KaylaEM - the kids are opposite sexes ages 8 and 11 and won't be sharing a room. I mean no offense, but IIRC your profile said you're 22? I think you may have a different perspective on the kids sharing a room later in life. The 4th bedroom is not necessary but would be nice for extended visits from both sets of our parents. And I agree now that I've seen it written out plainly - I don't think we're ready either with only 10% down. We only need to save for another 9 months to get the other $30k for a $60k downpayment and avoid PMI (with additional equity from current house for closing costs).
aphalite - thanks for the vote of the town. That's what I want to do but it's not quite as spiffy as the other areas so I have to work on that option with my wife. It's also futher from her current job's starting point. Plus I guess I have a thing about making the kiddies change schools that I need to figure out.
clarkfan1979 - I would agree with not needing/wanting to maintain a large home/yard. I don't think a 2,000-2,500 sq ft house is oversized though. It's actually tough to find houses in that range around here. Most newer houses are 2,500-4,000 sq ft which could house a small militia. What really bothers me is the huge 1-5 acre yards around here and all the equipment I'd need to buy to maintain them.
Oh and Kayla - the places we're looking at generally don't have extra rooms such as a den/office/extra living room, though they do have a garage/basement. They would get used as they should - cars/tools in the garage, workout area/storage in basement.
As mentioned to Aphalite, I wouldn't advise opposite gendered kids hitting puberty to share a room - and it seems like your kids are at that age, which does justify them each having their own room, that's correct. My DH was raised in a family with 9 kids, in a 4 bedroom house, where there was essentially a Kids Room, Boys Room and Girls Room and Parents Room/Nursery. Kids sharing a room is okay, but it's important for separation to happen when, y'know,
changes happen. I don't really think that has to do with youthful naivete, or that it's absurd, since it seems to be the pattern you're following.
That being said, basements are not necessarily
for storage. Cordoning off half of a large basement room makes an excellent bedroom; I would know, I live in one :). In fact, it might be fun for you son or daughter to get creative building their own room like that. IMHO, anything your considering storing also needs equal consideration before completely dismissing the options to sell it or donate it. Empty space accumulates more stuff, and isn't necessarily good.
Likewise, extra bedrooms are not necessarily for guest rooms - having a guest room or a home office is a huge luxury; 2,500sqft-4,000sqft newer houses in my area go for the same as you're describing, or more, especially 'nice ones'. They're essentially mansions. In the same area, you can rent out a single bedroom in a house like that for $500 (or more), and still ask your renter for money to cover utilities; that's what we call opportunity cost.
http://affordanything.com/2014/09/02/how-i-earned-an-extra-40800-in-two-years/Make sure you're not confusing wants with needs. Just because you can, it doesn't always mean you should...