We've outgrown our small house - alternatives?

One of my relatives raised their two kids in a small 2 bed / 2 bath condo.  As the kids got older, the bedroom was used for sleeping and storing clothes only.  The kids bedroom barely fit two twin beds.  The kids would study at the kitchen table, at the library, Starbucks, or at a friend’s home.  

Your kids are getting old enough to downsize the toys and just use the bedroom to sleep.  If there is absolutely no other place for your kids to study, you could try building two separate twin loft beds with a desk underneath for each one.  It might be the size of many small college dorm rooms that hold 2 kids (just for perspective).

I was born in another country where the density of the population makes San Francisco look sparse and the houses here gigantic. Whenever I go back to visit, I am astonished at how people make such good use of the little space they have. So my suggestion is--if you love your neighborhood, your house, and your school, don't move! Try purging the stuff in your house, or spend some money in renovating some of the rooms, turn an unused space into another bedroom etc. Another option is to turn another room in the house into a study for schoolwork, computer work etc., and keep the kids' bedroom just for sleeping. That way they have space to spread out and also a space to retreat to if they don't want to be in the same room.

I feel for you. I am a single parent and my ex partner and I bought our home at around the same time. I am looking into renting out my house but I am worried about the pending ballot initiatives that would extend rent and eviction controls to single family homes. If they pass, I would be very reluctant to rent out my home and face the possibility that I could never move back in. 

I feel for you.  Several of my friends are about to be in similar situations in the next few years.  

If you stay in your house and adding sqft to your house is not an option: 

- remodel your garage into a bedroom

- turn your dining room into a bedroom

- put in a partition into your living room and carve out a bedroom (https://www.nakedapartments.com/blog/how-to-build-a-temporary-wall-in-a…)

- put up a shed, yurt or canvas tent in the back yard and use as a bedroom (https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-turn-a-garden-shed-into-a-guest…)

- see if one of your neighbors will rent out a bedroom

- install a murphy bed into the living or dining room

- buy a pull out couch for the living room

OK, I have 2 crazy ideas:  First, if you've owned your home for 20 years, I wouldn't sell and become a renter.  At all.  Check CL to see what rent is these days. As for buying, prices are crazy- even if you had the money, you'd have much higher prop. taxes.  Have you thought of building UP? Is that a possibility? There's a big permitting process you'd have to through- you'd need to resolve any opposition from neighbors. In our neighborhood in central Berkeley I know of at least 3 such renovations- 2 in which the homes were lifted (one a Victorian, another very modern), and another home that had a full basement excavated and finished (and french drain, etc. etc).

You could finance this with a 2nd mortgage on your home- having owned it 20 years you might have sizeable equity in it.  And its value has shot up too.  You might be able to double your square footage. And, consider making some of that new space an apartment to rent.  Could you imagine a 2 br/1ba apt, or a studio at the least- in addition to the new living space you're trying to build for your kids.  Then rent that unit out to help offset your costs (plus, you can deduct from your taxable income all the costs associated with a rental: interest, depreciation, repair and maintenance, helping your further reduce your costs).  Design it so that you can easily rejoin everything into a whole at a later date if you wish.

Here's something (did a search on 2nd story addition): https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/questions/adding-2nd-story-addit…

Looks like Kathy Rogers of Sogno replied- we used her for our kitchen remodel and are very happy with the results.

If this is completely out of the question, then...

Is there the possibility of building a shed on your property?  The ShedShop will come out and build a shed for you. They have finished versions. For under $20K. 

http://www.shedshop.com/models-prices/studio/

Uh oh says they're not permitted for living.  Oh well.  Guess that's totally, completely, 100% out of the question!  Like I'm sure the City of Berkeley would inspect to make sure no one was sleeping there, no sirree....

Good luck!

1) First question: where are your jobs? You can move and get more space but it's not a good tradeoff if one of you winds up with a hellish commute.  So bear that in mind before moving.

2) Are you determined to keep your kids in the Berkeley School system, or do you just want them in a "good " school system?

3) If you can't expand "out", can you expand up (add a story), or down (basement) or work with some architects to make better use of your interior space with built-ins, etc.?

4) Anyway, start with finances. Have a realtor visit and give you an estimate regarding what you could sell your house for.  (I'd say go on Redfin but you need specifics.)  Figure out what you'd have to pay in taxes, commissions, etc., how long it would take to get market-ready, etc.  That way you can look at what your net would be.  Your house may have appreciated a lot more than you realize!

You can rent out YOUR house but that is more unpredictable, and perhaps not the best idea for 2 busy parents who are not inclined towards business. It may work out great but there are a lot of headaches (dealing with tenants, dealing with state and local laws & regulations, fixing problems in the house). Even experienced landlords can wind up with problem tenants. If you do go that route, house maintenance and other expenses are tax-deductible. However, tenants are often quite hard on a house. So investigate before you become a landlord.

Also investigate what your financing options are (we got the best deal through our credit union).  What would it take to get a new loan? Or a home equity line of credit?

Once you have an idea of your financial options, and how much commuting a move might entail, you can evaluate remodeling and adapting the interior (as I suggested above) versus the hassle of shopping for a new home and moving.

If you move out of Berkeley, what would you want in your new community besides a good school district?  There are good schools in Danville, Orinda, Fremont, Marin county, elsewhere, but the culture is certainly different.

Rent versus buy: You can rent, but the odds are rents in the Bay Area will continue to go up over the next 8 years, even in the outlying areas.  So check on rent control.  OTOH, your taxes will be higher if you buy, and prices everywhere have gone up.  Consider that a large-sized condo in a well-maintained complex might give you more room at a cheaper price than a house. A house in some outlying areas (Petaluma) will be cheaper than in Berkeley, although more expensive than it used to be.

So a lot of issues to consider.  Good luck!

Hi Betty,

I would be interesting in talking with you about your swap idea. I currently live alone in a 4 bed/2 bath home in the gourmet ghetto and would definitely be open to downsizing, but I could not buy a smaller home at current prices for less that I paid for me large one 5 years ago. Please send me a message if you would like to talk about how this might work.

Thanks, and good luck!

Charlotte