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Congratulations! That's a decent size for a retirement home. That's actually the size we're looking for along with a sunroom but we're only up to the stage of 'where do we go? Leave NY or stay?"..
Your dream will come true. Think positive.
Do you have friends over there?
Thanks for your good wishes!
Re: friends: Nope, but we're introverts (albeit friendly ones!), so we are not too worried about that. From what we have learned, Door County has quite a few transplants and has a median age of 53, so we hope to make some friends -- but, if not, it's really not that big of a deal to us.
P.S. So sorry for that horrible trial experience you had! Sometimes I think it is little wonder that lawyers, in general, have a reputation as smarmy sharks! (However, that being said, I have only dealt with two lawyers in my life, and they were both very good people.)
Last edited by katharsis; 07-12-2019 at 08:57 AM..
We just approved our final retirement house layout plans for our lot in Door County, WI!! Came to 1,874 s.f. (about 200 s.f. more than we thought it would be when we first started working on the design). Next step is for the builder to get the permits, and then we will be meeting with him in October, and then we will be meeting with the interior decorator to pick colors, flooring, etc. House should be started next year in April/May and be completed by August/September.
We are so excited -- we never really thought this would actually happen, and I am still nervous about whether our dream will actually come true or not! (I have learned to never take anything for granted until it is actually a reality!)
P.S. It is a single-level, no basement, ranch with two bedrooms, 2.75 baths, and a sunroom instead of a porch (as the area is prone to mosquitoes).
Very exciting! Do you mind if I ask what you are paying per sq foot? I bought a lot in the NW of lower peninsula (Traverse city area) and it was going for about 200 a sq foot to build 6 months or so ago. Bought the lot last summer. Struggled with floor plans all winter, said screw it I don't think I can afford to build anyway. Trying to squeeze 1600 ft into 1400+ just wasn't working. Had a driveway and all utilities put in, and a place to put an RV. I can RV it for 6 months a year. Have to move and store the RV the other 6 months. Neighbors were probably disappointed. Still may build but the sq footage vs. money vs final cost is a real deal breaker in my case.
I was having a screened in porch off the master bedroom, deck off the living room. Yes, skeeters can be terrible!
So the RV went in end of June. Have been up there twice for around 4 days ea. Neighbors on one side are super nice. I already knew the neighbor across the street was a not so nice nut job, came rushing out of his house in his robe and slippers screaming obscenities at the construction crew putting in the driveway. Neighbors on the other side are also various part timers and....idk, not thrilled but the jury is still out. Bug zappers, huge bonefires and a loose german shepard. Met another older man from further down and he said some things, sort of a nasty creepy man. The biggest richest house is the loudest.
IDK, I feel a bit cursed. Anyone else would have ended up with nice helpful fun neighbors. What did I do wrong in a past life?
Very exciting! Do you mind if I ask what you are paying per sq foot? I bought a lot in the NW of lower peninsula (Traverse city area) and it was going for about 200 a sq foot to build 6 months or so ago. Bought the lot last summer. Struggled with floor plans all winter, said screw it I don't think I can afford to build anyway. Trying to squeeze 1600 ft into 140+ just wasn't working. Had a driveway and all utilities put in, and a place to put an RV. I can RV it for 6 months a year. Have to move and store the RV the other 6 months. Neighbors were probably disappointed. Still may build but the sq footage vs. money vs final cost is a real deal breaker in my case.
I was having a screened in porch off the master bedroom, deck off the living room. Yes, skeeters can be terrible!
So the RV went in end of June. Have been up there twice for around 4 days ea. Neighbors on one side are super nice. I already knew the neighbor across the street was a not so nice nut job, came rushing out of his house in his robe and slippers screaming obscenities at the construction crew putting in the driveway. Neighbors on the other side are also various part timers and....idk, not thrilled but the jury is still out. Bug zappers, huge bonefires and a loose german shepard. Met another older man from further down and he said some things, sort of a nasty creepy man. The biggest richest house is the loudest.
IDK, I feel a bit cursed. Anyone else would have ended up with nice helpful fun neighbors. What did I do wrong in a past life?
We won't have the final quote yet until we go over the final details in October and choose the finishing touches, but the builder assured us that we would come in under $400k, including a total of about $30,000 for well, site work, and an underground propane tank. Our home will be a fairly basic contemporary ranch, except for the custom baths and kitchen -- the only other expensive item is a wood-burning fireplace, and the living/dining/kitchen area is contained in just one great room, so that cuts down on the expense, too, I think.
His first estimate was for about $395k AFTER our first meeting and he had a fairly good idea as to the kind of kitchen and bathrooms we wanted, which would be right around $200/s.f. for everything, including a two-car garage, generator and water softening unit. He had said at the outset that a VERY basic home* according to our layout would be about $325,000 including the site work, fireplace, and garage, but the final price would be according to the "extras" and upgrades we wanted. So, in short, we think we will be adding about $75k in "extras", including a generator, water softening unit, and upgraded flooring, bath fixtures, and appliances. However, not included are the patio and driveway, which we will install after the house is completed.
[Btw, the well will be the most expensive item other than the house itself, as the home is on bedrock, and they estimate the well will be somewhere between $10k and $12k, based on the other homes in the immediate area of our lot, which is 1.5 acres. Half of our neighbors are just summer residents, whereas we will be living there year-round, so we hope that we won't have any "problem neighbors" like you experienced! It is only a ten lot "subdivision", btw, all the lots are very heavily wooded and each one is between one and 1.5 acres, so it is quite rural -- although the village, which has a great market, is only two miles away from our lot.]
We chose this particular builder because he spent the most time with us, and his firm has been in business for 40 years, and he provided us with a LOT of great recommendations. He was very thorough and even give us an estimate until he knew exactly what we wanted (or pretty much, anyway), and so we feel fairly confident that we made the right choice. We had also received estimates from four other builders, but those quotes were all just "ballpark". (One said about $200 a square foot, two said about $250 a square foot, and one said a total price of about $575k (!!!). The builder assured us that once the final quote is accepted, that there will be NO changes permitted, to protect both him and us -- a huge plus. He says his usual quote runs to almost 25 pages -- it is that detailed!! (However, the $575 would include all landscaping, including the patio and garage.) Our budget for the home is $450k, maximum, btw.
Anyway, good luck to YOU, and I hope this helps -- and sorry if this is too much info!! Also sorry if this doesn't make much sense. I just looked at the time, and I have to go, so I don't have time to reread this and edit!
*For example, one with carpeting instead of hardwood floors in the main rooms, and vinyl siding instead of the fiber cement board we chose. Also, btw, the 1,874 s.f. is the "footrprint" size of the home, excluding the garage, but we will actually have just about 1,630 s.f. in actual living space.
Every time I have been called for jury duty, I have had to sit in a room with a large group of people. Over a period of time, I, and everyone else was sent home because of plea bargains.
Every time I have been called for jury duty, I have had to sit in a room with a large group of people. Over a period of time, I, and everyone else was sent home because of plea bargains.
Thank you Vicky3vicky. I forgot about all that. I've seen too many movies.
I've been called for jury duty way too many times, because of name changes I wound up tripled on their registry. Finally they got their act together and I was able to clear out the name changes.
I have served on two juries. Both were minor issues but quite interesting. The first was a couple who were picking up a nurseries' containers. "They looked abandoned . . . ". Verdict, nope! Theft.
The second was a street drag-racing. The cop who arrested the driver had *nearly* acquired the legally required amount of data. We turned him down. And when the after-interviews happened, we the jury all agreed that if the driver was our kid he was grounded for a good long time. But, the *nearly* was the issue. Not enough. (Another interesting thing, both the prosecuting and defending attorneys were working up to passing the bar. They both were impressively professional . . . well worthy of being admitted to the bar.)
More recently I was in a jury pool for a really nasty happening. I was not at all hoping to be on that jury. And somehow, someone asked me the question that let me describe that I was not all all happy to have to listen to that much nastiness. It was the judge - neither of the attorneys - who dismissed me from that case.
In California there is a maximum age beyond which you can opt out of jury duty. And as much as I like the notion of juries, most of the less important cases wind up settled. So as soon as I reach that age I will opt out, sadly, because I don't want my remaining time on earth traumatized by having to listen to really nasty behavior by people.
I have plenty of really nasty behavior in my own experience. I understand people need jurors, but sorry. PTSD is a thing,
Jim,
I am delighted things are finally going your way! <<Hugs!>>
I wonder if the Real Estate agent's concern was related to insurance issues. If the sale had not yet closed, and you were injured while on the property, the previous owner might have been held liable. Similarly, if after your visit a fire broke out, the previous owner might have to absorb the loss.
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but we're only up to the stage of 'where do we go? Leave NY or stay?".. 
