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I think the problem is in relocating close to age 70. There is maybe a 7- to 10-year opportunity to be in that new place before age-related dysfunctions befall us in one way or another, and then we face another move, the final-final move, again. Those who wisely anticipated their senior year needs and bought their "retirement house" nearer to 50 to 55, even while still working, have a longer time to be in the new location and get the most out of it. So the question is, with maybe 7 to 10 years for the next place before the final-final, is it even worth it to move? We bought this house 3 years ago and these years flew by as will the next 3 years. At this point, maybe just stay put and THEN, when health issues take over, go into the final-final. Of course there are those who want a better climate at all costs, and I don't question them one bit.
We have had great difficulties in finding either a new or updated/no-maintenance required SMALL home to relocate. It is even harder to find a nice small home with acreage. So unless we buy a lot and have a home built, we may end up having to buy a house bigger than what we want or need.
If one is not going to farm or actually use the land in some way, I always wonder why retirees need acreage. It is more property to pay taxes on and to upkeep. Who wants that with age 8o in our future? If the issue is privacy, there are many SFHs with neighbors at some distance in regular neighborhoods. Why not find the fixer in a perfect location, gut the house and redo the entire inside? Cheaper than building, and you already have the land perced, the water and sewer in operation, the foundation in place, etc etc. If you're brave, you can live there while remodeling (if you don't kill each other in the process*) and can have sold your current home and gotten your profit out to pay for the new place.
If one is not going to farm or actually use the land in some way, I always wonder why retirees need acreage. It is more property to pay taxes on and to upkeep. Who wants that with age 8o in our future? If the issue is privacy, there are many SFHs with neighbors at some distance in regular neighborhoods. Why not find the fixer in a perfect location, gut the house and redo the entire inside? Cheaper than building, and you already have the land perced, the water and sewer in operation, the foundation in place, etc etc. If you're brave, you can live there while remodeling (if you don't kill each other in the process*) and can have sold your current home and gotten your profit out to pay for the new place.
*check back with us at the end of this year, lol
Are you actually doing this?
This is what we would LIKE to do, but we are wondering if the hassle would be worth any savings (as opposed to buying and razing a "teardown" and starting over). We are 99% sure we will be moving from Colorado to New Hampshire. (And, yes, we spent three years in Maine, so we are aware that it will definitely be a change!)
That question probably belong under "House", but since you are here, I thought I'd ask.
Where do you live, btw, if that's not too personal?
Last edited by katharsis; 03-19-2015 at 05:36 PM..
This is what we would LIKE to do, but we are wondering if the hassle would be worth any savings (as opposed to buying and razing a "teardown" and starting over). We are 99% sure we will be moving from Colorado to New Hampshire. (And, yes, we spent three years in Maine, so we are aware that it will definitely be a change!)
That question probably belong under "Home", but since you are here, I thought I'd ask.
Where do you live, btw, if that's not too personal?
I live in Western New England. (You are aware of the property tax in NH, right? )
I live in Western New England. (You are aware of the property tax in NH, right? )
I will DM you with the particulars.
Thanks. Yes, I know that they are generally high, but that they all vary GREATLY between towns. The tax rates in the towns we are considering vary from about 8.5 to about 21 -- that is a big difference!
If one is not going to farm or actually use the land in some way, I always wonder why retirees need acreage. It is more property to pay taxes on and to upkeep. Who wants that with age 8o in our future? If the issue is privacy, there are many SFHs with neighbors at some distance in regular neighborhoods. Why not find the fixer in a perfect location, gut the house and redo the entire inside? Cheaper than building, and you already have the land perced, the water and sewer in operation, the foundation in place, etc etc. If you're brave, you can live there while remodeling (if you don't kill each other in the process*) and can have sold your current home and gotten your profit out to pay for the new place.
*check back with us at the end of this year, lol
I will likely end up buying a "fixer-upper" and then gutting it as needed in order to get what I want- a small one-story bungalow on a couple of acres.
"Acreage" is a pretty loose descriptor and might be 2 acres for one person or 100 acres to someone else- for my purposes I just want 3-5 acres that I can fence for my dogs to run safely and freely. I grew up on a large property and over time the taxes became exorbitant, definitely not an expense I would want to contend with in retirement.
I only want as much house as I really need and will use- maybe 900-1100 sq ft max of efficient well-planned space. My retirement nightmare would be to have to spend time cleaning an enormous house, not to mention utilities.
The article sort of sums it up for me. We planned to downsize, but the wife had very specific room dimensions she wanted, so instead of 1400 to a max of 1650, we are at 2100.
Her: "But I don't want a house that big!"
Me: "Great, do we want to downsize the rooms, or just cut a room or two?"
Her: "No, the room sizes and the number of rooms are correct, but it needs to be less than 1600 sq/ft."
Me: "Hon, that's not how math works."
I expect to be out of the hospital next week sometime!
We wanted acreage, a single story, radiant heat, oversized doors to accommodate a wheel chair if need be, oversized garage to accommodate cars and a MC, high R value insulation, no maintenance roof/siding/windows, back up power system, and wood or tile floors throughout (I have very impaired lungs), and in a location with low/no chemical pollution (lungs).
We got most of it, but we had to do a custom built home that is larger than we planned. We expected to significantly cut or house expenses with a move, but we only saved about 25% off our current house, and are about 25% over the typical new/newer home in the area (people build in the price range, but then never sell, so sales are limited to 1940's 800 sq/ft fixer uppers in an area that is becoming a community of nice custom homes on acreage). We will have a significantly smaller mortgage - cutting the balance by 2/3 and the payment by a little more than 1/2 - but we will still have a mortgage (something we didn't want).
Well, that's how math works, but please dear god don't tell my wife!
If one is not going to farm or actually use the land in some way, I always wonder why retirees need acreage
We want to have some land for the dog to run, to have a garden, a chicken coop, some fruit trees and maybe a beehive or two. I love to putter outdoor.
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Who wants that with age 8o in our future?
My mother is 89 and still putters around all day in her garden, weather permits! I think working in the garden keeps her healthy.
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If the issue is privacy, there are many SFHs with neighbors at some distance in regular neighborhoods. Why not find the fixer in a perfect location, gut the house and redo the entire inside?
We messed around with home remodeling/home improvement in our younger days (converted the basement into 2nd living quarter, built 2 brick fireplaces including the block chimneys with zero prior experience in masonry ;-). At this point in our life, we don't want to be bothered with either doing it ourselves or finding contractors to do the work. We just want to find a ready-to-move-in house. I'd rather spending my time outdoor gardening, tending the chicken, go hiking, rowing, flying or traveling. I have never been a homebody or a homemaker and have no intention of becoming one in my retirement.
If one is not going to farm or actually use the land in some way, I always wonder why retirees need acreage. It is more property to pay taxes on and to upkeep. Who wants that with age 8o in our future? If the issue is privacy, there are many SFHs with neighbors at some distance in regular neighborhoods. Why not find the fixer in a perfect location, gut the house and redo the entire inside? Cheaper than building, and you already have the land perced, the water and sewer in operation, the foundation in place, etc etc. If you're brave, you can live there while remodeling (if you don't kill each other in the process*) and can have sold your current home and gotten your profit out to pay for the new place.
*check back with us at the end of this year, lol
You're not really from New England, are you?
My wife is from CT, and zoning in most areas drives you to two or more acres to build, but because that is the norm now, you generally have acreage with most homes outside of city boundaries. It makes for a very pleasant pastoral setting, but adds quite a bit to housing costs.
My wife's relatives generally have a garden, a small maintained lawn area around the house, and the rest is sort of left as quasi raw land (they do some maintenance and upkeep, but very little).
Our property will follow that general pattern (above), but we plan on fencing it so the dogs can safely roam.
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