in, and they were all pretty much in the same range. But my sellers didn't take the absolute highest offer because someone else had better terms.

Sometimes buyers get stuck in the looking phase, but in this market, you have to act fast, get your offer in quickly... there's really nothing to lose as you aren't legally committed to a sale until you sign the contract.



We’re looking in the Sachem/Connetquot area (just happens to be the towns that we’d prefer). My boyfriend works in Woodbury so we don’t want to too far East or North (I don’t care for Selden/Centereach anyway)

We are working with an agent. So far we’ve been on the same page about the homes we’ve seen (which makes me feel better since I don’t want to be too picky) We’ve bid on two homes so far that we loved and got outbid on both despite going over asking. We’re also able to put down 20% which my realtor was hoping would be an advantage but not so far. She’s been VERY good about getting into homes as quickly as possible, usually before an open house (if the sellers even have one).

It seems a home being small and wanting to expand is going to be too much work so we’re going to focus on homes that are the size we want. Again, we’d be ok with something that just needed a little updating, but we haven’t seen it. Either been in a bad location or missing something major (one had a very small backyard).

Posted 5/2/18 12:24 PM
 
 

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