Who will do for you, when you no longer can (social security, long distance)
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Talk to a realtor about trying to do a "Short Sale". Look for a realtor online who has that experience. I am surprised the realtor you're using did not suggest that but rather just kept lowering the price.
Here is one link about Short Sales but you can Google many more.
Interested?? We are asking $384K for 2600sf house,3 bed/ 1 1/2 bath, formal foyer, parlor, L/R, large country kitchen and large formal D/R, new appliances (3yrs old), jetted tub, stall shower, wood cookstove in kitchen, woodstove in L/R, wrap around covered porch, wood storage room off kitchen, new doors this yr, new roof 2013, new thermal windows, fruit trees and berry bushes, 2 staircases, new patio door in kitchen that opens to a cover patio (that's fenced for dogs) electric dog fence, basement, and "standup" attic for storage.
2- large barn with double level hay loft, small cow area, general barn area, and horse area with 2 box stalls, and 8 straight stalls with water and electric, milking parlor that we use as a hen house
3- open machinery barn,
4- small barn with open "car port", and attached machinery area
5- large Garage with run in for horses, storage, tack room and workshop, with electric
6.- 1 car garage,
7- a run in for horses/animals,
8-small smoke house
9-corn crib
10- grain house
11- pond
12- 2 springs (one is housed)
In the seven years I have been on City-Data, that is one of the most amazing, incredible posts I have read, provided you didn't make a typo. Are you saying $384,000? While I have no idea what a "run-in" is, I would think your property would easily fetch several million dollars.
Again, provided you didn't make a typo, land itself must be worth absolutely nothing in the area where you live. What a terrible shame for you, and what a fabulous opportunity for any potential buyer. One would think that the house alone, even if on a small lot, would bring fairly close to your asking price. The only draw-back I see to it is the small number of bathrooms (one and a half) in relation to the size of the house. That is a disadvantage when having overnight guests. In my small two-bedroom plus loft townhouse (1400 square feet), I have two and a half bathrooms.
I feel terribly sorry for you in your difficult dilemma. Since the market value of most things comes down to supply and demand, am I correct to assume that very, very few people these days are interested in rural living? Perhaps many retirees who would love rural living feel, as you do, that such a place would be too much work to keep up with? Perhaps young families with children do not see a way to make an adequate income off the property itself and good jobs are too far away?
Wow, just wow! I have returned to your post three times to double check the asking price you wrote, not really believing my own eyes. (Is it a typo?) If I were interested in rural living and having some animals, which I am not, and if I were interested in living sort of isolated, which I am not, I would fly out there and rent a car with a cashier's check for $384,000 in hand to snap up the bargain of the century. (Actually, Medicare is the bargain of the century, but I trust readers will forgive my bit of hyperbole).
In the seven years I have been on City-Data, that is one of the most amazing, incredible posts I have read, provided you didn't make a typo. Are you saying $384,000? While I have no idea what a "run-in" is, I would think your property would easily fetch several million dollars.
Again, provided you didn't make a typo, land itself must be worth absolutely nothing in the area where you live. What a terrible shame for you, and what a fabulous opportunity for any potential buyer. One would think that the house alone, even if on a small lot, would bring fairly close to your asking price. The only draw-back I see to it is the small number of bathrooms (one and a half) in relation to the size of the house. That is a disadvantage when having overnight guests. In my small two-bedroom plus loft townhouse (1400 square feet), I have two and a half bathrooms.
I feel terribly sorry for you in your difficult dilemma. Since the market value of most things comes down to supply and demand, am I correct to assume that very, very few people these days are interested in rural living? Perhaps many retirees who would love rural living feel, as you do, that such a place would be too much work to keep up with? Perhaps young families with children do not see a way to make an adequate income off the property itself and good jobs are too far away?
Wow, just wow! I have returned to your post three times to double check the asking price you wrote, not really believing my own eyes. (Is it a typo?) If I were interested in rural living and having some animals, which I am not, and if I were interested in living sort of isolated, which I am not, I would fly out there and rent a car with a cashier's check for $384,000 in hand to snap up the bargain of the century. (Actually, Medicare is the bargain of the century, but I trust readers will forgive my bit of hyperbole).
She is in a remote location in New York state. Many people are fleeing there due to the government.
She is in a remote location in New York state. Many people are fleeing there due to the government.
Which government? Federal? State? If state, which state? What is the government doing to cause people to flee? High taxes would be my first guess. California is tax crazy, I know. Absolutely insane.
Which government? Federal? State? If state, which state? What is the government doing to cause people to flee? High taxes would be my first guess. California is tax crazy, I know. Absolutely insane.
Probably a lack of job opportunities. Contrary to popular belief, upstate New York has a low cost of housing.
Upstate NY (Central and Western NY) has quite low housing costs and relatively high taxes.
You can get a 4bed/2 bath two story home (around 2,000 sq. ft.) for 190-210k. Taxes around 7-8k depending on whether you have a pool, etc. Many were built in the 70s.
New build smaller homes, with more luxurious fixtures, can be around 1,700 sq. ft. and have taxes around $8k or more.
Three bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths can be in the mid-100k range. Taxes a few thousand less, at least until age 65 when there is a break.
Of course, larger homes have higher taxes.
These would be in suburban neighborhoods with good size yards. What you save in mortgage costs, you pay in taxes. Many suburban schools are excellent so some families consider it worth it. However, there has been population loss due to lack of jobs.
I lived there and can only speak from my experience with buying and selling my homes in the area.
Have you considered renting the house and getting some income that way then move near where hubs works and live in an apartment? Also, get an affordable life insurance policy and do some cremation/burial planning with a local funeral home. People often just make the funeral home the owner or beneficiery of the policy and it covers the arrangements. Funeral homes do pre-arrangement planning for these things all the time. See what they advise too.
Also, I know of people using a trusted family attorney to manage all the decedent's personal and financial affairs post-mortem. Not just wills.Why not go ahead and draw that SS now too and get that income in the mix?
I am in agreement if you sell use an attorney or do it yourself and draw up a contract and skip the realtor. Why should they get your money?
Lots of other good advice here and I am the least of it, but my SO and I are looking into this kind of stuff too.
Best case we will go out together because there is no one to ''clean up after us'' either.
We'd lie here until the landlord came calling for the rent or the stench or dogs crying led someone to bust the door open.
Oh, the joys of it all, too many to ponder! I try to not obcess on it all, but do need to do some planning too. Will check into that Neptune thingie too...
I like this suggestion---to make the funeral home the life insurance beneficiary. We are not exactly "estranged" from our kids, but we don't have the greatest relationship right now. They are 19 & 20. If something were to happen to us and they were presented with a life insurance check for 10K or so, they wouldn't spend it on burying us It would be more like oh, let's spend this windfall!
I'd like to address the issue of cremation. Instead of utilizing a funeral home, deal directly with a mortuary. My MIL passed away about 3 years ago. money was tight, and she wasn't religious, so a service wasn't necessary. She'd often said she wished to be cremated with as little fuss as possible. We found a mortuary that picked up the body from the hospital, did the cremation, and returned the ashes to us in a really nice wood box, all for under $1000! Compare that to a full funeral, which can run 10K or more! We had a little gathering of family and friends at her house later, with some refreshments and potluck, just for closure. Funeral homes also perform cremations, but charge a lot more!
DH and I are going to buy cremation niches soon, just to ensure our ashes have a "home" Our kids wouldn't know where to begin. The price of the niches only goes up, too. I'm shopping through Craig's List, Ebay, etc. Many niches are re-sold on the secondary market if the owners make other plans. Also, don't forget the good old fashioned newspaper ads!
I don't understand this 'giving the ashes a home'. If you're dead, what difference does it make? just asking because I do not know. And if one's children do not want the ashes, why put them in a special place? Sorry if this sounds crass to those who differ in opinion about this.
My brother's ashes are sitting under my desk. They are in the plastic bag and USPS box in which the crematory sent them to me. Since my brother is dead, I'm certain he does not care where his ashes are. I do not find this disrespectful. I do not believe in burying ashes in a cemetery nor buying a place for them. I guess it's just a difference in beliefs.
My parents had their ashes buried in cemetary plots, mostly because my mother's parents had purchased 4 plots, and gave two plots to my parents. No one visits these plots however. They are in a home town which we three children moved far away from. So if no one visits these plots, the significance seems very much lessened. (No need for the genealogy enthusiasts to pipe up.)
Last edited by matisse12; 03-20-2017 at 04:27 AM..
I like this suggestion---to make the funeral home the life insurance beneficiary. We are not exactly "estranged" from our kids, but we don't have the greatest relationship right now. They are 19 & 20. If something were to happen to us and they were presented with a life insurance check for 10K or so, they wouldn't spend it on burying us It would be more like oh, let's spend this windfall!
I'd like to address the issue of cremation. Instead of utilizing a funeral home, deal directly with a mortuary. My MIL passed away about 3 years ago. money was tight, and she wasn't religious, so a service wasn't necessary. She'd often said she wished to be cremated with as little fuss as possible. We found a mortuary that picked up the body from the hospital, did the cremation, and returned the ashes to us in a really nice wood box, all for under $1000! Compare that to a full funeral, which can run 10K or more! We had a little gathering of family and friends at her house later, with some refreshments and potluck, just for closure. Funeral homes also perform cremations, but charge a lot more!
DH and I are going to buy cremation niches soon, just to ensure our ashes have a "home" Our kids wouldn't know where to begin. The price of the niches only goes up, too. I'm shopping through Craig's List, Ebay, etc. Many niches are re-sold on the secondary market if the owners make other plans. Also, don't forget the good old fashioned newspaper ads!
Don't forget VA national cemeteries if applicable they have Niches for Veteran's and spouses. If you had Honorable discharge.
I don't understand this 'giving the ashes a home'. If you're dead, what difference does it make? just asking because I do not know. And if one's children do not want the ashes, why put them in a special place? Sorry if this sounds crass to those who differ in opinion about this.
My brother's ashes are sitting under my desk. They are in the plastic bag and USPS box in which the crematory sent them to me. Since my brother is dead, I'm certain he does not care where his ashes are. I do not find this disrespectful. I do not believe in burying ashes in a cemetery nor buying a place for them. I guess it's just a difference in beliefs.
My parents had their ashes buried in cemetary plots, mostly because my mother's parents had purchased 4 plots, and gave two plots to my parents. No one visits these plots however. They are in a home town which we three children moved far away from. So if no one visits these plots, the significance seems very much lessened. (No need for the genealogy enthusiasts to pipe up.)
I don't get it either. Throw mine out to sea, give my body to science, whatever.
My parents' ashes are under a tree in their yard. Now sold to someone else....
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It would be more like oh, let's spend this windfall!
We had a little gathering of family and friends at her house later, with some refreshments and potluck, just for closure. Funeral homes also perform cremations, but charge a lot more!
