I would sell the house, while prices are up, and buy a new one. I am assuming, your lot is smaller sized, and thats why you cant bump out enough to make much difference. You will devalue the house, by making the yard smaller. There are many nice neighborhoods, and maybe you can find a house that fits your family and your needs better, that isnt far away from the one you now live in. You may also find hidden things, when you remodel, that will bring your cost way up farther than you planned on spending.

There are so many variables in a decision like this - are there ways to make your current house work better with some reorganization? the neighborhood is so important and it’s expensive to sell/buy (closing costs, realtor fees etc) -

Moving is really hard. I vote addition. But, as la_la said, we dont know enough. There are so many considerations. New house inventory, kids changing schoos, why do you need an extra bedroom, can the basement or attic be converted, can a big room be rethought to two rooms, can an outbuilding fix your issues, how old are the kids?????

Some questions:

Do you have attic space that could be used for additional living area?

Same question, basement space?

What are the purposes of the additional bedroom and den? Work at home space? Frequent guests? "Peace and quiet" retreat for adults? Home business with inventory?

I am the renvation queen my whole design business was originally built on redesign of living spaces for clients who lover the area but the house did not function. We need to scle floors plans of all the spaces so the basement, the main floor and the upper floor . Do those plans on graph aper show every window and doorways where those lead The staircases marked all measurements clearly marked then post those drawings here in comments in jpeg format. DO NOT strat another post all issues to do with this dilemma are dealt with her ein comments form now on. SOme info as to how you live and what your budget is if no additon just rework of the space you have How old are the kids ? Are you planning to have more kids? Many things drive the need for more space but sometimes frsh eyes can be ahuge help in finding that extra space . Aslo the basment does it have windows large enough for egress just in case?

call the town tomorrow. you need to understand the regulations for lot coverage, set backs, etc.

Thank you for your thoughts so far! Here’s some additional info, and once I dig out the floor plan I’ll post along w some photos.

Kids are young, 2 under 5. We have family that stays with us when they visit (siblings, parents). This usually means air mattresses and a cot in our living room during those days. The additional bedroom would be used for that, but also give us flexibility in growing our family one more if we choose to. The den would be used for a play area (also in living room at the moment) and a pull out couch ideally again for visiting family since we have that a lot due to being not local.

Attic is crawl space so not much can be done there. We’ve considered using basement as a guest room scenario but our parents are older and would then need to climb stairs in the middle of the night for a bathroom, but we’ve considered the possibility of installing a bathroom down there.

Oops I thought I typed it out but didn’t. Basement also used as office space at the moment. Remote jobs so office space was moved in here. It was at one point also in our kitchen but moved its way down!

Highly unlikely you will be able to make two additions to the house and build a kitchen, AND rent someplace to live for 1 1/2 years while all this is happening for 200k. Start serious house shopping.

Thanks for info.

If the basement has or could have two means of egress for bedroom area, it could have a guest bedroom and a couple of offices. My guess is that is probably around 800 square feet minus 200 square feet taken up by laundry area, HVAC and other utilities. 600 square feet is certainly enough for two offices, a bedroom, and a shower bathroom.

^^ for sure - One option is to make the basement comfy guest room/den etc- then have your parents stay in your room when they visit and you all sleep downstairs

If you can utilize the basement more effectively that would be much less expensive than an addition. I also think you will get a good return on remodeled basement space when you go to sell. Keep the room sizes and finishes consistent with the rest of the house. Don't cheap out, but also no need to have luxury finishes.

When we outgrew our first house we looked into an addition and kitchen remodel. It was too expensive to be sensible. We never would have recouped the cost. So we waited a couple years until moving was a better idea. The neighborhood the first house was in was the best, but I really don't regret overall having taken the path we did.

I would not want to live through remodel or addition, especially with young kids, even if it's possible to continue to live there - if not, you have to move out while it's being done. Personally, since the kids are young and one is just barely in school, I would move even if that means a new neighbourhood - it's also probably the cheaper option, ultimately. Adding a bedroom in the basement is a fine idea, but I can see how it would be difficult either for your elderly parents (if they stayed there) or for you with a young child (if you gave up your room to your parents).