quote:

7500 sq. ft lot

Imagine if you will, a football field with about 7 houses on it.

I know more than a few here in tiny town that are doing it currently.

Older widows move in to the town from their farms and are attracted to mowing the lawn for 25 minutes instead of two hours.

Much much more important than the lot size is the quality of the neighbors.

Street parking can be ok.

But if your neighbors suck, lot size won't matter much.

My lot is approximately 60'x35' +/- ' either way.

2-story house 1720sq' 2 car driveway, 1.5 car garage.

- The backyard is an oversized patio
- Front yard, small porch 4 large bushes, and about 160sqft of grass.
- spacing between houses on either side ~10'
- public water and sewer.

Pro's
- HOA cuts the front grass
- back yard mostly concrete patio

Con's
- can see into the house directly behind
- Can see into the house to the rear on the right and left
- can hear people talking if their windows are open, babies crying.
- Neighbor kid runs up and down steps. Sounds like a base drum in my living room.
- Really don't like living here any more.

Other Pro:
- Highly desired area and will become a rental unit next month.

- I'm moving to a larger home, a bigger yard with a green area behind it, so really only 1 neighbor next door to see from my new patio

8300 square ft lot with a 800 square foot cottage. Lot size is fine though the slope impacts things. Have a fenced front yard and a somewhat wild backyard. The size of the cottage is the bigger issue. I could definitely tear down and build bigger and not feel cramped at all.

My lot is 8,625sf and I think that is too small.

My brother has 43 acres, I think that is a super sweet spot, size wise.
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Check the rules on garage vs house sizes. My county’s rule is detached garages can be no larger than 50% of the living space of the house.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
When we built our first home in TX it was on a 5000 sf lot in a subdivision it we had city water and sewer. If you already have a septic installed on it I would make sure there is enough room to place a house of the size you are looking for with all the required setbacks and PUE's

If there is an option to connect to a city sewer (the lot is in a city, after all) you might be able to turn the septic field and alternate field into buildable area.

But if not, as noted in the quote, you'd have to find out the size and shape of the buildable area, after the septic system areas are removed from consideration.

quote:

Originally posted by SIP2000GLO:
One bedroom on a 7500 square foot lot is plenty I think. Unless you considered yard maintenance a hobby.

I'm currently on a 6500 square foot lot . Two story 5 bedroom 2,500 square feet home with a detached garage with enough room left for 2 dogs to roam.Concrete walls on three sides so neighbors don't really bother me. Even thinking of downgrading to a three bedroom.

I'm around 7,500 square ft lot here, 1,650 sq. ft house.

I've had big lots and I'm tired of maintaining them and paying other people to do so for me. I prefer smaller these days, within limits. I want my neighbors at least 25' away from me on both sides and I want a 6' fence all around he place for privacy.

Thanks guys, you have all provided valuable insight.

My lot is 50x140 or 7000 feet. My house is a 2 story about 2600 sf and I have a 2 car garage behind the house. My driveway runs up the side of my house.I am able to have a small yard for my dogs behind the garage. I will say it takes some getting used to but I like it!

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:

quote:

Originally posted by SIP2000GLO:
One bedroom on a 7500 square foot lot is plenty I think. Unless you considered yard maintenance a hobby.

I'm currently on a 6500 square foot lot . Two story 5 bedroom 2,500 square feet home with a detached garage with enough room left for 2 dogs to roam.Concrete walls on three sides so neighbors don't really bother me. Even thinking of downgrading to a three bedroom.

I'm around 7,500 square ft lot here, 1,650 sq. ft house.

I've had big lots and I'm tired of maintaining them and paying other people to do so for me. I prefer smaller these days, within limits. I want my neighbors at least 25' away from me on both sides and I want a 6' fence all around he place for privacy.

My little backyard, I dug up all the grass and laid 12"x12" bricks. No grass so no fleas and ticks to get my dogs. I only pay $30 a month for a guy to cut the grass in the front yard every two weeks.

7500 square feet is 0.17 acre, which is only slightly smaller than most suburban lots around here, which tend to be around 0.2 to 0.25 acre.

My suburban house is a 1800 square foot 3/2 on a 9500 square foot (0.22 acre) lot. Not as much acreage as I'd like, but it's workable, it's "normal" for the suburbs, and it's what was available and affordable at the time. I eventually would like to move out into the country on a couple wooded acres, where I can't see my neighbors and can have a shooting range.


In your case, the septic would be a concern. .17 acre is significantly smaller than the minimum acreage requirement for septic systems in most areas with which I'm familiar, which tends to range from a minimum of 0.5 acre to 1 acre.

I like the lot. Until recently it had a mobile on it. It was a rental and was a bit of a mess from my research.
Most everything has been removed. Remnants of water lines and sewer lines still present. Other than that is is pretty clear other than a small shed. Might need removed as well. Has an active elect service. The septic sys. has been inspected and the tank pumped. Believe the county will allow a one bdrm home connected to it still. Water line in tact from the water co.
Good location for my needs. Seem's like a pretty good neighborhood.
My dilemma in purchasing is the cost of putting a shop with living space on it is going to be expensive. Maybe to expensive vs. buying a place with an already usable structure on it. I am still working on the numbers.

Right now I am thinking a 30'x40' building with the front 25'x30' being shop space for the boat and pickup. So two garage doors. Probably 10x10. So I would need at least 12' walls. Probably 3' eaves. Then the back 15'x30' being living space. Maybe have a loft above the living space. It would be on a 6" slab. I would be ok with it being a pole style building with the living space being convention construction.

What would something like that cost in your area to build?

Thanks guys.

I live on a lot slighter bigger. It's fine as long as you don't have noisy neighbors. All of mine are great, and Hurricane impact windows are great (can't hear even the lawnmower outside). I don't have any issues with it. It's enough room, but not so big you're burdened by excessive maintenance. It also depends on layout of the house to yard and parking situation.

It's going to be hard to find exactly what you want (shop with living space) without building. I'd go full 1 story for the shop/garage that's long with tall ceilings and the house the same footprint on top of it.