When you have a house over 5000 square feet or more, you can truly design and build the home of your dreams – with all the amenities you could ever want. (Part 2)
What to Like
Having a home this large can be a real treat.
Here are the things that most homeowners tend to enjoy about building and living in homes that are at least 5,000 square feet:
1. Space for a Growing – or Extended – Family
The main reason that anyone would want to build a home this size (or larger) is the rather obvious one – space! There is plenty of it in a 5000 square feet house.
Whether you have a large family, enjoy hosting others, or simply want more privacy in your day-to-day life, the larger your home, the more space you have available to use for whatever you would like.
Homes this size also do well on larger lots, ideally at least a few acres, which only adds to the allure of privacy that they offer.
2. Event Hosting
Another amazing perk of having a home over 5,000 sq ft is that you can host lots of events in your home. So, larger homes like this are perfect for those who enjoy entertaining.
Yes, family Thanksgiving and other holiday dinners are now a breeze, as you have plenty of cooking and entertaining spaces, as well as guest bedrooms. But it’s also important to consider other more corporate-like possibilities.
It’s possible to host the winter gala for your favorite charity, cutting down on the costs of renting a space, or even a family wedding, giving it a more intimate appeal.
3. Customization
Another perfect reason to choose to build a home that’s over 5,000 sq ft is the ability to customize a home that fits your needs perfectly.
With this much square footage to play with, you can really tweak things so that they are just right. This could mean adding two master suites (perhaps putting one upstairs as a “mother in law suite”), adding extensive dining space for a larger family, or large, walk-in pantries.
4. Amenities
When asked, this is usually a homeowner’s favorite part of building a larger home. Yes, you can customize a typical home’s standard features to suit your needs when building a 5,000 square foot home, but you can also start to add the “fun stuff.”
Whether that’s a massive library with beautiful built-ins, a movie theater or media room with reclining seats, an indoor swimming pool, or simply more guest rooms, you can have your pick of the things that matter to you when building this big.
What Not to Like
Of course, there are always cons as well.
Here are the main things that homeowners of houses 5,000 square feet of larger tend to not enjoy about their homes:
1. Maintenance
Maintenance is one of the main issues with a 500-square-foot house. This is because it’s nearly impossible to keep up with everything that needs to be done all alone.
It’s likely that with a house this big, the lawn needs to be kept up by a lawn crew and the interior maintained by a cleaning staff (at least part-time) – and it’s also likely that there will be a hoard of other household support staff coming and going: au pairs, tutors, chefs, dog walkers, etc.
While those who can afford to build a home this size can often also budget for these expenses, it’s also important to keep in mind that in order to run a home like this effectively, it can sometimes take a small army.
In fact, once your square footage soars north of 5,000 square feet, some homeowners even find it necessary to hire a home manager to ensure everything remains safe and in shape.
2. Privacy
The very reason that so many people choose to build a large luxury home can become compromised by its size, however. This is because, as we’ve mentioned, a typical homeowner will need the help of at least a few other people to properly maintain his or her home.
So, it’s possible that you won’t ever get to truly feel like you have the home to yourself amidst all the buzz surrounding its daily upkeep.
3. Security
Home over 5,000 square feet has more than just your typical front door and back door. There are multiple entrances to your home, and as we mentioned, a constant stream of people coming and going throughout the day.
This could raise security concerns, especially if you are not careful. Many homeowners choose to have not only an alarm system but also key cards or specific alarm codes for each household member so that the owners can keep track of who is where throughout the day.
4. Connectivity
Wi-Fi. It makes the world go around, and in a 5,000 square feet house, there might not be enough signal to go around.
All this means is that once you get north of 5,000 square feet, you might need to start thinking of your home as more of a small campus and less of residential space.
Often, homes that are this size have multiple routers – or even more than one Wi-Fi system – to ensure that coverage is the fastest that it can be throughout the entire home. For privacy purposes, homes this size or larger may have separate Wi-Fi networks for staff and residents as well.
So that’s a lot of wiring and quite a few routers for just one home!
5. Resale Value
Another problem that homeowners with houses over 5,000 square feet might run into is the potential for low resale value.
Yes, the size of the house and all of its features make it quite the catch and extremely desirable; however, one must understand that the market pool for such large houses is simply inherently smaller than a more average-size home.
In addition, these homes, especially if custom-built, are often built with the specific needs of the homeowners in mind. So another buyer might not be able to truly come in and imagine themselves or their family living in the space – which is a key part of making a successful sale.
So, if you plan on building a large home, you might consider that this is your home for life. It may be a perfect fit for you and your family, but should you decide to sell it, you might have a harder time than you might think.
When you have a home over 5,000 square feet or more, you can truly design and build the home of your dreams – with all the amenities you could ever want. As long as you consider and troubleshoot the home’s upkeep and potential problems before building, you are certainly in for a treat.
