Seniors: did you build your retirement home? (retired, years, adult)

[Vision67]

I designed and built my house in 1992. It has countless features designed exactly as we like.

Building it then was an absolute nightmare.

The problem was the subs weren't looking at the blueprints. I think many of them were illiterate. The general contractor was overloaded and could not devote enough time to manage the project. So I did it myself.

I visited the site 3 times per day and had to throw out several subs because they were doing sub standard work. With tons of effort, I did finally get what I wanted.

Memories of that project made me want to avoid ever doing that again.

So here we are in our large retirement home and we love every part of it. We're recently updated the roof, flooring, windows, paint, deck, doors, door hardware, appliances, garage door, and furnace/humidifier.

We're not moving.

[harry chickpea]

We searched high and low for an existing house that would meet our requirements. Prices were still high from the real estate bubble and the quality was abysmal. We ended up buying land and selecting a heavy-built manufactured home with a few modifications. The larger floor joists and 2 x 6 walls make it energy efficient and more solid than any of the places we looked at - at a lower price. It absolutely was the right choice. I did almost all of the site work myself and it was a fun adventure.

With a retirement place, consider that re-sale value doesn't much matter, and that a depreciating asset like a manufactured home means less tax and insurance cost.

[Normashirley]

The long and the short of our retirement home:

I did all the design work, figured out the placement on the property. We bought 25 acres of ex-pasture land so we first had to be sure our choices of spots to build the home would perk.

We were 2,200 miles away from our property, so having a quality modular home erected was the best option.

Modular homes are NOT trailer homes --- there is a huge difference between the two, including the cost of home owners insurance.

That was 15 years ago, and I would put up a modular again, in a skinny minute if I could use the same builder.

It is 1650 SqFt with an attic space big enough to create living quarters, if one wanted. We had a 2-1/2 car attached garage built -- which is actually used for equipment and cars

No carpet -- I have big dogs plus I have come to hate carpet over the years..

For the life of me, I can't see why someone would want a bigger house for retirement, than they lived in before retirement.

We are perfectly content with 1650 SqFt but we also have horses to care for and maintain our 25 acres. For us, there is more to life than constant house cleaning because the house is so big.

Trying to find reliable help for anything is more difficult than going on a Snipe hunt and bagging one. We do 95% of the work around here. We only holler "uncle" if a tree falls across a fence that requires a chainsaw bigger than what we own and then we convince that person into hanging around to help to some other stuff that involves fences or serious weed whacking on the cross-fencing

[astrohip]

I know you want to hear from people who built a retirement home, but I'll offer a different perspective: Condo.

We decided a couple years ago (both in our 60s, in good shape/health) that we didn't want the PITA of homeownership any more. We wanted to be able to travel more, and we didn't want to have to worry about mail/papers/packages. Also keeping up with maintenance and the pool and the yard and so much more. Floods and freezes and other things that you had to be prepared for (and what if you were out of town at the time?).

Final factor: If we were going to move, we wanted to do it on our terms, while we both were hardy enough to handle a move. We didn't want to be 80 year old frail people trying to move.

So we sold our home, moved into a condo, and haven't regretted it for one moment. Best decision we ever made.

YMMV.

[Sand&Salt]

^^^^Same here, in retirement. A condo ticked the boxes for this phase of life. Pretty sure my severe arthritis came from the below:

I built 3 houses in my 30s, with our own 4 hands, and it was great fun. Incredibly satisfying. But I cannot image doing it in my 60s, or even worse, overseeing a contractor and laborers. I hear many people divorce over the stress, LOL.

I know some of you are doing just this, so kudos to you. Brace yourself!

[TwoByFour]

We bought 2 acre lot with a small house on it with the intention of living in the small house while we built a main house for us, after which we would rent out the cottage.

After two years of living in the small house we discovered it was very livable for us. And we also discovered that building is an arduous process where we live (Maui) with a very bureaucratic building department, long permit process, expensive building materials, and local contractors with a big backlog of jobs.

So instead of a new house we remodeled the existing one and added two out-buildings: a painting studio for DW and a wood shop for me. It has worked out well, costing us way less and giving us a lot of what we want. Building a new house is rewarding but also a PITA. Only you can decide if it is worth it.

[Submariner]

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

did you build your retirement home?

Yes, I did.

... Did you build it bigger or smaller than your " primary" home?

Bigger.

... We will probably buy a house in our retirement locale to live in while we are building our house, then it will be a rental after we move into our new house. We expect it to take 2 years, assuming we finalize "THE" one to build.
We'd like to build bigger than our primary house now, which is a starter ranch. It will still be one level. The only way we'd have more stories is if it had an elevette in it too, highly unlikely.

I have family members who bought bigger houses in retirement than they raised their families in, but are one level instead of multiple levels.
They didn't have the patience to build their own "custom" retirement homes.

I traveled to the site in a motorhome. We were living in a different state, so part of the move for us, was moving to this state. I stayed in the motorhome during much of the construction. Then I rented a nearby apartment and I moved my wife into that apartment as we finished the new house.

... How much of a pain was it, and how long did it take to build what square footage?

It was fun for me.

The house is 2400 sq ft.

After we lived in it for 5 years, we decided to expand. I pushed the roof line out 8' on three sides, with greenhouse roofing to keep the sunlight going. On the fourth side of the house, I pushed the roof out 20' and gave us four bays for parking vehicles.

So now we have a wrap-round porch and carport, our finished footprint from the sky is 4900 sq ft.

... Problems along the way?

That was the fun part, dealing with all the small issues as they arose.

... Problems after it was complete and how well did the builder take care of said problems?
How long was your new home warranty?
What challenges did you face?

Hmmm, no. I built it. No contracted 'builders'.

I hired an electrician to install a power pole and meter. I hired a well-driller to drill the well. I hired a foundation contractor to pour the foundation. I hire a site-work crew that 'opened' the hole for the foundation and basement.

The rest I did myself.

... Did it turn out exactly like you imagined from drawings and plans?

No, a few small changes were made along the way.

... How long did the whole process take from beginning to end?

We moved into it about 8 months after I started.

... Were you ultimately satisfied with the results? Or disappointed?

Yes

... Did you buy the land before selecting the house plans? Or vice versa?

Yes, I bought 45 acres of river frontage land for $35,000.
Then I filed the building permit, etc.

It was a steel building 'kit', I got a good price, and one day a truck arrived to deliver a huge pile of materials.

... And lastly ( i think) was the whole process FUN ?

Yes.

But it is never 'done'.

Ten years after I started, we finally added Solar-power.

Then 2 years after that, we added Solar-Thermal collector panels. I came down with cancer and the treatment has really laid me up. I still do not have the solar-thermal system all hooked up yet.

[TuborgP]

We bought a new home for the purpose of transplanting. The builder had spec homes and ours was built from scratch with some modifications. We picked the lot and that was and has been very critical to our enjoyment. Very happy with the results. House is smaller than our old house but still big.

[seeriously]

Yes, three times. First house was supposed to be our forever house. We built it right out of retirement, a beautiful house in FL. But we wanted to return north so we built a townhouse in a 55+ knowing we wouldn't stay long. Now we're building again in Florida. Three retirement new builds in 14 years. It's been fun and we made money on every sale.

[Tuck's Dad]

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

We are looking at plans to build our "custom" retirement home.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Did you build it bigger or smaller than your " primary" home?...

Our primary home in Hawaii was 1400 Sq/ft on two levels, but through the years we have lived in a range of home sizes from 1200 sq/ft to 2400sq/ft. My wife wanted to stay at 1600 sq/ft, but she based that on internal room dimensions, and did not include closets. We ended up with 2100 sq/ft (but 1680 sq/ft by my wife's math...)

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

...I'm asking for those who built ( or had built for them, lol) their retirement home as opposed to just buying one. Even if it was built in a development from pre-selected plans by the builder/developer.

We did a complete custom home. We started from a floor plan we liked in a book of floor plans, then changed dimensions of rooms, then room locations, then... after about 6weeks of fussing around we came up with a completely custom design, but we started with a floor plan from a book. We had a draftsman do the final plan and had the plan engineered for the region.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

How much of a pain was it, and how long did it take to build what square footage?

Once the wife and I agreed on the plan - and that was the truly tough part. The rest was pretty straight forward. It took about 18 months to build, but we had some financing hiccups. It could have been completed in 6-8 months.

On financing, a construction loan is a whole different animal than a mortgage. We opted for a single close loan, meaning we closed on the construction loan and in 12 months it automatically converted to a 29 year standard mortgage. Most banks wanted to close on a construction loan, then do a full work up for the mortgage (with the mortgage generation costs) upon completion of the project.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Problems along the way?

The financing was weird. My credit score was 805, and we had one bank string us along for 4 months, I got fed up and cancelled before we closed, another started the process, then stopped doing construction loans before we closed. The third bank was a financial proctology exam, but once it went through underwriting they were an absolute breeze to work with - that was the integrated construction loan/mortgage arrangement.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Problems after it was complete and how well did the builder take care of said problems?

The construction was superb! We ended up contracting some of the finish work on our own to finish out the project (front porch and back patio cement, custom closets in the bedrooms)

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

How long was your new home warranty?

Mfg. warranty on appliances, 1 year on construction.

On our previous purchases from big box builders it was mfg warranty on appliance, 1 year on windows, doors, cabinets, etc. and 10 years on foundation issues.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

What challenges did you face?

Agreeing on the design was a big one. My career had me move every three years, so we found houses that we liked "well enough" to get through the three years, but when the home is a true thirty plus year plan, compromising gets a lot harder!

Financing was more challenging than a simple mortgage process.

We built from a distance (I don't recommend that) and so I flew in about once a month to meet with the builder and inspect the progress. We wanted a kitchen vent fan to exhaust outside, a curved ceiling over the master bath soaking tub, those were the only two things that didn't happen - first world problems, I know.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Did it turn out exactly like you imagined from drawings and plans?

Yes, I would say it did. Better, maybe. We love the house. We designed it to be able to age in place.

I have lung issues, so we went with in floor radiant heat, instead of forced air, that led us to a single story slab on grade construction. The interior doors are all 3ft wide or French doors for wheel chair accessibility as we age. Master bath has pre braced walls for handy cap rails at the tub, shower, and toilet. Shower is roll in roll out designed with a seat and additional hand held shower head. There are no thresholds in the House between rooms or flooring material changes (hardwood and tile, no carpet)

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

How long did the whole process take from beginning to end?

About 24 months from land purchase to completion. Design and drawings/engineering took about six months, we started the construction with cash on hand after the first lender screwed around with us.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Were you ultimately satisfied with the results? Or disappointed?

Love the house, but the builder lost control of the project cost projections at the tail end. We were a month from completion and he was doing the interior finish work. I was working, and was able to cover anything he threw at me WHILE I WAS WORKING! We agreed to a completion price, he said he could do everything we wanted for the agreed to price, so I quit work. When we arrived to take possession, he dropped an addition $24,000 bill on me above what he said it would cost. They appeared to be legitimate costs. However, that additional cost really threw us a retirement curveball. In the scope of the project cost, it was less than a 5% total overrun of the project budget - not bad really for a custom project, but I had quit work and we were on our retirement budget, so pulling the additional cash out to complete the project was painful, whereas I could have just worked an additional 6 months and never even noticed. Love the house, but the "surprise" at the end still leaves a sour taste, because had he said "it's going to be $X not $Y to finish the house," I just would have adjusted my retirement date.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

Did you buy the land before selecting the house plans? Or vice versa?

Bought the land, then did the house plans, though the house is not really specifically designed for our land, how it is situated was.

Originally Posted by galaxyhi

And lastly ( i think) was the whole process FUN?

Looking back, yes. Arguing about the "must have's" during the design phase, not so much...