Learn How to Buy or Build a Home with the Ideal Square Footage for Your Needs

Finding the right sized floor plan for your needs can make or break your home buying experience.  Too much space and you’ll feel overwhelmed with upkeep. Not enough space and you’ll feel like you’re living in tight quarters.  Rhodes Enterprises, Inc., expert home builders and developers of the Bentsen Palm new home community in Rio Grande Valley, share their top tips for sizing up the right amount of new home square footage for your family.

1.     First consider your lifestyle. Will you need to work from home or need office space? Do you plan to travel a lot or hardly at all? What are your hobbies? Do you love to host friends and family? Do you love to be outside? Answers to these questions will help you as you’re looking at floor plans and determining whether you’ll need space to entertain, work, tinker, a bigger patio and backyard, or if you travel a lot, perhaps minimal space and yard for easier upkeep.



2.     How many people will live in your household?
   If you have children or plan to, you’ll want to be sure to factor in enough bedrooms to be comfortable. Or if you have elderly relatives that may live with you in the future that you’ll have space for them or room like and office that could potentially be converted to use for them.

3. Where will you spend most of your time in your home?
   Studies have shown that 68% of your family’s time is spent in the kitchen/nook area of the home, which has led to the great open floor plan designs that incorporate the kitchen, informal dining and living areas.  When deciding on a floor plan and square footage consider what parts of the home are most important to you.

4.     What are your future goals for this home?
   Life is always changing, but you likely have goals around how long you want to stay in a home. Is this the forever home where you’ll raise your kids and possibly retire or are you living here for a specific job that may have you moving in a few years-time.  If you plan to move soon consider what the average home buyer is looking for as well when deciding on a floor plan or square footage.  The average is around 2,169 sq. ft.

5.     Finally, consider the space you’re living in today.
   Measure each of the rooms you have in your current home or apartment and thinking about the function of each room, decide whether you feel that amount of space is too big or too small.  If too small or too big adjust the amount of space to what you think will be comfortable for your lifestyle. Add up your figures to determine what your new home square footage should be.

Have more questions about how to determine the ideal new home square footage for your family?  Contact the expert builders at Bentsen Palm to learn more about the distinctive neighborhoods and floor plans designed to fit every lifestyle.