Why do people buy postage stamp houses?

[Nish]

I suppose I qualify at .18 acres.

There are absolutely pros and cons. So some thoughts.
Is this my dream home... Hell no.
Is it a house that we could afford with relatively low upkeep costs in an area that we like surrounded by everything we need. Can I physically take care of this house and the property for the next 20+ years? Yes.
At times neighbors are closer than I'd like, and I'm closer than they would like.
As Nate mentioned earlier when it's good awful hot, especially, yardwork is quick and easy.
My mortgage with escrow is about $500-800 a month less than rent for an apartment with the same number of bedrooms.

That kind of savings pay for a lot of repairs and maintenance if I'm smart enough to set some of it aside, and after being here a bit less than 5 years we are looking at about 100k in equity.

I need to do the repairs or pay someone else to, but I also don't need to beg a landlord to get them done.

[cockerpunk]

i live in a city lot (.2 acre), with a 900 sq foot house and a 1800 square foot garage. i could own it outright, but my mortgage is as 2.1 percent so why would i?

what's not to love? very little upkeep, most of the yard is garden anyway, great location for work and fun, great neighbors who will literally go to jail for you (and I them), plenty of room for a 6 cars + trailer my partner and I own.

while country living appeals in the "dont give a fuck" department, i think we've experienced the second time in less than 6 years why building close neighborhood communities is so important. there isnt much more "dont give a fuck" than standing up to federal 'im armed to the teeth and scared of everything' goons waving guns at you with your literal neighbors. that kind of solidarity is so important going forward to me.

the only reason we are talking about moving, is to move in with friends in a large multi-unit even closer into the city. probably going to keep the postage stamp house in the meantime. we are watching the suburban folks sell each other out like they are on auction right now, you wouldnt catch me dead in a suburb right now.

[SignOfZeta]

I’ve been reading Jack Benny’s autobiography and decided to look up his old house in Beverly Hills that they sold in the late 60s. While obviously worth millions it’s now been expanded to the point where it qualifies as postage stamp. Also…good thing it doesn’t rain much there as that roof has to be an absolute nightmare to maintain..

[Refoogee]

I think that, as far as suburbs are concerned, there's a sustainability issue to the whole thing. Suburbs of the pre-world war past were all "postage stamp" houses, located right outside city/town limits. The more space you dedicate towards suburban yards, the more space you need to dedicate towards utilities/infrastructure for the people living there, and the less space you dedicate towards economically productive infrastructure. Most low density suburban developments don't generate enough tax revenue to actually support the infrastructure needed to live in those places, but there was enough of an appeal to subsidize the production. In the U.S at least, it was easier to eat the cost of this development when it was being built, since the country was still benefiting from the post-war situation. Now a days? Bill still has to be paid, but it's a lot less palatable. And nobody wants their taxes raised either. Guess the point I'm making is that living in a suburb with a big yard is only going to get more expensive. Having your cake of being close to urban centers, and eating it too but having big countryside lots, has a big price tag

I'd just as much rather live in a condo, or town home, rather than a postage stamp house. But, there is something to be said about privacy, and overall space. If I had kids, I'd imagine it'd be nice to be able to have a potential play area that wasn't the living room, for instance. As for suburbs, over countryside? For suburb people that would go for the pre-war style "postage stamp" home, you likely get access to a lot of infrastructure. There's a lot of value in a 5 minute sidewalk walk to a coffee shop, grocery store, meat market, hardware store, restaurant, etc. Neighborhood park likely within easy biking distance for kids. Likely a bus route if you ever need it, etc.

As for those cookie cutter McMansion suburban developments in the middle of nowhere, with huge houses, no yards, and just attached to a highway? That has to be some status based mental illness that I don't understand.

[Grendel]

To answer the gist of the OP's question.

...Greed...

This is what developers build to get the most $$$$ for a given plot size, so this is what is available. Many people defend this because of a need to cope with the shitty decision they were forced into.

[SignOfZeta]

I think that, as far as suburbs are concerned, there's a sustainability issue to the whole thing. Suburbs of the pre-world war past were all "postage stamp" houses, located right outside city/town limits. The more space you dedicate towards suburban yards, the more space you need to dedicate towards utilities/infrastructure for the people living there, and the less space you dedicate towards economically productive infrastructure. Most low density suburban developments don't generate enough tax revenue to actually support the infrastructure needed to live in those places, but there was enough of an appeal to subsidize the production. In the U.S at least, it was easier to eat the cost of this development when it was being built, since the country was still benefiting from the post-war situation. Now a days? Bill still has to be paid, but it's a lot less palatable. And nobody wants their taxes raised either. Guess the point I'm making is that living in a suburb with a big yard is only going to get more expensive. Having your cake of being close to urban centers, and eating it too but having big countryside lots, has a big price tag

I'd just as much rather live in a condo, or town home, rather than a postage stamp house. But, there is something to be said about privacy, and overall space. If I had kids, I'd imagine it'd be nice to be able to have a potential play area that wasn't the living room, for instance. As for suburbs, over countryside? For suburb people that would go for the pre-war style "postage stamp" home, you likely get access to a lot of infrastructure. There's a lot of value in a 5 minute sidewalk walk to a coffee shop, grocery store, meat market, hardware store, restaurant, etc. Neighborhood park likely within easy biking distance for kids. Likely a bus route if you ever need it, etc.

As for those cookie cutter McMansion suburban developments in the middle of nowhere, with huge houses, no yards, and just attached to a highway? That has to be some status based mental illness that I don't understand.

Absolutely.

I live in a very nice suburb that was created in the 60s and sort of sectioned off by the highways that came later so it basically can’t expand. It’s really really really great but I have to drive EVERYWHERE. There is no trip to any place that doesn’t begin with a car. I grew up in an extremely walkable small town where things were a lot different and I could walk to school or 7-11 or the river or whatever. Now if I want to get a Diet Pepsi or fly model airplanes or go skateboarding with my kid anything…every single one of those things starts and ends with a drive. This makes every trip to do anything more wasteful, time consuming, and stressful.

[martix_agent]

ok, all these new posts are starting to make me wonder if everyone has the same understanding of what a "postage stamp" house is.

[SignOfZeta]

ok, all these new posts are starting to make me wonder if everyone has the same understanding of what a "postage stamp" house is.

Perhaps the conversation has evolved.

[cockerpunk]

I think that, as far as suburbs are concerned, there's a sustainability issue to the whole thing. Suburbs of the pre-world war past were all "postage stamp" houses, located right outside city/town limits. The more space you dedicate towards suburban yards, the more space you need to dedicate towards utilities/infrastructure for the people living there, and the less space you dedicate towards economically productive infrastructure. Most low density suburban developments don't generate enough tax revenue to actually support the infrastructure needed to live in those places, but there was enough of an appeal to subsidize the production. In the U.S at least, it was easier to eat the cost of this development when it was being built, since the country was still benefiting from the post-war situation. Now a days? Bill still has to be paid, but it's a lot less palatable. And nobody wants their taxes raised either. Guess the point I'm making is that living in a suburb with a big yard is only going to get more expensive. Having your cake of being close to urban centers, and eating it too but having big countryside lots, has a big price tag

I'd just as much rather live in a condo, or town home, rather than a postage stamp house. But, there is something to be said about privacy, and overall space. If I had kids, I'd imagine it'd be nice to be able to have a potential play area that wasn't the living room, for instance. As for suburbs, over countryside? For suburb people that would go for the pre-war style "postage stamp" home, you likely get access to a lot of infrastructure. There's a lot of value in a 5 minute sidewalk walk to a coffee shop, grocery store, meat market, hardware store, restaurant, etc. Neighborhood park likely within easy biking distance for kids. Likely a bus route if you ever need it, etc.

As for those cookie cutter McMansion suburban developments in the middle of nowhere, with huge houses, no yards, and just attached to a highway? That has to be some status based mental illness that I don't understand.

i mean we are coming to the end of the economic viability of the suburbs, or will within my lifetime. the low density housing can't support the infrastructure needed, and thus the suburbs are slowly rotting out from the inside. new housing builds was able to build the infastrcuture, but as those houses age, the basis can no longer afford to maintain the infrastructure. so they rot from the inside, or they go higher density, if they can.

that and again, the burbs seem filled with people who actually want to live in the country, and so there is no neighborhood solidarity, no community investment, people who have never even met their neighbors. and when the goons showed up, they all ran, despite their gadsden flag bravado. i've literally seen grandmas with more courage.