When you walk past a big house

Have a friend who built a McMansion on their parents land back around 2010 when the price of building was rock bottom. The house is massive, circa 400sqm. Even their car garage which is a double storey building with stairs inside it is the size of a 3 bed semi detatched house.

Ultimately though they've come to regret it as its just too big which means the cost of everything inside the house is doubled, tripled and often more. So instead of a normal 6 place dining table they've got a 12 place one because the dining room has tons of space to fill and a 6 seater would look stupid in such a big room. Same with the sofa, instead of a 3 seater and 2 armchair set up its a custom made sofa that would seat about 12 people. Kitchen countertops so vast that you could fit a brigade of chefs at them. Even the console table when you enter the front door is like almost 2 meters long and the two lamps on it are giant sized to fit the space. So everything inside it cost them a fortune and now almost 15 years on stuff needs replacing and they cant afford things like €10,000 for a new custom sofa. The gutters need replacing and the quote they had was €7k because theres so much of them.It just goes on and one. And then theres the cost of a cleaner for a place that big, €5k a year they pay. Plus their electricity costs are massive heating such a big space, they've had bills of over €1,000 for just two months supply.

The thing has become a millstone around their neck and now in a few years their kids are moving out to go to college so the massive cavernous house will feel even more empty. He's confided in me that although they both have a decent wage it just gets swallowed up maintaining the house, theres always another bill or cost to pay and a massive house equals massive bills. They actually feel trapped because if they could they would sell it and buy a smaller house but they cant as its on parents land who live just up the road from them. So selling up would be effectively moving away from home and selling the land donated to them as well as moving the grandkids away from the grandparents, there would be war if they did that. So they're stuck literally ploughing a huge wad of their disposable income into just running this massive house that is way too big for their needs and now they cant sell it and correct their mistake.

I certainly never think dealer when i see a large house. Just that the owners have done well for themselves and quite possibly inheritance is involved also.

Location matters though. A big house down the country might not actually cost very much, relativley speaking.

A 3 bed home in the best areas of Dublin could cost 1 million +, whereas 750k would buy you a huge mansion down some parts of the country.

But the big houses in Dublin are mad money and there a lot of them. Especially coastal Dublin.

It really shows how much money there is in the city. But fair play to the owners.

Due to humanities actions since the industrial revolution we have seen a rise in global temperatures. It is beholden on every organisation and individual to reduce their carbon footprint. I really wonder at people of the likes that drive big cars (suvs) and build mcmansions. What is the rationale? It's nearly all non 'old money' people aswell. I really do hope that we don't become too americanised and equate money with class.

Big houses near where I live..

doctor in one, retired consultant, husband and wife both retired doctors, one was a cardiologist, retired early, his heart wasn’t in it anymore…..also next door is a dermatologist… I don’t know her but I’m told she’s a good skin…

I hear you can get a cream for that…

Having seen many drug dealers' homes I certainly wouldn't assume they own a big house. It is one way to get CAB paying attention to you is living beyond your provable income. Incredibly expensive car in a driveway of a council house is a good indicator of a dealer

You come across as very bitter.

People who spend 40k+ on outdoor furniture are few and far between.

Maybe the JP McManus types, not the average high-end wage worker.

Here's one I know of. Widower farmer living in old house, the new motorway would be passing close enough for him to be entitled to a new build, which he gets.

Daughters marriage breaks down and he offers her a move in withy him, she politely declined sayin the kids would drive him mad. So on quiet he has another mcmansion built beside his for her, but then the truth comes out, she wants to stay in the town.

So two mcmansions later paid for by compulsory purchase order money and the last i heard he preferred living back in the old house.

There's people/ families with 'old money' and same with 'new money'. They both carry on as described in OP.

The rest of us exist to serve them.

Local couple to me built a huge place about 15/20 years ago.

Minimum 10 bed, big driveway up to it.

They had 2 good companies at the time. But like many Irish folk

they got greedy and made silly investments. Property abroad and

the likes.

They are still in the house but a friend of mine cleaned the windows

in it recently and told me the kitchen and 1 bedroom are the only

finished rooms in the place. The garage was never finished, no roof, doors

or windows. The driveway is overgrown with weeds.

Both are in their late 60s or early 70s, sad to think of what they had

and what they are now left rattling around in. Big house doesn't mean

lots of money.

Define “big”…. As someone who used to walk past a large house everyday.. then sold it… one of the posters above said “I’d hate to be hoovering that” is correct. Smaller well designed houses are nicer..😀