Retirees Spend a Lot of Time and Money to Buy Their Forever Home. Then They Sell It. (marriage, friends)
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I concur that the typical wood frame house in America is inadequate to deal with natural disasters.]
Our house is a single story constructed of concrete block, not wood frame. The overwhelming majority of homes in this area are CB and few are wood frame because of hurricanes and termites. Homes that are two story are typically CB on the first floor and wood frame on the second to keep costs down.
The only new wood frame house currently under construction is in a nearby neighborhood by a northern transplant and wood frame condos are being built by a national developer; examples of ignorance (or stubbornness) and greed.
The homes in your links would likely be the last ones standing after a disaster, but beyond most budgets.
To Rick Brown and Jeanne Brown, finding a forever home has seemingly taken forever.
In just five years, the couple—he’s 71 and she’s 72—bought or built two different houses that they planned to live in for the rest of their lives. But their tastes changed—so they decided to pick up stakes both times. Now they have settled on a third home that seems to be their final choice.
If there is one takeaway, Mr. Brown says, never use the words “forever home.”
Sometimes, even with the best-laid plans things don't work out so well.
The Browns second "forever home", Asheville NC, didn't work out because they couldn't break into the social scene. So they sold their Asheville house and moved to...(drumroll, please)...The Villages!
LOL. Couldn't break into the social scene
I did my MFA in Asheville. My kind of place.
Yes, there is no forever home, stuff happens, and circumstances change. I thought we are doing well to stay here for 27 years, after only 7 years in the first house, 8 in the second. We have loved it here and would stay but no longer need 3,000 sf and 5 bedrooms plus a bonus room. We'll sell and move on in about a year or two. My parents thought they had their last home, but after becoming a widow my Mom at 88 couldn't handle the place by herself, so she's now in a senior apartment.
We love where we are now. We both like the space and it is nice when we have overnight guests, the kids visit. This aspect may get less and less important but we don't feel it is too big yet. Who knows, we may feel different in a year or two but I cannot imagine what that would be.
Moving from the Upstate on a gigantic lake of 50,000 acres and almost 1,000 miles of shoreline to small man made lakes with largemouth bass in the lowcountry. Larger lakes are nearby.
Yes, there are gators in our new location but I see kayakers out on the lakes whenever we go there. We used to camp in bear country all the time in California and had some close calls there at times. Don't know which would be worse, getting bitten by a gator or a bear. I think I'll pass on both.
As for swimming, the 55+ community we're moving to has three great pools, one outdoor, one indoor, and one for kids only. All have that gradual walk in entrance like walking into the ocean from the beach. There's tennis, pickleball, boceeball and walking trails. There's also a large and impressive gym.
Well that sounds like you'll be closer to the ocean, where I don't mind swimming with the sharks Just don't want anything to do with those gators... except viewing them from the seat of a golf cart while exploring one of the islands when visiting down in the Beaufort area! Let me know how the kayaking goes with the gators!
Hope you enjoy your new home!
I don't see why any retiree would buy a gigantic sized house for retirement, maybe a former President or some other important official who would need to entertain, but for most people, you need something smaller.
I like the small 1950s ranches that are mostly being torn down these days. They're just right for a retired couple except maybe the yards can be too big. They usually have three bedrooms so there's extra space for relatives who come to visit, the kitchens are okay and -wow-they actually have a window! You can update the kitchen if you want to though. The bathrooms are good in most cases and, again, they have a window! Everything is on one level and you could install a stacking washer and dryer, maybe inside a closet.
Capes are good too because they usually have a bedroom downstairs plus a tv room/office/extra bedroom. Good living room and kitchen. And they have two bedrooms upstairs that you don't have to use but they are great for guests. Stairs get to be a real drag and a danger as you get older so I don't understand the people who buy huge houses with staircases. It won't be that long before they have to purchase an expensive and slow stairlift.
I love those houses. Sadly everyone of them in our town that gets sold is getting torn down for a McMansion.
Buying a large two story home in retirement can have it's advantages, especially when it comes to family and company. Regarding having a larger house and socializing with the neighbors, many of the larger homes built the past 20 or so years are on relatively small lots, if in a heavily populated area.
Regarding the stairs and aging, a stair lift can always be installed if/when necessary. They can be removed by any subsequent buyer, so they aren't really ruining the house for the inevitable resale.
It just comes down to what you want and can afford, and the area around you. We bought a rather large home for retirement, 3500 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, 3 car garage but on only a 8500 square foot lot. We have been in the home over a decade and don't find it to be too big, and the space has allowed us to do some things like create a full a home gym, with a decent sized weight lifting machine plus treadmill, exercise bike and rowing machine. We also had space for a very large TV screen so we created a small home theater too.
Meeting and socializing with the neighbors has been easy, since we have so many close by due to the smaller lot sizes.
I have never had a dream house. The best approximation would be warehouse of at least 5000 square feet. Some of the space would be for more or less traditional living. Most of it would be art studio printing, framing and workshop space. A narrow 20 yard indoor archery range would also be nice.
My wife was not enthused although she has taken over a chunk of our existing house for her studio.
Eight people — 3 couples and 2 singles —in our Hiking Club here in the Las Vegas valley have all decided to sell their homes in our 55+ community and buy places in the Knoxville, TN greater area. They have been very active in our community but real estate prices are more favorable there and the excited re-sale market has brought each a tidy profit, they are concerned about future water shortage in this area, they like the small town feel of the Telco Village/Maryville area, they like proximity to the Smokey Mountains, and they look forward to seeing green (vs. our desert environment). In addition, they feel our area has just gotten too congested.
I’ve been sad about them leaving….it started last year and over the course of the past 14 months each has decided to move. But, I also understand that life should be an adventure and they are all ready for the next thing. It happens. How fun that they will have built-in friends to hike with!
I ride many bullet trains in Japan. So the analogy of people getting on, sitting nearby, and getting off to what happens in general course of life is something I accept now. The temporary nature of life.
True....why buy all those places when they can be easily "rented" and with much more flexibility and no upkeep? It's a bit like those who want to buy a pickup so they can handle that once a year event of moving a big piece of furniture! Uhm....rent a pickup or uhaul for a day instead!
But people seem to feel more self sufficient or somehow more in control or "smarter" if they own stuff outright. They've been programmed to believe you're losing money if you "rent" even if you barely use the thing. Well, it's hard having all your money tied up and things don't ALWAYS appreciate to the degree you need them to. Usually when you get older you don't want to be "owned" by all your posssessions, right?
Exactly! I have personally debated getting a beach or mountain place, but then there is the "pressure" to go and use it or the hassle of renting it out.
I'd love to do extended travel in retirement and stay at Airbnbs, mix it up and try different places.
Our house is a single story constructed of concrete block, not wood frame. The overwhelming majority of homes in this area are CB and few are wood frame because of hurricanes and termites. Homes that are two story are typically CB on the first floor and wood frame on the second to keep costs down.
The only new wood frame house currently under construction is in a nearby neighborhood by a northern transplant and wood frame condos are being built by a national developer; examples of ignorance (or stubbornness) and greed.
The homes in your links would likely be the last ones standing after a disaster, but beyond most budgets.
I agree that American house construction prices are ridiculous. One rule of thumb : 1/3 for materials, 1/3 for labor, and 1/3 to the contractor / architect / government / banker / speculator.
IN essence, if you could build your own home, the cost would be at least 1/3 or less (depending on market).
(Back in the 1970s, "The Owner Built Home" was a popular book https://www.amazon.com/Owner-Built-H.../dp/1626545464)
In many jurisdictions, if you don't tap into a utility, a DIY house is not limited by codes and zoning. (Look up the legal distinction between "private property" and "real estate" - they're mutually exclusive)
. . . .
CONCRETE is generally one of the cheapest, strongest, and durable building materials. The trick is to get it to cure in the shape of the house. (Not an easy task - even Thomas Edison's attempt flopped.)
Consider a simple cubical house 32' x 32' x 32' (3 stories)
3 slabs and a roof deck : 32' x 32' x 0.3" (4 inch thick)
4 walls : 32' x 32' x 0.3" (4 inch thick surrounding foam insulation)
Total cubic yards of concrete = 12.52
Concrete: $130.00 per cu yd
Total = = = $13,016.18
Floorspace : 3072 sq ft Cost per sq ft = $4.24
That's just the shell, of course. Interior walls, plumbing, wiring, etc, will probably double that.
Let's be super cautious and triple it to $12 per enclosed sq. ft.
NOW, consider the current marketplace - - -
Figuring costs by square footage, new construction can vary between $100 and $200 a square foot. Customized and luxury homes will cost even more—usually between $200 and $500 per square foot.
Anecdote :
Back in the late 1970s, I visited a family that had an owner built home. The husband, wife, and wife's father (wheelchair bound), built their home over 3 months. Cost them $11,000. (Most went for the excavation and poured concrete basement). It was a typical "Hippie" Clerestory, with a half loft / master bedroom upstairs. Big sunroom / solar collector on the southside. At ground level, was the kitchen, dining, family room, music rehearsal room / guest room, and bedroom.
The clerestory overhang was designed to shade in the summer (high angle sun), but let in the winter sunlight (low angle).
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