The House Dilemma

I love my house. I really do. I loved my old house too. I always appreciated the stained glass windows and the original maple hardwood floors. I loved my spice cabinet and my neighbors and most of all, I enjoyed the front porch. But, that little house was very crowded by the time we welcomed our sixth family member and when that baby was two-and-a-half it was a relief to move on.

We needed something a little bigger. We had just under 2000 square feet (and half of that was in a basement with 6' ceilings). I figured somewhere around 2500-2700 square feet and taller basement ceilings would do the trick. I never imagined having a huge house, but we needed a little more space as the kids got older. Especially because I was in the business of daycare so there were usually 10+ people in our house all day.

The house we got is nearly two and a half times as big as the house we left. Yet it cost us less than a 2700 square foot house would have. It was an amazing find and we feel blessed beyond belief to have bought it. Even after five years of living here, I still look around and think, "I never would have imagined myself living in a house like this." There is so much space for our kids and all of their friends to spread out and play. The yard is a magical land for Katie, Isaac and all the boys on the block to play in. And the view. I can see the sun setting behind the mountains past the Great Salt Lake every evening through my windows. Before I lived here I never knew what a difference having an amazing view could make in your life.

I love this house. It has great bones. I like the neighborhood. It is quiet and safe. I love living steps away from the trails. It is a great place to raise our family and although every single thing is not perfect, I don't really have anyplace else in mind where I would rather be.

The dilemma begins with the fact that this house was such an amazing deal for a reason. It needs a lot of work. We have sunk thousands into it (thanks to the sale of a van that was paid for, tax return money and most of all the sale of our other house). We have spent a ton of money, yet it feels like a drop in the bucket compared to what still needs to be done! I feel that if someone gave me $50K tomorrow -- they won't, but even if that somehow happened -- it would be gone in an instant in home improvements and I still don't know if the most basic projects would be finished.

We have done so much work to our yard. We have installed the sprinkler system, sod, landscaping rocks and a new patio and put so many hours into working on it. Yet it's only about 70% done. And, some days the wild, weedy, terrible looking 30% is all I can see. It is overwhelming to think about what it will take to complete it.

Brian replaced all of the plumbing and he is in the process of re-wiring the whole house. That is three major home improvement projects -- yard, plumbing, wiring. The basement has also been a huge investment of time and money, yet the majority of the space down there has been sitting dormant as a messy construction zone for almost two years. We need to somehow conjure up a lump sum of $10K to get that going again. And that is just for materials with us doing all the labor.

The carpet was new when we moved in, but it turns out it was the cheapest carpet available, so it already needs to be replaced. The giant custom patio doors are broken ($4K to replace), the gorgeous windows that I love are all single pane (another $13K if we ever want to replace), the cedar roof must be oiled every few years ($1K each time) and if we ever need to replace it, we are probably looking at $30-$40K just to get less expensive asphalt shingles. I feel panicked every time Brian talks about re-doing the kitchen as if it is happening right away. Our kitchen is fine (although the floor needs to be replaced), but it's not a really awesome kitchen. It is begging to be remodeled. The formal dining room next to it and the den off of that are screaming to be combined into one awesome kitchen/dining area (with a fireplace that already exists in the den and would be so awesome as part of the dining area!). I can live with it the way it is, but I am not sure that Brian can.

I feel overwhelmed when I think about all the things that we want to do to this house. And, some of it could legitimately be called "needs" too. For example, we live in a nice neighborhood and having your yard only 70% complete after 5-years is definitely a social faux pas. And, why shouldn't we finish our flower beds and landscaping to contribute to the common good of neighborhood beautification?

Also, this house, for all its square footage, only has one fully functional bathroom. Yes, we have a master bathroom and it is great for having an extra toilet and a sink. But, Brian is the only one who uses the tiny shower in there and let's be honest, how much good is a bathroom that has no cabinets, no counter space and no outlets to someone besides my bald husband? (Yes you read correctly, the bathroom has no outlets. Our living room also has no lights. What were people thinking in 1949?). I guess you could argue that five people sharing one bathroom is a lot, especially in the next few years when we grow up a little more and we have five teenagers/adults sharing one bathroom to get ready every morning. Another bathroom is part of the basement remodel . . .

I think after fully remodeling a 100-year-old house for 12-years and diving right into remodeling a 65-year-old house has left me kind of worn out. Plus the cost of materials to remodel has gone up dramatically in the past 17-years. Add that to the fact that the cost to remodel a giant house is also dramatically more expensive than our little 2000 square foot house on a postage stamp size piece of land.

I'm not trying to sound ungrateful. I am so in love with this house and it has brought me a lot of joy to live here for five years. But, sometimes when I look at our actual bank account plus the cost of raising four kids plus the long road of home improvement that lies ahead, a part of me just wants to load everyone up and head on a family vacation (which we also can't afford because -- constant home remodel). Sometimes when I consider all those facts, I start to wonder if this was meant to be our forever house or just a really fun stop in the journey to our real forever house? I never imagined living in a house like this and part of the reason for that is that I never wanted to maintain a house this size.

Now comes the dilemma. The market for houses on the east bench has shot up a lot. It is very hot right now with houses selling in weeks or often only days for $100-$115 per square foot. If we wanted to, we could probably take out a loan to quickly finish the basement and cash out on this place. Even without remodeling the dated kitchen. We got such a great deal on it to begin with that we could use the equity to build a brand new 2700 or even 3000 square foot house with a very low mortgage. And the house would be done!!! No more saving up for giant remodel projects!!! You know, so we can focus on saving up for two more sets of braces and car insurance with teenage drivers -- haha! But, seriously, what a relief that would be to shed the weight of the never ending journey through major home improvement projects. What would we do with all our free time?

Some days, I am ready to put that for sale sign in the yard and never look back. But, I will also be sad to lose this view. I am enjoying it right now as I type. And sad/happy to lose this yard. Mostly I will be sad that my kids won't get to grow up in this amazing space. So maybe it would be better to execute this plan in 10-years? Back and forth I go. Moving seems like the responsible choice. But, I will sure miss this house if we do. Is randomly winning huge sums of money an option?