The 'Small House, Big Yard' Philosophy I Still Believe In

You can renovate a kitchen. You can knock down a wall. You cannot make a lot bigger, and you cannot move it.

Every time I look back at the purchases my clients are happiest with five years on, they have one thing in common: the buyer chose the lot first. The house was almost an afterthought. Forty years old, fine floor plan, fixable. But the yard backed onto a green belt, or got morning sun on the breakfast nook, or sat one street back from the noise of the boulevard.

The opposite — beautiful new construction wedged onto a tight lot, no setback, neighbor's window looking straight into the kitchen — sells fast and ages hard.

I'm not telling anyone to buy a fixer. I'm saying that when you walk a property, give yourself the discipline to imagine living in the yard on a Saturday afternoon in October. If that feels right, the rest can be solved.