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Have our main house in Massachusetts with a place built on the lake in Maine. The Mass house is 2600 sq. ft. with lots of yardwork that we just can't do anymore. And we can't maintain the house either. Just getting too old. So hopefully this year the main house goes up for sale and we finish the Maine house for permanant year round living. We would like to go to a warm climate probably in January or February to thaw out a little during the winter. Residence Inns are also everywhere and you can visit any state. The Maine house is 1600 sq. ft. with a 1st floor master and bath. There are 2 smaller bedrooms on the second floor for when the kids and grandkids visit. Taxes are high but I think we can manage. There will be no mortgage which after almost 40 years will be nice not to have to pay rent.
My wife and I did chat about having two places. One in MA for May to Sept and one in SC for Oct to April. At the time what made sense would be condos in that we could easily turn the key on and walk away for 5-6 months with little to no concerns. We crossed private homes off our list real fast due to maintenance/upkeep issues.
In the end, we decided a private home in SC year round and we have not been back to MA for more then a week....LOL
My wife and I did chat about having two places. One in MA for May to Sept and one in SC for Oct to April. At the time what made sense would be condos in that we could easily turn the key on and walk away for 5-6 months with little to no concerns. We crossed private homes off our list real fast due to maintenance/upkeep issues.
In the end, we decided a private home in SC year round and we have not been back to MA for more then a week....LOL
Accufitgolf,
What part of SC are you living in? I thought of that myself for the winters.
We bantered about buying a house in the south, but opted for a motorhome instead. Spend spring and summer in the north, travel wherever and whenever we want at other times. We didn't want to be tied to two homes for many of the reasons the OP state, plus we have a dog we take with us, so the RV was the best solution for us. The other plus is we don't have to go to the same place every year rather move around and meet some fantastic people.
We bantered about buying a house in the south, but opted for a motorhome instead. Spend spring and summer in the north, travel wherever and whenever we want at other times. We didn't want to be tied to two homes for many of the reasons the OP state, plus we have a dog we take with us, so the RV was the best solution for us. The other plus is we don't have to go to the same place every year rather move around and meet some fantastic people.
Besides Ellwood if you don't like your neighbors you can just leave. That's a great plan and I love motorhomes.
I'm just unloading one of my homes now (closing on Wed yipee). I owned 2 homes for about 2 years and it was a PITA. Besides 2 of every utility bill there was maintenance, dealing with any type of breakage problem, traveling back and forth, etc.
While the thought of owning 2 homes sounds nice, make sure you realize what the realities of owning 2 homes are as well.
Murphy's Law says something will go wrong in the home you are not currently living in
Besides Ellwood if you don't like your neighbors you can just leave. That's a great plan and I love motorhomes.
That's true, but have found Rvers are the nicest, friendliest people! Met a couple from another state a few years back and we travel together. It was like we knew each other forever!
We've had two places twice ... when the third 'good opportunity' came-up, we declined.
The first time, we owned a home in Kissimmee, Fl. and bought a second place in Satellite Beach. The distance (60 miles), however, made it difficult to keep an eye on the rented property and we wound-up with about fifteen people living there. We sold the place and were glad to get rid of the headache, even though we didn't make much on the property.
The second time (2004-06), we bought a second oceanfront condos in Florida (lived in one and rented the other). When the 'bubble burst, we went from thinking "How clever we were to make double appreciation" ... to, "That stupid 'bank' tricked us into buying another condo ... and now we'll lose twice as much equity.... and in the process, we get to pay twice as much: insurance, HOA fees, property tax, etc" (just kidding about the bank). We quickly put both condos on the market and felt 'fortunate' to sell the one we had really hoped to keep, ... but, still made money on the transaction.
Last year, we decided to move to Destin, Fl. and started to condo-shop, while we still lived in our Satellite Beach, Condo. We found a great gulf/harborfront short sale and put-in an offer, thinking, "By the time this short sale goes through, we will have sold our Satellite condo." Instead, the bank approved us and was ready to close within 3-weeks! --- Again, we thought, "That stupid bank!" However, even though we really wanted the new condo, we decided to 'bail-out' for several reasons:
1) The Florida RE market is still unpredictable and we could easily wind-up in a situation #1 again.
2) The distance between the properties could put us in situation #2 again.
3) While we could 'afford' two units, it would involve a large mortgage at a time in our retirement when we were getting used to living somewhat debt- and obligation-free
4) Property/Houses aren't the investment they used to be ... and who needs the worry or headaches!
Accufitgolf,
What part of SC are you living in? I thought of that myself for the winters.
We were in the Charleston area but moved to Columbia to be nearer family. I suggest you look along the coast from Charleston, south as that is the warmest part of the state in the winter.
I have some friends that live at Sun City, Bluffton SC. While no apartment style condos there are some single story, multi unit buildings that do operate as HOA's inside the Sun City HOA. These units could be "locked up" for a few months with no issues. Also neighbors so friendly, easy to have one check on it.
We enjoy the Columbia area and there are plenty of snow birds here also.
Anything up toward Greenville can get chilly and some snow. Was 71* here on New Years day but a chilly 45* here today. Expected back to mid 60*'s by Thursday.
We were in the Charleston area but moved to Columbia to be nearer family. I suggest you look along the coast from Charleston, south as that is the warmest part of the state in the winter.
I have some friends that live at Sun City, Bluffton SC. While no apartment style condos there are some single story, multi unit buildings that do operate as HOA's inside the Sun City HOA. These units could be "locked up" for a few months with no issues. Also neighbors so friendly, easy to have one check on it.
We enjoy the Columbia area and there are plenty of snow birds here also.
Anything up toward Greenville can get chilly and some snow. Was 71* here on New Years day but a chilly 45* here today. Expected back to mid 60*'s by Thursday.
Hope this helps.
I totally agree with this. Not only is SC the best place in the US to retire, but Columbia has one the best and most accessible medical centers in the country. A far cry from what one gets in many other "retirement" destinations. Charleston is a fantastic vacation destination to attract family to come to visit. If I could relocate it would be as you stated.
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