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...what I would love to hear is your living situation and what you like or don't like about it. I need to downsize this spring from a large house & property and I cannot decide if I want a small house & yard or a townhouse.
Big advantage to a small house:
When you set something down, and five minutes later can't recollect where you put it, there are fewer places to run around and look for it. Less stress and hysteria.
Big advantage to a small house:
When you set something down, and five minutes later can't recollect where you put it, there are fewer places to run around and look for it. Less stress and hysteria.
I think you are on the right track with the small single story house with a yard. Before I got married I lived in a 1700 sqr ft ranch (3 bdrm, 2 bath, 2 car garage) with a normal fenced in yard for the dog. Loved it! I hired all the yard work out. Mowers were $20/week, gardeners were $20 per hour a couple of times per summer and house cleaners were $50 every other week. HOA fees for condos are very high where I live so I don't think I was paying any more than folks in townhomes with exterior maintenance done. In fact I'm pretty sure I was paying less. For "honey do" tasks I hired a local retired guy who was happy to do it. For snow shoveling my neighbor who had bought a very expensive snow blower took care of all our driveways in order to justify the cost of such a machine to his wife.
My husband and I now live in a 2900 sqr ft home on an acre. In our neighborhood about half the ladies who's husband's pass away stay and about half leave. Those who stay hire it all out just like I did when I was single. In fact many of the older retired couples hire it all out also.
I told my husband if we ever move I want to go smaller, something similar to my ranch home. We love the big yard for the dogs so would likely stay with that but I think smaller homes are better. Less rooms to have cleaned, less areas to decorate, less flooring to wear out and be replaced, less toilets to develop problems etc. I also don't want vaulted ceilings again. Changing light bulbs is a pain when you have to have a ladder to do it.
Do a little research about user friendly house design. Things like lever door knobs instead of round help whether you've injured your hand or have arthritis. Find a home where you can go in and out with no steps. This is useful if you have sprained your ankle and are on crutches or are using a walker. Make sure you have a walk in shower with area for a shower seat. This is nice whether you have broken a toe or are getting unsteady on your feet. Install low berber carpeting (easy to roll over) and vinyl flooring (comfortable under foot and things don't break as easily on it). They are also easy to clean. In each situation I made use of these user friendly features while in my 30s but they are great for aging in place.
I am working so hard to get my home ready for market..
April Fools Day is my target..Only a Fool would buy this money pitt.
Just kidding...
I have had a friend who is a landscaper working 2 solid days this week with large blowers ect and a helper and they
are only half way finished with leaves, and cleaning up the yard. That doesn't include weeds and pool care.
Can't wait to simplify !!
If considering housing under an HOA, remember that the more amenities the higher the HOA dues will be. Our HOA (120 stand alone patio homes) has no pool, no tennis court, no bike/walking paths, very little common area so our HOA dues are very reasonable at only $600.00 per year which includes all outside maintenance of home and grounds. Yes they could go up (have not for two years) as could anything in life.
Each home has a fenced in backyard (surrounded by a mandatory 6ft privacy fence) where the homeowner can pretty much do as they wish like plant a garden, install a dog pen, etc. Myself I have a screened porch and the ground is covered in pavers so nothing to grow/maintain. We buy seasonal plants and put them in decorative stone planters. Watering plants is our only garden chore........LOL
gypsychic, I like what you said! We are in a similar size house with a large yard. In fact, we bought the house for the fenced in yard for the dogs! The house is paid for, taxes $450/year. I have often thought that if I were alone, I would, at my husband's suggestion, live in a condo/townhouse so there would be little outside upkeep. But the thought of being connected to another unit scares me in case of a fire caused by someone else. And the lack of privacy speaks for itself.
I have been thinking lately that I would like to live near my daughter in western WA, but have been looking at the available houses and taxes there. Out of sight compared to what I am used to!
And living near family has caused me to rethink that idea, as my daughter asked me today what we were sending them for Christmas! I'm sorry, but that is just plain rude! She was bemoaning the fact that they only had a few hundred dollars to spend for presents for their two kids and that was not enough, hoping we would take up the "slack."
The 2,000 miles between us seems pretty good today
lol.....i keep offering to build a commune for my progeny on which we can all have our little cottages......i think they would appreciate the monetary donation/cash value vs the land grant.....sans the cottages and their mother...............oh well, back to the drawing board....yes, distance can surely make the heart grow fonder at times........
I am newly widowed too and still getting used to the idea.
We downsized from a big house in the country with property to a smaller home in the city of Las Vegas. My home is all on 1 floor with a pool/spa and desert landscaping. Yard work can be as simple as a couple gallons of roundup every spring. Or I can putter about all I want, my decision. I also have space for a garden that I leave covered up if I don't want to garden this year.
The pool is expensive to own but I use it a lot. I have a pool guy who comes out 4 times a year to clean the big filter. Other than that, I do it myself.
My house is urban and I wanted it that way. I can walk to almost anything I would ever need. And there's a bus stop close by too.
I have 2 dogs who function as my security system and are great pets as well. My neighbors also watch out for me and the house.
This was a good decision for me. I was so tired of trying to keep up with a huge house and yard. All the snow shoveling seemed to be endless and winters went on forever. My new lifestyle is much easier and more fun.
I am working so hard to get my home ready for market..
April Fools Day is my target..Only a Fool would buy this money pitt.
Just kidding...
I have had a friend who is a landscaper working 2 solid days this week with large blowers ect and a helper and they
are only half way finished with leaves, and cleaning up the yard. That doesn't include weeds and pool care.
Can't wait to simplify !!
I think I have a buyer for this house..we are working on a contract this week..It never had to go to market..
I have decided to look for a 2000 to 2500 sqft house with a small yard, community feel and downstairs master. We have a neighborhood here that butts up to a 400+ acre nature park. Living near that would be great.
Big advantage to a small house:
When you set something down, and five minutes later can't recollect where you put it, there are fewer places to run around and look for it. Less stress and hysteria.
This is the truth..I always make a few trips back in search of things when I go anywhere..I get my exercise looking for my computer charger, phone, glasses..
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, there are fewer places to run around and look for it. Less stress and hysteria.
I think you are on the right track
