Landscaping!

[Asher]

Could use some input...here's the design one of the landscaping companies came up with for the house. It looks beautiful. We're not going to get the water feature (expensive & maintenance nightmare), though. The firepit looks great, but my concern is with resale value - there's not a whole lot of turf space in the backyard. I'm leaning towards getting rid of the firepit & pathway to the gate to replace it with more turf. I imagine families would appreciate the space for kids to play - and to be honest, I won't use the firepit very frequently.

What do people think?

[Alexander's Horse]

I think gays have way too much disposable income

[Ming]

How many bedrooms and bathrooms does the house have?
Would a Family with multiple kids be interested in the House, or is it the type of house designed more for a couple or small family?
And most importantly, how long do you plan on living there.

A fire pit, while not used all that often is a great feature. It's great for a bunch of friends sitting around having a few drinks in the evening, or just spending a quiet evening with your significant other.

Most experts would tell you to build the features YOU WANT and not worry about resale value at this point in time. It is YOUR home and it should be the way you want it, not how some potential buyer would want it. Unless you plan on selling in the next couple of years, build for YOURSELF.

[SlowwHand]

I vote fire pit. Lawn maintenance is way overrated. Think gravel.

[Hauldren Collider]

Bonfires

[Asher]

How many bedrooms and bathrooms does the house have?
Would a Family with multiple kids be interested in the House, or is it the type of house designed more for a couple or small family?
And most importantly, how long do you plan on living there.

3 beds & 3 baths (it was spec'd to 4 beds & 3 baths but we used the space for the 4th bedroom to make a larger living room). I can't see why a family wouldn't be interested, but a couple would definitely be interested.

We plan on living here a good long while, but you never know. We also may have kids in the future ourselves.

A fire pit, while not used all that often is a great feature. It's great for a bunch of friends sitting around having a few drinks in the evening, or just spending a quiet evening with your significant other.

Most experts would tell you to build the features YOU WANT and not worry about resale value at this point in time. It is YOUR home and it should be the way you want it, not how some potential buyer would want it. Unless you plan on selling in the next couple of years, build for YOURSELF.

That's very true, too.

[Dinner]

Given the cold climate you'd only be able to use the fire pit for something like 3-5 months out of the year at most but it would be a nice feature. Even if there is less turf you could compensate by adding lots of flowers in hanging pots or something. I have some rectangular baskets I've screwed on to the fence which look nice and make use of the vertical space especially with the hanging flower containers. It's amazing how much you can get out of even modest sized spaces if you make use of vertical space.

[/guy who got roped into landscaping by the Ex]

[Berzerker]

jacuzzi > firepit

but both would be ubercool

[Asher]

jacuzzi > firepit

but both would be ubercool

In Calgary, cool is the right word for an outdoor jacuzzi.
We have an indoor one already.

[Alexander's Horse]

I'm leaning towards getting rid of the firepit & pathway to the gate to replace it with more turf. I imagine families would appreciate the space for kids to play.

What do people think?

[ATTACH=CONFIG]173743[/ATTACH]

Your instincts are good Asher - the first thing I noticed was there seemed to be a lot paving, walls and steps. That is good for adults, and the landscaper (more moolah), good for low maintenance like tenants but for children / grandchildren, not great. The little tots fall over a lot

[Asher]

Given the cold climate you'd only be able to use the fire pit for something like 3-5 months out of the year at most but it would be a nice feature. Even if there is less turf you could compensate by adding lots of flowers in hanging pots or something. I have some rectangular baskets I've screwed on to the fence which look nice and make use of the vertical space especially with the hanging flower containers. It's amazing how much you can get out of even modest sized spaces if you make use of vertical space.

[/guy who got roped into landscaping by the Ex]

Pssh. Could use the firepit year 'round. We are Canadians and the fire generates heat. It's great to sit around the fire on a cold day.

[Hauldren Collider]

It's great to sit around a fire on a summer evening too. Again, bonfires

[Berzerker]

In Calgary, cool is the right word for an outdoor jacuzzi.
We have an indoor one already.

i was thinking of those monkeys in Japan that relax in thermal pools while its snowing

[SlowwHand]

Practically the same thing.

[Ben Kenobi]

Couple things here.

One, if you bought it expecting to flip it for resale in this market, I feel bad for you Asher. Longterm your prospects aren't great for an improvement in the market. Short term, also not great.

Two, if you bought this to keep it - then I really don't understand why you would buy this of all things. You yourself just said that you really aren't putting it to proper use. Are you planning to rent it out? I could see you doing that with this house - that would make sense to me. Just I'm not sure what you would get and whether you'd find someone willing to rent it for a good price and whether you'd be able to find someone who could afford this sort of place.

Three, given that- if this is for you - I'd keep the features to what you would use and what you would like and enjoy. There's not much purpose to having expensive stuff that you have to maintain that you aren't planning to use. You'll be happier not having them.

Four, if it were me, I'd be trying to rent the place out - you'll recoup your cost sunk into if you can find the right family. It would make economic sense to me, both short and longterm. Then you'd have the question as to what price point you are trying to hit? Do you put stuff into it expecting to get better renters, or do you keep it as is to hit a better demand point? I don't know which way you would go.