@Nickel_kg: great point!

@maryanne: is it? When we costed it out around 2021 it was around $200k which is a lot, but it was going to cost us well more (x2.5) than that to get a bigger house. The market seems to be shifting a little but not that much in our area.

Master downstairs. It makes a more flexible space that will have better resale value. A main-floor master will have more appeal to older buyers and to parents of small children. The upstairs space is a valuable home-office space or guest suite for many buyers.

Maybe more expensive to remodel than buy new, but maybe not. It's worth investigating. To sell and buy new, you have all the sales and purchase costs. You have the CA property tax increase--a big deal when you consider how prices have risen in the last 8 years. In high-cost and/or high tax markets, remodeling can definitely be more affordable than moving.

@mcarroll16: my thoughts exactly. I guess I need to shop around some more to see how pieces have changed in the last year. Like @maryanne said if the costs have gone up that much this might not be worth it.

@maryanne: I’ve definitely been thinking about the cost of building that much in a neighborhood where that’s not the norm…

Ugh this stinks and is a really hard decision.

The architect you have to design the addition can help you sort out the best way to meet your needs and fit your site. There is a myriad of information that is needed to make such a decision and you have probably provided less that 1% of what is needed.

I would not move the master upstairs and leave children on the main level. That could be a recipe for disaster in a plethora of ways as the kids age.

I would find a local architect to sit with you, discuss your family's needs, budget, etc. and go from there. The key would be to end up with a home that functions properly for your family both now and 20 years from now (and all the time in between).

@mark - you aren’t wrong. I didn’t want to write a novel with this question so I was trying to keep it simple. My question was really about the 4 vs 5 rooms and doing a master upstairs. We were working with an architect and builder when we explored this last year.

Personally, when the kids are young I want the master bedroom near the kids rooms for security at a multitude of levels. When the kids are grown and gone I want the master bedroom away from the guest bedrooms for privacy at a multitude of levels. There are ways to achieve that, but that is why there are architects.

If you choose to move into a larger house, how do you feel about the neighborhoods and schools where you will need to relocate? I am assuming a change will be necessary, since you state that all of the homes in your currant neighborhood are similar in size. School districts tend to be an important consideration, and selling point, in OC.

I live in south OC and know some local people that have chosen to rebuild (from existing garage frame up) or expand their homes rather than move. But it sounds as if my neighborhood has a wider range of original home sizes, so the changes do not hurt home values as being the only large house in the neighborhood might.

What is "OC"? I hate it when people do not speak English. Every time I see "BM" I think "Bowel Movement".

Orange County, CA

You never want to be the biggest house in the neighborhood because if you ever have to sell, you'll lose money.

I'm in San Diego area. My thoughts are that for the amount of work you're looking at, with 3 young kids, it is going to be a huge, messy project and could you even live in the home while it's going on? A friend remodeled, and it took 9 months. The family paid $$$$ for a rental not too far away. Has anyone not from SoCal priced rentals here lately? Homes in my neighborhood are renting for 6-7X what I pay in mortgage, so this is what the OP would be facing.

And to have 3 young kids and be dealing with construction, etc.... just seems like a lot to me, especially given the surrounding homes. I'd be looking for a new house.

p.s. I don't think you're going to get your remodel for under $500K. I just don't, but I'm not an architect, nor a professional. I just know what friends have said over the past year or two, and it's a lot and more than you think it's going to be.

@mark: really great points. When we spoke with a few architects the solutions they came up with were all the same (over the garage) mostly from an economically factor and they it wouldn’t make our house too weird. Our lot isn’t huge so expanding into the backyard isn’t an option. Regardless, it was maybe a year and a half ago that we explored this pretty thoroughly. Based on what people are saying it really may not be the smartest option for us.

Oh and yes OC, CA is Orange County, California (sorry you are spot on; using abbreviations like that is annoying when posting to groups like this where people are all over the place).

@mark - you are totally right. It was maybe a year and a half ago since we last explored this option. Based on what people are saying here it may not make a lot of sense at this time to do a project like this.

Oh and OC, CA is Orange County, california. I know better than to post an abbreviation in a place filled with people from all over. Sorry about that.

@cpartist - I know! 😩 I’m just struggling with the alternative which is bug something slightly bigger and double my mortgage, property taxes. Which at 40 years old feels irresponsible to me.

@gyr_falcon: schools and neighborhoods with kids are important to us. We have a pretty good situation now with our school and neighborhood (family oriented). But yeah for whatever reason the whole neighborhood is consistently the same home. We are also south OC (Mission Viejo).

@mrs. s: I have been thinking about all of this too. It’s would be a lot. We finished a small remodel to a loft area recently and it was frustrating and it was only two weeks (and not very invasive to our living space).

With the idea we discussed with architects they said we should still be able to live in the house. Would it be fun to live in, probably not…especially since my husband now works from home (a year and a half ago he was not).

As for the price, it sounds like you arent alone. Other here are saying the same thing. I need to chat with some people again…sounds like things have changed a lot

Everyone who has posted, thank you! Truly thank you!

Not only did I get answers to my questions (about the rooms) but some opinions on the project as a whole. I’ve got lots to think about and figure out.

I think it’s worth exploring both options in detail - new home vs. remodel. Interest rates are set to raise again and if you already have a low mortgage (or maybe you have no mortgage), that’s something to consider. Plus, you may be looking at increased taxes (but I’d look into how a remodel with added square footage will affect your property taxes). OTOH, you might need a HELOC for construction and those rates may similarly rise. The market in my town has slowed down, but prices don’t seem to be significantly down, but at least they arent rising anymore. Construction still seems busy, but I am going to guess it will also slow down some, meaning you might not pay as high a price in the future when you are ready. If you plan to live in this house long term, I’m not sure resale would matter to me. As far as master bedroom, I would want it downstairs. I used to own a place with bedrooms upstairs, and when I sold it, potential buyers often complained about the master not being downstairs.

It might be worth finding a contractor and paying for an estimate. Start perusing the realtor ads so you have a comparison. You might find a home you love or you might come to the conclusion it’s not worth it financially or for your family.

Also, I wanted to say that I love how you politely and consderately responded to everyone on this post! :)

@rockybird: you are spot on; we have a really low (thankfully) mortgage.

Good call on checking to see how the remodel would effect property taxes. That could make this option not very appealing.

This house was never supposed to be a forever home. It’s another reason I’m so on the fence about this remodel idea.

And I had not really considered paying for a quote. But that’s a really good call. Everything is been given before was fairly rough ideas of costs…which is probably why so many here so I was low balled. I think if financially we feel it’s worth doing the remodel that truly is the next best step.

Thank you for your post though. Again, love the information and thoughts that people are giving me. It’s a big decisions so we aren’t taking it lightly…I’ll take everything I can get.

You might want to also get an appraiser in to give you an estimate of what your house is worth now versus what it would be worth if you do the changes you're thinking of doing.

For example, if it's going to cost you 200k to do the renos but resale would only net you an additional 75k, you might seriously think of moving. Conversely if you do the reno for 200k and the house would then appraise for 175k, it may very well pay for you to stay and do the reno even if you wouldn't get back the full amount.

And as others have mentioned there is the stress factor too.

You say this won't be your "forever" home, but if you plan to stay until the kids are out of the house, it's worth exploring all the renovation options. If not, I would live with the house as is until you're ready to move to a larger home that better meets your needs.

I agree that you don't want to be the biggest house in the neighborhood. I disagree that having a master upstairs and the kids downstairs is a bad thing. We had that situation in our previous house and never had a problem. And we sold the house in five days, so apparently there are others who agree.

BTW (he says sarcastically), everyone knows that OC is Orange County. Don't you remember the TV show?!

@cpartist: Great point! Thank you!

@rapp: haha!!! What’s funny is that whenever I say OC to my parents (who are from oregon) they think I’m talking about Oregon City. I definitely give them the sarcastic… really?!?

Regarding the bedroom situation that’s great to know! With the design we were exploring over a year a ago the upstairs and downstairs rooms wouldn’t be that far apart so maybe to some it might not be too big a deal.

I’m not even in the US and know OC is Orange County. We also have three kids and did the dance of remodel the existing or buy and add on or build. We built. Adding on is far more money then you think it will be. Lots of great advice is given. We have four bedrooms on our upstairs bedroom level, one is master, three for kids. We do have a guest bedroom down in basement too. I love being near kids but masters on main are very uncommon where I live. There is something to be said for how you feel about your current location too. If you love it then adding on May he answer regardless of cost