Why do people buy postage stamp houses?

[flyweightnate]

Sometimes I get it. In Texas, when the kids are out of school, the weather is miserable. 105F and often humid. We're practically prisoners indoors, and we'd all enjoy more space away from one another.

Mowing a lawn in the summer is also miserable.

I get taxed far more on my land (1/3 acre) than my dwelling. Might as well maximize?



But I'd much rather have 5 acres, a big shop out back, and a forest to break the sun and a pool to beat the heat. Hard to live in the city and have all that without defrauding the government or working in an industry I don't enjoy. So we compromise.

[RPP]

But I'd much rather have 5 acres, a big shop out back, and a forest to break the sun and a pool to beat the heat. Hard to live in the city and have all that without defrauding the government or working in an industry I don't enjoy. So we compromise.

flyweightnate I think most people will say this... myself included. Most of us are just trying to work hard and be honest... Thats it.

Trbo323 I don't have a good inside view of the housing market/economy, but this is a huge socioeconomic issue. Wherever you can feasibly buy 5 acres of land, there usually a shortage of high paying jobs to afford the pool and the large shop we all dream of. I moved into a large city for a job and a larger house on a smaller plot of land ended up looking really appealing vice living way outside the city(increasing commute time), and overpaying for a house that still needed 150K in renovations. At that time we did not have the finances to swing that, and by the time we did the economy was in the toilet.

There is a lot of reasons why they are a good option, and there are a lot of reasons why it sucks, but luckily everybody is different so needs can be met. Different strokes for different folks.

I do love this topic though. Thanks for bringing it up.

[$L!mBo]

the average person (demand) is going to go through a realtor thats going to put them into an average house (supply). the problem is that the standards have gone in the direction of "convenience" so the average home is close to highways, schools and shops and things like HOAs and compliance are prioritized over privacy and self sufficient living.
Developers cram in as many 'UNITS' as they can, buildng materials and labor are some of the lowest quality theyve ever been and if youve got higher standards for you and your family? no problem, theres a wave of out of towners constantly flooding in who are chomping at the bit to fuel this hellworld trash economy.
if you do as your told, follow the crowd and listen to the rules you will Live in a shoebox and die in the ratrace.

[Blackmagic71]

There are a lot of people struggling to survive that just a couple hundred square feet of decent and safe living space would be life changing.

In general things are getting so wildly expensive that a few extra acres with a three car garage and picket fence is increasingly unobtainable.

My house isn’t quite a postage stamp, but it’s not super far off. We chose a smaller house and lot because we wanted the lower financial risk of a reasonable monthly payment. Plus maybe we’ll even pay it off a few years early with extra principal payments.

If the economy gets bumpy and people end up unemployed things are going to get pretty ugly for anybody that maxed out their monthly budget to get the biggest house and/or fanciest vehicle possible.

Someday I’d love to buy a few acres up on the North Shore of Lake Superior, but I’m not going to put myself at financial risk to do it.

[flyweightnate]

I think a lot of the responses are missing the definition (which I had also misunderstood) isn't "small house, small lot" but "small lot, all house, no yard".

Small house small lot is just finances.

All house no yard is deciding to trade outdoor for indoor.

[$L!mBo]

outdoor >>>> indoor

[flyweightnate]

You must have good weather

[Impactfour]

I'm actually in the process of hunting for my first house and am looking at a number of houses on small lots. I think I've got a bit of insight into the situation.

First off I think it's worth leading with that we're purchasing a home for two reasons. To start a family and because it's a lot more sensible to spend money on a mortgage for a house you can sell than rent that can go up each year. Hopefully with what I've saved we will be spending a ~100-300 more each month on housing and associated costs (excluding major repairs). This does leave us with semi limited options though.

And unfortunately in our range so far has been the exact houses you're describing, newer 2-3 br/1.5ba houses on lots just barely larger than the property. Or slightly cheaper and smaller fixer-uppers with more yard space.

I think a decent chunk of these homes are being sold to people in similar situations, people trying to get cheap first home to avoid renting and people who empty nester/retirees who are downsizing. Personally I'd prefer more yard space in a smaller/more beat home, but there just aren't that many viable options in my area in our price range once repairs are factored in.

[flyweightnate]

My unsolicited advice - be very careful with renovated homes. It's a lot easier to hide a major issue under new drywall than fix it right. If you have any free time at all, paint and drywall are cheap and it gives you a chance to look under the hood as you work.

But it consumes every single minute of your life to do a renovation yourself.

[Chuck E Ducky]

Location plays a big part in why people choose that design. People have different needs as well. Ownership definitely trumps renting in every way so I get why people buy homes like that. You see it a lot in high tax areas + just outside a city. I love buying in these areas they make good investments but never would want to live in one.

It’s like living in a city. You can live in a closet because the city is your living room.

But I agree That just isn’t for me. I’m looking at 100+ acre plots or more as far from populated areas as possible. For now I’m just stacking capital and building equity so I can retire early, and capitalize on the market. I live small in my means so I can make big moves while carrying zero debt.

[trashcollector]

My wife, two children, and I lived in an RV for two years while paying off debt. Rent was $650/mo with all utilities included.
I try to offer that as an option for those looking to get out of the apartment scam and start saving.

[nerdcore]

This is very area/region dependant, but around here, it seems harder to find available homes for purchase that aren't packed tight like sardine cans next to other sardine cans. Newer subdivision developers maximizing profit by fitting lots of residences into the least amount of space. Even seeing a surge of awful tall-skinnies pop up seemingly overnight; the ones that a solid chili bowl fart could blow over (which is bad in a region where tornados are a thing)... and a lot of those immediately become rentals.

When older homes with proper buffer property hit the market, they're snatched up by landlords/property moguls that have the means to overbid, then bare-bones flip for rent. So no actual family can purchase the home with the intent to live in it. Which is what's been happening in our neighborhood. We bought an older home about 9 yrs ago - every other home that hit the market since has turned into a rental, at rates twice as much as our mortgage.

So, in this town at least, new prospective homeowners have little choice but to buy danger-close cookie-cutters.

[Jimmydee]

[Trbo323]

the "prestige" is that you own something, and eventually don't have to pay rent or a mortgage.
Any home you own will be like this, no matter what the size.

I think maybe this is the root of it for me the more I was thinking about it. Maybe it just doesn't click for my brain but I've never placed value in just "owning" something.

When you can lay down a piece of plastic and "own" anything you want the act of taking it home becomes pointless outside of it's utility.

Let's be honest the majority of houses and cars are actually owned by the bank right now. But idk like I see the fancy car and the flashy house and I don't care. I go to a lot of houses every day and the ones that stand out to me are the ones that are a reflection of the people who live there. They have a style, theme or something that required work to make. One of my customers has about 5 acres of garden. And it's 5 acres of well maintained, clearly thought out and worked on garden. Her and her husband it's basically a hobby for them. Super unique and I love going there.

Another one has a few additions, I talked to the owner and she said they were all built by her and her late husband. They even did the Shaker shingles and intentionally did them in wavy lines down the side of the house. Again super unique, required them to put a bit of themselves into the house.

And maybe that's it for me, these postage stamp houses I find it very hard to do anything like that. Maybe you can on the inside a bit but you really can't make any larger changes to the house because of the space around it. It's like how paintball markers are now stock and stock parts only. In 20 years nobody will be doing "period correct builds" because none of the markers will really be modified at all.

Sent from my motorola edge 2024 using Tapatalk

[flyweightnate]

There is both a financial and a psychological effect to paying towards something you will eventually own outright (ignoring property taxes). Improvements are yours forever, you know where you'll be in 2 years or 10, if you so desire, and nobody can say "I decided you should leave now." And if you're smart and pick a good loan, eventually it'll be paid off, and you don't have to worry about where you'll live even if you are out of work or whatever.

Tons of financial risk - I just got quoted several thousand dollars for a drain replacement - but long term upside.

[SignOfZeta]

There is both a financial and a psychological effect to paying towards something you will eventually own outright (ignoring property taxes). Improvements are yours forever, you know where you'll be in 2 years or 10, if you so desire, and nobody can say "I decided you should leave now." And if you're smart and pick a good loan, eventually it'll be paid off, and you don't have to worry about where you'll live even if you are out of work or whatever.

Tons of financial risk - I just got quoted several thousand dollars for a drain replacement - but long term upside.

I disagree. Unless you’re maximum rich you cannot own a home, it owns you. You trade the freedom from neighbors for slavery to your job. You trade actually having money now for the idea of having money in the future. You trade savings for debt. You gain the freedom for your dog to crap anywhere it wants but you lose your fiends because you live so far away they won’t visit and between work and housework there is no time to visit them. You gain the ability to chose your own appliances but also gain eternal responsibility to them.

I used to live in a nice apartment for $1600 a month. I had lots of neighbors but I paid NO TAX on it and repaired and maintained literally NOTHING EVER. Those are extremely advantageous things that I highly suggest be considered when people are killing themselves for their “starter” home that will take 30 years to pay off and cost you a million dollars in interest in a country where employment for most isn’t guaranteed beyond the end of the day. There are ABSOLUTELY advantages to renting. Home ownership is a luxury. When that home ownership is sold the way it is in the country I really only see it as a scam. The idea that it’s a way to profit, to independence…yeah, if you own a bank or a cable channel or 100 properties, sure, but for regular person it’s a heavily promoted ripoff.

[BrickHaus]

Man SOZ , I expect a certian level of negativity out of you, but this seems so hopeless that I worry for you. To a degree, I agree, but also not. We just need a good market crash.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I used other people’s money to pay my mortgage. Yes there is risk involved, yup lots of extra work as well. But the two family I started with as a kid and busted my butt for is still making substantial income well after it’s payed off and is now helping pay for others. It’s also worth approx 3.5x what I payed for it (very few investments will net you that return). The biggest boot heal in NY is property taxes. Soon to no longer be a problem when I liquidate and move to a lower tax environment and retire. I don’t pay people to do anything I can do myself and because of that I can choose to pay for convenience or not. Most people are capable, they just aren’t willing to put in the work required or take the risks.

[SignOfZeta]

Don’t worry, BrickHaus. Just because I don’t believe in the American Dream doesn’t mean I’m about to off myself. In fact I’d say having never believed in it has saved me a tremendous amount of disappointment in life.

As for the housing market crashing…when do you think I bought my house? I have no issues with my place or paying it off. I have a good job and so does my girlfriend. We bought the (2 acre) place in 2009 at what now seem like rock bottom prices. That doesn’t mean this whole thing isn’t a total screw job though. It definitely is.

[SPSheep]

Because my postage stamps need to live somewhere, and there weren't any good postage stamp apartments in the area

[shadow191]

It depends on your location. In a lot of high density areas, that's the only house that gets built at any price point because of land prices. Even here in Atlanta where it's a lot of sprawl, newer homes in the suburbs are very close. Townhomes or 4 feet between walls. 20 years back, they just kept building further away to maintain the .5 acres for each house. But now, they cant because no one wants to live 40 miles from the office with a 2 hour commute.

Also, not everyone values having land. I had a house with small yard, .4 acres, and hated it. Most Saturdays I was working on yard which took up hours. Moved to a loft in the city and family thought we were crazy because it was twice the price for half the square footage. But been here 20 years and never want a yard again.

People value different things. I have no desire for a camper or 3rd car. I like minimizing the things I need to worry about. I like density and walkability which is hard when houses are all an acre apart and the grocery store is miles away.