Too much house! Did you plan appropriately going into retirement?
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Many people move because they retire and can't afford the ownership costs of the house they're living in. Other than California, the property taxes in the leafy suburbs of the high cost of living areas with all the jobs are enormous and keep going up as the home appreciates. I used to own one of those. It would today have a $20,000 property tax plus all the ownership costs of a large house on a big lot.
My definition of "perfect" house changed. At age 58, "perfect" means I'll be able to afford to own it when I'm retired. $5,000 to $6,000 in ownership costs. Not $30,000+.
That's one reason to love Colorado. My annual property tax is just $1800. We get a credit at age 65 if you lived in the house for 10 years.
My wife and I live in a 2,000 sq foot living area house in excellent condition and paid for that is near food stores, drug stores, doctors and hospitals and the mall - all within 3 miles of our house. We have been living in this house for 38 years. We would rather have a smaller house with 1,600 to 1,700 sq feet of living area. However, buying an older house and taking a chance that the house has hidden problems does not appeal to us. We know what we have. Buying a fairly new smaller house would cost us about $50,000 more than we could sell our house for and would not be as well built as our house. Doesn't make sense does it? We are in our 70's and would not want to finance a house.
We upsized when we retired and went from a 1600 sq ft to a 2300 sq foot. But the reality is that in the winter we close off about 800 sq ft and don't heat it.
My wife and I live in a 2,000 sq foot living area house in excellent condition and paid for that is near food stores, drug stores, doctors and hospitals and the mall - all within 3 miles of our house. We have been living in this house for 38 years. We would rather have a smaller house with 1,600 to 1,700 sq feet of living area. However, buying an older house and taking a chance that the house has hidden problems does not appeal to us. We know what we have. Buying a fairly new smaller house would cost us about $50,000 more than we could sell our house for and would not be as well built as our house. Doesn't make sense does it? We are in our 70's and would not want to finance a house.
Yes, similar situation here. We are in our 60s and have been in our house for 35+ years, which we are happy in. We are close to all the necessary services - medical, hospital, banks, favorite groceries, etc. Our question would be where to go that is "better".
We can live downstairs and close off the upstairs for heat until company comes (can't close off AC in my climate). Plus moving is a huge, stressful and expensive endeavor.
Our first retirement move was from 1600sq ft, 2 floors ($450K) to 2500sq ft, one level ($210K) new build. Our next/last move was to a 1500sq ft, one level ($130K) new build. We also chose this home as the HOA does all outside (landscaping and home shell) maintenance so a very care free life style.
We upsized when we retired and went from a 1600 sq ft to a 2300 sq foot. But the reality is that in the winter we close off about 800 sq ft and don't heat it.
So a wash. We are for certain selling this 2400sf house and banking the proceeds. In the future our plan is to buy a condo or something. We are just entering retirement. I am retired and the wife is due to follow in a year or so. That is when we do a lot of travel and use an apartment in Incheon South Korea near the airport to travel the world.
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Doesn't make sense does it? We are in our 70's and would not want to finance a house.
