Many of us are happy homeowners with the keys and papers to prove it. However, my husband and I have recently been considering building a tiny home. You know the ones you see on HGTV or whatever it is. We don’t have cable so I can’t tell you exactly what channel it’s on. Anyways, in our quest for minimalism, we are trying to eliminate the unnecessary. The question came up, “Is it really necessary for a guest bedroom.” Sure homes with 3+ bedrooms are ‘said’ to be easier to sell, but are 3+ bedrooms vital if we only need two bedrooms? I’m sure you’re wondering, “Where will my parents/friends stay when they come to visit?”
I thought I would break this into numbers to help you wrap your mind around this concept. I’m not sure where it started when we thought we needed to provide a room for guests to stay in our home. Yes, it is a courtesy if we have the room, but why are we MAKING room? Is it really worth the cost? I wanted to use local numbers and not just an average across the U.S.
In the QC area, a two bedroom home will cost, on average, roughly $141,000. And a three bedroom house will run you about $180,000. Typically, most people purchase houses with a 30 year mortgage. Over time, if we pay the minimums, we could be paying 2.5-3 times the original cost of the house. So, let’s talk monthly mortgage numbers without any money down. For that average 2 bedroom home, you’re looking at a payment around $667. In regards to the 3 bedroom house, the monthly mortgage would cost $851. That is a $184 difference. I will not talk about a 4 bedroom house because the numbers just keep going up (average cost $392,000).
Okay, it doesn’t seem all too bad. What’s another $184 for my friends and family to have a place to sleep? Let’s talk about how much we are paying for that guest bedroom per year. The numbers are starting to get bigger — $2208 just on that guest bedroom. On average, people have family or friends stay at their home 2-3 times per year. Just in sleeping arrangements, not including food, activities, or anything else, it is costing us $736-$1104 per visit. We’ll go even more long term than just one year.
We signed up for a 30 year mortgage, right? The numbers are astonishing when we talk the life of the mortgage. Just to have your guest bedroom in a 3 bedroom house, you are paying $66,240 for a guest bedroom that gets used twice a year!
The next question would involve where to put guests when they come visit. I have three solutions for this. The first, utilize your couch. Maybe invest in a sleeper sofa. This is a much cheaper cost than that extra bedroom. The second option, is to purchase an air mattress. This is probably the least expense of the three options. My last option, probably my favorite. Rent a hotel room for your guests. I know this sounds crazy and expensive but it won’t cost you $2000+ per year. You can easily rent a hotel room for $100 a night. If your guests come out for two weekends, and stay 3 nights, that will only run $600 per year. Crazy cheap!
I’m not saying we can’t have guest bedrooms, but what I am trying to get at is do we need everything we think we need. I challenge myself every day to eliminate the excess and better the necessary. What purchases are you rethinking?