Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Agree with the advice in this thread. Visit and then rent for a bit. That is what we did/are doing. The renting part is really important to me. We just moved and are in a one year lease. Already just being in our rental house for a few weeks, I have a much better appreciation of what we do want when we finally buy a house. Luck favored us and we managed to buy in one of the really good neighborhoods so our home search may be close to where we currently are living.
We know it will be a few years (5-6 or more) years before we can move. We have obligations to have settled and taken care of, not the least burying a family member, updating and selling one house, paying off, completing construction and selling 2nd house.
We won't really have the money to make a trip to the area before we can go. We are doing lots of research online. We will be slowly getting things taken care of as we can, such as the completing of the construction as time goes on, so as to not have it all at the end. We want to mainly have the burial and updating to do of the one house and then the sale of both right before we leave. There will be a lot of cleaning out of the first house (60 years of accumulation).
How does one go about finding a good and reputable Real Estate agent to help when we are not there? Not sure what hubby's plans are, but I know he wants to buy as opposed to rent.
Don't get it. 5-6 years until the move, updating and selling a house, completing and selling 2nd house and no money to eventually make a trip to visit an area you intend to move to?
Then you aren't sure of your husband's plans? Red flag. Hello? Forget any move, if you don't know what your husband's plans are you might want to start with that.
Burials don't take 5-6 years to complete. Very little of this story makes much sense.
If you can't save the money for a trip out in 5-6 years, maybe it's time for a real sit down with your husband and find some mutual understanding about what is going on?
5-6 years out time frame to seriously consider a move is loading yourself up with way too many variables in the housing market, financing, and your personal situation & financials at the time.
Okay - the reason it's gonna take a while before we can move is, MIL has not died yet, but her health is bad. We cannot move until she is gone and we bury her, sell her house and then ours. We are next door to each other.
What I mentioned regarding hubby's plans was mainly, he does not really want to rent. He would rather move, sight unseen and stay in a motel until we buy a house. I was going for the rental so we could look around before buying. I was also trying help my daughter avoid her shutdown or breakdown over the moves, but she says if we do it the way I say, she will be fine.
MIL has money in her accounts that is earmarked for us. We would move ASAP if we could, but she needs us here for her transportation needs and care. She will got o a nursing home at the end, but does not want to go too soon as they cost too much. She will never consider Hospice at Home.
Her house has not had a thing done to it except new roof, new carpeting, new wall mount A/C and new appliances in the last 55-60 years. That's the updating we have to think about. Her carpet is not good. Need to pull paneling out and paint the walls.
Our house is a converted garage. We converted a 1344 sq foot garage with 12 foot ceilings into a 4 bedroom 2 bath home with 11 foot ceiling and added a 406 sq foot back room to meet the required 1750 sq feet that the Town Council required. The completion is mainly things in the bathrooms that were not done (towel bars and mirrors) and the tile floor, base boards and trim work around the back door of the extension. The extension was added after the approval of the loan, but before the final from the Town Hall.
If it takes MIL longer to go, then obviously, we will not move until then. If she goes sooner, then we move sooner.
Hubby and I were always on the same page about the eventual move. We both agreed on the location. We just need to agree on the arrangements when we get there. I am trying to take the logical approach, like I did with two of our 3 other moves. Actually all of them. When we left Florida, I knew the city we were going to. My brother put us up for 3-4 weeks until we got a place to rent and after a year, we bought a nice new mobile home. After about 8 years, we moved the mobile home across Missouri from Central to Eastern. We had already gone and made those arrangements. Then 2 years after that, we had no choice but to move back to Florida. We sold the mobile home and made the trip and ended up living in MIL's house for 3 1/2 years. They were not good years at all and I can't go over it again. We got the loan, MIL signed over the garage and lot to us and we converted it into the house. Right now, it is the ONLY category 5 Hurricane rated home in this neighborhood, or even Town.
For now, watch the market. For our move I used both ziprealty and redfin, as they have different strengths. When you are close to your move, the market may be such that you can find just the right house at a good price. Or it may be that inventory is low and there is nothing good to buy. It would help if you and your husband were both willing to either rent or buy, whichever is better at that time. It would be a mistake to make a firm decision on that at this point.
I watched houses in the area north of Seattle for over a year before our move (but not 5-6!). My list of possibilities was lengthy. Shortly before our househunting trip, houses began to drop off the market, and when we arrived there was not much to choose from. By the time we found a good one, we had also visited a rental as our backup plan.
Around the time we listed our old house for sale, I chose our WA realtor. I wanted one who would communicate well with us by email, who knew where to find pretty much any information we needed, and who would set aside time for us when the time came. I emailed several agents, then chose a redfin partner, and he turned out to be the best realtor I've worked with. I contacted him again when we had an offer, when the contract was signed, and when we were ready to schedule our trip. At that time I sent him our requirements, a list of homes we were interested in, and my questions about some of those homes. Based on his responses we were able to cross off some houses and save some time.
After we moved we discovered that one of our new friends was in the process of becoming a redfin partner. Apparently redfin is pretty picky about who they'll work with, so choosing one of their partners is probably pretty safe.
Agree with sll. I watched listings using Zillow for months before we moved. It helps a little. But there is nothing like visiting the place. Sequim WA is a long way from FLA, so I don't know if you could work in a vacation there. But it would be best to visit before moving, it really would.
And, IMO, it would work out best if you rented for awhile too. You have plenty of time to plan this, luckily. And you have time now to complete your house, so there is that.
We know it will be a few years (5-6 or more) years before we can move. We have obligations to have settled and taken care of, not the least burying a family member, updating and selling one house, paying off, completing construction and selling 2nd house.
We won't really have the money to make a trip to the area before we can go. We are doing lots of research online. We will be slowly getting things taken care of as we can, such as the completing of the construction as time goes on, so as to not have it all at the end. We want to mainly have the burial and updating to do of the one house and then the sale of both right before we leave. There will be a lot of cleaning out of the first house (60 years of accumulation).
How does one go about finding a good and reputable Real Estate agent to help when we are not there? Not sure what hubby's plans are, but I know he wants to buy as opposed to rent.
I'll give you credit for looking ahead. 5 or 6 or more years out. Wow! Much can happen in that time to alter your plans. I've considered relocating a lot (age 67) but find I don't have the energy to fool with it. So, we drag out the RV and go for a few weeks and then come back home to our clutter.
Just a couple of things. First, real estate agents work for sellers. Their legal duty is to a seller and that is where they get their commission. Second, investigate finding a buyer's agent, someone to represent your interests. Laws can vary from state to state.
Clearly, you are looking forward to this. Good luck.
MIL isn't dead, and may consume any assets she has left for her care. Broken hip? Alzheimers? Who knows, but it can easily eat up $50,000/year (and a LOT more) if she requires 'care'. I know you think you will take care of her, but one never knows......
Then you have to get her house ready for sale. Then you have to get your house ready for sale. Plus all the other little things you mentioned--like having a conversation with the hubby to see if you both agree that a move is what you want, why, to where?
Once all of that is sorted out you travel to the new place and look around. You look around. You rub elbows with the locals. You check out the things which are important to you....church, grocery store, library, public pool, local race track, hospital, etc. Once you have taken care of this part, you sit down with a realtor and show them a list of exactly what it is you are looking for in a house, and how much you can afford to spend--not a wish list for either, but exactly what you have and what you want. If you don't have a realtor, you ask around,. read the ads, and see who has signs posted in the area which you are interested. Then you interview three realtors and pick the one which seems most 'comfortable' to you.
If you don't take this costly step, you are likely to end up spending a LOT more, and having very little to show for it other than a piece of proverbial "swamp land".
Slow down grasshopper. A LOT can happen in 6 years...like your daughter growing up and leaving the house, for instance. You can save; you can read; before you know it, the pieces from a good plan ill fall into place.
MIL isn't dead, and may consume any assets she has left for her care. Broken hip? Alzheimers? Who knows, but it can easily eat up $50,000/year (and a LOT more) if she requires 'care'. I know you think you will take care of her, but one never knows......She has account set aside for her care as well as good insurance already. We know there will be things not planned for and understand that.
Then you have to get her house ready for sale. Then you have to get your house ready for sale. Plus all the other little things you mentioned--like having a conversation with the hubby to see if you both agree that a move is what you want, why, to where?Hubby and I both agree to the move and to where. HE has finally agreed to a rental for a year.
Once all of that is sorted out you travel to the new place and look around. You look around. You rub elbows with the locals. You check out the things which are important to you....church, grocery store, library, public pool, local race track, hospital, etc. Once you have taken care of this part, you sit down with a realtor and show them a list of exactly what it is you are looking for in a house, and how much you can afford to spend--not a wish list for either, but exactly what you have and what you want. If you don't have a realtor, you ask around,. read the ads, and see who has signs posted in the area which you are interested. Then you interview three realtors and pick the one which seems most 'comfortable' to you. I am now putting money into saving to eventually make a trip out there when we can. Problem is, he's terrified of airplanes, so it will take more time and money. I am hoping I can get him over this fear. His dad used to work and build the engines for the Government airplanes.
If you don't take this costly step, you are likely to end up spending a LOT more, and having very little to show for it other than a piece of proverbial "swamp land".I have explained this to him and also showed him this thread. He is understanding a lot more.
Slow down grasshopper. A LOT can happen in 6 years...like your daughter growing up and leaving the house, for instance. You can save; you can read; before you know it, the pieces from a good plan ill fall into place.
Daughter will not be leaving home. She has too many learning disabilities and will be staying with us. Son will be staying with us and might get something once we get up there, but he is planning on taking care of his sister when hubby and I are gone. I am putting together files with all the info I have gathered and getting it all organized. That's my OCD taking over. Will have it all both digitized as well as hard-copies. I figure this will help with any Real Estate Agents or Brokers. We are giving up plenty of time to go over everything and for whatever eventualities we can think of.
I don't know how many real estate agents will be willing to help you now with a purchase 5-6 years down the road, especially with so many variables.
-Mike
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
