housing choices, HELP!

[bmccasland]

Since starting out on my own again - I've had:

800 sq ft 1 bedroom apartment (2)

1500 sq ft 3 bedroom house, but I only used two of the bedrooms, while living there I took possession of the lovely bedroom suit that belonged to my grandparents (4 poster double bed, chest of drawers, dresser, vanity & bench, plus a cedar chest, and a quilt rack). House was on a fish hatchery, nice and quiet.

1160 sq ft, 3 bedroom/1.5 bath house - started aquiring lawn care stuff

960 sq ft, 2 bedroom/1 bath house - traded the push mower for gas. I should mention I felt cramped the entire time I lived there - not enough space for my sewing room creativity.

When it comes to pack-ratting I admit to two faults - books and fabric. Thanks to Hurricane Katrina, some of the stuff I've been hauling around is now in a dump in Louisiana - they were in boxes on the floor of my garage, which flooded, then the moisture wicked up, and then molded. Yucky. Does wonderful things to your psyche to see your childhood toys covered in mold.

What I'm trying to say is, I haven't lived in large homes, or when I did, I didn't even occupy all the space. But given the opportunity to spread out I can. If I had floor-to-ceiling bookcases, I wouldn't need as much floor space!
And I would, one day, like to have a sewing room again. I had that in my California house, it was wonderful. (the 3 bed/1.5 bath place).

[emily_in_nc]

Just to add one more comment. When you said:

"I can afford to pay the mortgage + house rent without dipping into savings if my Louisiana house isn't rented out. Not so sure about paying the extra $400 per month for the larger apartment."

That to me is crux -- if you don't sell or rent your Louisiana house in a timely fashion, would you putting yourself into financial difficulty if you take the apartment? You should be able to work out a budget to determine that -- you need to be sure before you take the pricier apt., unless you can afford to dip into your savings without it being a problem. If the numbers don't look favorable, then rent the house and plan on finding a larger place once you do rent or sell your house. That's just practical. Yes, it's a pain to have to move twice, but it's also a pain to be broke.

Let us know what you decide to do....

[indysteel]

I agree with Emily. How confident are you that you won't have to bring money to the table to sell? Unless you have a fair amount of equity, that could be a concern as well--in addition to carrying costs. I sold recently myself, and while I got a small amount at closing, I did sell for less than what I bought the house for in 2002. It hurt.

If it were me, I'd sacrifice some space in the short term until you're able to sell.

[artifactos]

I'd go with the house and spend some of the money I'd be saving for the first month or two on getting some shelving units for the garage, nice bookcases, and perhaps some other storage solutions that would help you deal with the small amount of space.

[jessmarimba]

do you have the dimensions for the rooms at the house? If you can play around with it on graph paper it may not be as small as it seems. I mean, obviously the square footage is set, but some living arrangements can seem larger or smaller depending on room design built-in storage space. My house is something like 980 square feet but was built before closets were invented and has no attic, so it gets a little cramped. My old apartment was smaller but had more efficient storage and an open floor plan.

[ClockworkOrange]

So Beth, what have you decided on?

Whatever you have chosen to move to, I'm sure you will soon make it feel like home.

Clock

[bmccasland]

So Beth, what have you decided on?

Whatever you have chosen to move to, I'm sure you will soon make it feel like home.

Clock

The little house. The part about being able to pay both rent and mortgage without dipping into savings could become important. Just haven't told the apartment complex people yet - The apartment won't be available until Nov 5 anyway.