House Hunting: Cute, Affordable & Small

I have been searching online for rental houses in the Charleston, SC area so that we know which places we want to tour when we visit next month.  At first I was looking at all the most luxurious houses in the area and day dreaming about how nice it would be to live there.  Then I did our budgeting and realized I needed to get a grip!  Now I'm trying to really watch our budget and not let myself look at anything over and above, regardless of how appealing they look.  Could we pay more?  Sure.  Should we pay more?  Absolutely not. 

What I've found is that there is no such thing as a "perfect" house.  There will always be pros and cons to any property, and that the most important things I should look for are: affordability, location, and space.  Saving money in renting allows us to do other things with our money, whether it be paying off loans, flying home to visit, or even (gasp!) saving. 

What has been hard about our search is that Tate will need a private home office, so there goes one bedroom.  After our bedroom and Jace's bedroom, we're already at 3 rooms occupied and no place for a guest room.  The price difference between a 3 and a 4 bedroom house is huge, is a guest room really something we need?  How often will we realistically have guests in town visiting?  Is it worth $250 more per month for a little extra space?  Could we combine an office and guest room with a sofa bed?  What about all of Jace's "stuff", what would we do without a playroom?  Who knows, hopefully we'll figure out a happy medium between cost and space, while not sacrificing a safe, family friendly location.

One of the houses I want to visit while we're there is this small but cute house in Summerville, a family friendly suburb of Charleston.  Summerville is about a 25-35 minute drive from the ocean and downtown Charleston.  It has it's own downtown area and has alot of new developments that encourage a neighborly feel.  (Houses close together, sidewalks through front yards, swimming pools, playgrounds and golf courses in the neighborhood.)  This area also has one of the highest rated school programs in the state, which is why many parents of young children choose to live here. 

Specs: 
3 bdrm
2.5 bath
No garage
1100 sq ft

Pros:
Price!
Huge fenced in back yard.
Front patio.
Large front porch off master bedroom.
All bedrooms on top floor (want Jace nearby.)
Great neighborhood.
Very up to date inside.
Walls are all neutrally painted with white trim.

Cons:
Small (is 1100 sq ft a typo??)
No 4th bdrm or other office space.
No garage.
Only living area seems small.
Master bath is somewhat small and does not have tub.


What this one comes down to is all about space, is the price really worth the lack of space?  It's hard to say until we visit it in person to see if we could make it work.  Pictures only show so much... maybe there's a hidden room somewhere!   ;)

and the search continues...