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A "starter home" in New England is typically a one-floor, 5 room house with 3 brdms and one or more baths. The realtors advertise them as "perfect starter or downsizing home," hitting two demographic birds with one stone. And ones in decent neighborhoods that aren't "dogs" are hard to find. Most have huge lots or acreage and a ton of hedges and bushes to care for. If you go for the "city lot" size, you'll have neighbors you'll be cursing till the end of your days. Living in an age-restricted hood would probably be good but pesky kids are almost always part of the picture even there.
And they start at about $250,000. I know quite a few retirees who are still living in them but they have to pay someone to do the yardwork.
What's worse is that in some towns, new people moving in just buy one of those houses, tear it down, and put up a MacMansion. So it's about time somebody realized that retirees would like starter houses too. Starter houses without the large yard to go with it.
Something they built recently in our town is pocket neighborhoods. The developers were surprised that most of the buyers were retirees. But these are beautiful small homes with all the amenities. All have big front porches and no yard. There is a common area of greenery. One problem is that since they weren't built with retirees in mind, they are all two story homes. Another problem is that they have those HOAs that you read about on CD. Like a condo.
This is encouraging. We would be very content in a smaller home. Downsizing is our hope. But, what is concerning to us are the fees associated with so many communities. While they will increase, our income will not.
It will be interesting to see how this turns out. In about 10-15 years I can see myself and DH in an active adult community. We have looked at quite a few and sadly I hate the size of the houses. I would much rather have something under 1200 sq ft. I think Park Models would be a better option…homebuilders are typically much more expensive.
We have been looking at retirement homes and are also downsizing. Some of the homes we have looked at have only dining area. I like that.
I also like 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Realtors say they would be hard to sell but they seem like reasonable 'retirement homes' to me.
We have been looking at retirement homes and are also downsizing. Some of the homes we have looked at have only dining area. I like that.
I also like 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Realtors say they would be hard to sell but they seem like reasonable 'retirement homes' to me.
If they are reasonable to you (and nothing outlandish) they will be reasonable to a large number of others as well. For most people the issue will be storage, but if you can conquer that, 2 bdrms should be plenty. I would rather have two bedrooms and the equivalent of a "workshop/storage" room accessible from outside than to have a 3 bdrm.
If they are reasonable to you (and nothing outlandish) they will be reasonable to a large number of others as well. For most people the issue will be storage, but if you can conquer that, 2 bdrms should be plenty. I would rather have two bedrooms and the equivalent of a "workshop/storage" room accessible from outside than to have a 3 bdrm.
exactly. The hard part is to find a garage large enough. And often pantries are either not large enough or missing altogether.
We considered having one built and may yet.
And they start at about $250,000. I know quite a few retirees who are still living in them but they have to pay someone to do the yardwork.
What's worse is that in some towns, new people moving in just buy one of those houses, tear it down, and put up a MacMansion. So it's about time somebody realized that retirees would like starter houses too. Starter houses without the large yard to go with it.
Something they built recently in our town is pocket neighborhoods. The developers were surprised that most of the buyers were retirees. But these are beautiful small homes with all the amenities. All have big front porches and no yard. There is a common area of greenery. One problem is that since they weren't built with retirees in mind, they are all two story homes. Another problem is that they have those HOAs that you read about on CD. Like a condo.
Most areas require new neighborhoods to have a HOA so that the residents have the financial burden of landscaping, street repairs, etc. But if you live in a neighborhood that doesn't have a lot of amenities like a pool or park, the HOA dues can be fairly low, maybe $200/year.
Our very first home, bought 40 years ago, was a "starter home". It was the Cape Cod style, with an unfinished second floor that we used for storage. We lived downstairs -- myself, wife, and 2 little girls. There were 2 bedrooms, one bath, an eat-in kitchen, and a small living room. It was plenty for us, and it was cheap to keep, with low taxes, low maintenance, and low heating bills.
Everybody thought we should sell it, when we finally bought a bigger home about 15 years later. But I kept it. Why not? It was all paid for, in good shape, and was a great place for relatives and friends to stay, when visiting.
Now, I am really glad I did! You simply can't find a little place like that any more, for a reasonable price. We stay there ourselves now, when visiting our old home state of Rhode Island. I have also finished out the second floor, with 2 more bedrooms and a second full bath.
This home will soon be in trust for our 6 grandchildren, who are starting to enter a job market and economy that probably won't be as kind to them, as ours was to us. This small, unassuming home, would shelter all 6 of them, or two of them if they marry and start families.
That kind of security can't be bought today, at any reasonable price.
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I also like 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Realtors say they would be hard to sell but they seem like reasonable 'retirement homes' to me.
All real estate is local, of course, including trends such as the availability of and the demand for homes of a given size. But I don't understand why a two-bedroom, two-bath house would be hard to sell. Not everyone in the United States is well-to-do.
My townhouse complex has 26 units, 24 of which are two-bedroom-plus-loft, two and a half bathroom units with a two-car garage. There is no problem selling these, although they are slightly bigger than my personal concept of a starter home. But my personal concept may be skewed because until I was 14, we lived in a two-bedroom, one bath house with a single-car garage - two kids and two parents. That was fairly normal in the 1950's - we were not considered destitute. Waiting to use the bathroom was just part of life; if you don't know any better, you don't think much about it.
I try to get a handle on the size./layout we would be comfortable downsizing to and I think since we are coming from a large home with lots of rooms, realistically a 3 Bedroom would be preferred. a 2 bedroom could work, but 3 would be preferred.
In our area, there are not so many one level homes which is really what we want at this point. I do not mind stairs at all, but I feel that as we age, stairs are not your friend. Both dh and I are totally mobile and fine at this point but... I would be fine as long as the master bedroom and full bath are on the main level- so that we could totally function on one level at some point if need be. I dont mind having extra rooms or extra levels that we would enjoy now, as long as we could function on the main level (and also laundry room on first main level).
It the kitchen is a good size eat in, we really don't need the formal dining room. We force ourselves to use it now, and honestly only use it Thanksgiving. It's a totally unnecessary room for us.
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