A bit about our current home: It is 2500 square feet on 5+ acres. Home was built in the 1980's and later had the garage enclosed (it's done well and you can't tell it was a conversion)... so there are now a total of 5 bedrooms: hubby & I, kiddo, future kiddo, office, and guest room. It was never our intention to get quite such a big house, but the price was right and so we did it, 2.5 years ago.
Pros:
- My family members are all located out of town, so the guest room typically gets used at least 15-20 days per year, if not more.
- Great house for entertaining.
- Acreage is attractive to my husband, because he has horses and likes having the option to move them to our house someday. (Realistically, I can't see why we'd ever do that.... his parents have 15 acres and they already shelled out the cash for fencing & a barn just a few years ago.... our horses live there, with theirs, quite cheaply in exchange for my husband helping some with the upkeep.)
Cons:
- Our 5 acres is ALL grass (except for some monstrous flowerbeds), so mowing our yard takes 6-8 hours every 1-2 weeks during the summer. YUCK. Husband does it most of the time, but that's time we can't spend together.
- Cleaning 2500 square feet is INSANE. I feel like I'm always vacuuming & mopping.
- Big house means we accumulate lots of "stuff."
The current numbers:
Value - $246k per Zillow (which I think is probably relatively accurate)
Mortgage - $206k @ 3.5% (current payment is $970 principal/interest, $105 PMI, plus $332 escrow)
We moved here from a 1930's bungalow.... 1500 sq ft on 0.19 acres. We wanted more space, and I do think that now having a guest room is a big benefit, but we went too big. I miss being able to spend our days off taking daytrips, instead of always having to stay home focusing on cleaning or yardwork. Until recently, I've been alone in this frustration.... but I think my husband may also be starting to agree with me. We've started to talk about the possibility of moving, especially since we've recently seen a few other homes that we could both agree on. These homes would come without acreage, but would be closer to his parents' house and therefore make it easier for him to see his horses. The two homes we're currently lusting after are also in a much better school district.
The two most appealing options that are currently on the market are a $215k 3/2 + bonus room (2400 sq ft & 0.8 acres... not much smaller but much less yardwork!) or a $190k 4/2 (1800 sq ft & 0.8 acres). Both would need very mild cosmetic upgrades and one would need to have the yard fenced, but nothing else major that I can tell from the listings. (Obviously, it could be another story if we see them in person.)
Here's where I'm kinda stuck, though. Does it really make sense to try to sell our house after only 2.5 years just to downsize 'a little bit?' Or would it make more sense to ride this house out for the next 15 years, then downsize all the way down to a much smaller house once our kiddos are heading off to college and my parents are less likely to be traveling? By then, the in-laws may be trying to get us to take their house, though.... so that may not be a realistic plan.
I was in my first house for only 5 years, and now only 2.5 years in this one, and I just wonder if it's silly to consider bailing so soon. Maybe we're just fickle. I lost money on the first house, so that's probably making me paranoid as well.
I feel like a step down would increase our happiness, but I can't decide whether it's a financially responsible choice. Downsizing 'a lot' would be a clear financial winner, but we aren't ready for anything that aggressive at this point and so I don't know if just a small step down will really have any benefit or if we'll just be creating a lot of costs (realtors fees, closing fees, moving expenses, etc) and headaches for minimal benefit.
Any thoughts appreciated. Thanks!!
ETA: Moving to the area that we are considering would lengthen my commute but decrease husband's commute and the amount we drive to visit his parents (a frequent occurrence) so probably a slight overall decrease in driving. We're in a very car-centric rural area, though, so it won't be a huge difference.