Moving laterally in retirement

[Bamaman]

I bought DH a tool that looks like a hair dryer on an extension pole from Amazon and it works great. Now he can clean the gutters himself and I guess worst case bonk himself with a dropped hair dryer sized blower, instead of falling from a ladder.

My house had 200' of gutters, most of which were 20' off the ground. I took a dive off a 30' ladder after cleaning the pine needles out.

My right ankle is held together with plates and screws. My tibial plateau fracture under my left knee was even more serious. After 7 weeks in bed, I was mostly healed. But I'll never be 100% again.

I finally removed all the gutters from the house so no gutter cleaning will ever be required.

 

[ivinsfan]

ouch, that sounds painful and maintnance items like this can influence someone to move or downsize. Things can be hired out, but it's finding someone you like for every chore, making sure they show you and paying them year after year.

We needed something done on our roof and I wanted to hire someone, but he's always done it himself. Of course he just wanted to do it instead of messing around looking for somebody to hire so he grabbed the ladder and up on the roof he went. It's done now, no harm done, but what about next time.

Everybody will face this situation as they age, with chores inside and outside of the house.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

My house had 200' of gutters, most of which were 20' off the ground. I took a dive off a 30' ladder after cleaning the pine needles out.

My right ankle is held together with plates and screws. My tibial plateau fracture under my left knee was even more serious. After 7 weeks in bed, I was mostly healed. But I'll never be 100% again.

I finally removed all the gutters from the house so no gutter cleaning will ever be required.

Sorry to hear about your fall. That sounds really painful. I'll remember your story and share it with DH if his blower-on-a-pole ever breaks and he is tempted to use the ladder again.

 

[eytonxav]

Well your pros seem to clearly outweigh your cons, so why hesitate? We downsized to a nearby gated community that includes yard maintenance. Time is money, and this move saved us a lot of time not spent on yard work and that allows for more retirement enjoyment.

 

[ElizabethT]

Don't condo association or whatever fees offset the outside maintenance savings?

Not at this point. We have noted the following run rate expenses, not related to maintenance:

Current Monthly Expenses
$155- HOA
$60- Gardener
$100- HO Insurance
$140- Earthquake Insurance
$100- Water/Trash Bill
$20- Gym membership (Condo HOA fees would include a gym)
$100- Electric Bill
$675 Total

New Monthly Expenses w/Condo
$485- HOA
$40- Condo Insurance
$40- Condo Earthquake Insurance
$50- Water Bill (Trash included, no more yard watering)
$80- Electric Bill (Smaller unit/cooler climate zone)
$695 Total

So, we would/should be able to see a significant run rate savings via the elimination, or redirect, of our current $10,000 maintenance accrual.

We are in a pretty rock solid financial position in that we are currently withdrawing under 2.5% annually, and still have SS, two small pensions and Medicare coming online in a few years. This is really more about letting go of the fear of change, then trying to see if the numbers make sense.

Edit: Simply putting up this post, and reading through the subsequent responses has been very, very helpful. I'm feeling much better (braver?) about moving this forward.

 

[Midpack]

You've done your homework very well. Given that, seems unlikely you could make a bad decision. Best of luck.

 

[brett]

We found that some of our wants and desires changed after selling our home, storing what was not downsized, and travelling for 7/8months. And they changed again after we returned home rented a condo. We still have not bought.

Primarily because there has been a down market where we live. After several years of renting and 35 plus years of owning we may continue to rent. Owning is not such a big deal to us as it used to be. If the right property comes along we may buy but we are much fussier buyers than we were three years ago. The buy vs rent financial numbers for us are still indicating rent. This aligns with our current lifestyle and travel habits.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

So, we would/should be able to see a significant run rate savings via the elimination, or redirect, of our current $10,000 maintenance accrual.

Isn't your $10K for both inside and outside the house? When I ran our numbers I reduced the maintenance budget but I didn't put it to zero as we would still have inside repairs / upgrades even in a townhouse or condo.

This may not matter to you, but we also added likely appreciation of each dwelling to our comparisons. We also added in the transaction costs of selling and moving.

 

[Souschef]

Isn't your $10K for both inside and outside the house? When I ran our numbers I reduced the maintenance budget but I didn't put it to zero as we would still have inside repairs / upgrades even in a townhouse or condo.

I agree-we have been living in a brand new home for 7 years. In that time we have upgraded the appliances, added plantation shutters, granite counter tops with new sink and faucet. We also refaced the cabinets and had all new drawers made.
The only maintenance item was replacement of the hot water heater.