Our new big FIRE adventure

[Options]

Congratulations on getting out of the bay area (small initial caps used intentionally), a real armpit of a place to live (I grew up there). Southern California, where I'll be leaving from soon, is no better, more like the crotch of CA.

I like your LBYM/KISS/Plan 2 Light option. Having just completed a remodel, I'm thankful I had the good sense to not go overboard. It's resulted in a lot more satisfaction with the end result.

 

[Huston55]

If money is no issue, then go with #3. You're obviously leaning that way. It's going to be a major hassle and very expensive, but might be kind of fun as well.



If it was me, I'd move back in and take it off the market for a while. Consult with your realtor about minimal cosmetic improvements to get a reasonable, middle-of-the-road price. While this is happening, search for a smaller house in the same area that you can update to your liking. Just take your time and find a house with good bones in a great location. You'll get the same result as #3 for a lot less money and hassle. You might find a location you like even better. Just be patient and be prepared to look at a lot of houses.

+1

Almost any of your options will have you moving at least twice and/or living in a construction zone; not desirable. I'd try to do your #2 light before you move to AL.


You may be whatever you resolve to be.

 

[FIREd]

I don't want to live in a construction zone. And it would drive our cats crazy. But I am OK with living in temporary housing during construction. There is a nice apartment complex down the street from the house and since we already live in a small apartment now it would be a pretty straightforward move to temporary housing. We'd probably live out of boxes for a while and then we could just move down the street when the work is done.

It would be awesome if the house could be ready on day one, but I want to be there to supervise the work. And I don't want to fly back and forth to make it happen, as I want to enjoy the rest of my time here.

 

[W2R]

Is there any advantage to making your decision before you move? Maybe once you are back in the house and have recovered from the move, it would become apparent which is the best choice.

 

[FIREd]

I want the work done before we move back into the house. Once the house is full of stuff, it's going to make everything more difficult. And I would prefer not to live in a construction zone.

Right now the plan is to keep the house on the market. If it sells, we try to buy a smaller house in move-in ready condition when the times comes. If it does not sell, we move to temporary housing and then decide whether to go with plan 2 or 3 on the existing house.

We do not need to decide before the move, but I want to use the next year to considers the pros and cons of each option so that we can quickly make a decision and hit the ground running after the move.

 

[Souschef]

We just had a Solatube installed in one room which due to zero lot line restrictions had no windows. It is amazing how much natural light the Solatube adds.

good idea! we have skylights in the master bath and kitchen and they do add lots of light.
We have been living in our home for 7 years, and have been upgrading it little by little. So far:
Replaced the crappy 2 x 6 decking with composition decking
added plantation shutters
replaced tile counters with granite and new faucet
refaced cabinets and had new drawers made
replaced all doorknobs
painted interior new colors
replaced stove, microwave, dishwasher and fridge with upgraded appliances
just had the exterior painted
(Whew)

 

[beanctr88]

Is this place in Huntsville or the Birmingham area (Mountainbrook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills possibly)? Love those areas and Florence area too. Boy I could go for a steak at Dale's right now.

My wife and I have fond memories of our time in Alabama in the early 90's as a very young couple. I wouldn't mind retiring to any of those areas some day. However, if we got that close the little Mississippi girl would want to be back in Oxford, MS.


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[Sunset]

We were pretty happy in the house before moving to CA. I thought that it was a nice house at the time and I was pretty proud of it.

.....

But the original plan always called for the house to be renovated upon our return from California, using the rents collected while we were away. Honestly, new floorings and a fresh coat of paint would go a pretty long way to make the house look pretty nice again. The kitchen and bathrooms are 40 years old but they are functional and have been "refreshed" once already.

I understand your emotions, but suggest you move into it before embarking on huge expensive changes as life changes a lot.

I also have a house I left and rented as I loved the location and the house.
Now after a decade, I go back and realized I've changed and my life has changed. And the neighborhood has changed a lot.

My lovely old house no longer fits me.
So I'll sell it instead of moving back into it.

 

[Huston55]

Now after a decade, I go back and realized I've changed and my life has changed. And the neighborhood has changed a lot.

Tru Dat!

Same thing happened to DW & I. After living on the Florida east coast in our 30s, it remained at the top of our retirement locations list...until we (in our 50s) visited FL (2 decades later) on a confirmatory vacation, and it just didn't fit.

You sound very sure about AL; maybe you've visited lots in the past 5+ yrs. But, if you're not completely sure, perhaps you should wait until you move (as W2R suggests), and live in temp housing a bit to confirm while planning, then 'manage' the renovation, which sounds like you'd enjoy doing as a post-retirement project.

 

[FUEGO]

Wow, tearing down the house and rebuilding would be pretty expensive. Could you just keep slashing the price to get a buyer? Rent it out and sell it to an investor as a positive cash flow property assuming it pencils out (this worked for me in Chapel Hill NC during the pre-2007 boom)?

Then find a real tear down somewhere in town or a vacant lot (yeah, probably hard to come by a good one...). Much more cost efficient than option #2 or 3.

I would caution that #2-3 would likely be very expensive and might be long term for 6-8 years but your desires might change at some point in the future. You likely wouldn't get back much of your money from options #2-3.

From a cost standpoint, I would encourage option 1, with the possibility of buying a fixer upper and contracting out the upgrades. You get closer to what you want, assuming you want a smaller space (I definitely would with just the 2 of us and no kids!).

 

[W2R]

Wow, tearing down the house and rebuilding would be pretty expensive. Could you just keep slashing the price to get a buyer? Rent it out and sell it to an investor as a positive cash flow property assuming it pencils out (this worked for me in Chapel Hill NC during the pre-2007 boom)?

Then find a real tear down somewhere in town or a vacant lot (yeah, probably hard to come by a good one...). Much more cost efficient than option #2 or 3.

I would caution that #2-3 would likely be very expensive and might be long term for 6-8 years but your desires might change at some point in the future. You likely wouldn't get back much of your money from options #2-3.

From a cost standpoint, I would encourage option 1, with the possibility of buying a fixer upper and contracting out the upgrades. You get closer to what you want, assuming you want a smaller space (I definitely would with just the 2 of us and no kids!).

I think Fuego has a good point. Plans 2 or 3 could become a financial trainwreck if you ever change your mind and decide to move to Europe, for example.

Maybe in the springtime you could plant a few annuals for curb appeal, lower the price, get it professionally cleaned, get a new realtor, or whatever, and sell more easily than previously.

 

[FIREd]

Our decision to return to AL has been made after carefully reviewing many other possible retirement locations (including in Europe). We feel comfortable assuming that we will remain there for the long haul.

There is no doubt that option 1 is better from a financial perspective and that's why we are still trying to sell the current house. But let's also establish that the local real estate market is very cheap. The value of our current house amounts almost to a rounding error as far as our our net worth is concerned.

Now, I understand that we should not go crazy and spend half a million dollar on this project - because you can get a beautiful 5,000 sqft house with views of the valley for less than that! And there is no way I would want to spend a lot of money in such an illiquid real estate market.

So let's keep that in mind before assuming that we are heading towards a financial disaster with plan 2 or 3. Surely a couple of multimillionaires can afford to build a brand new 1,500 sqft house in Alabama without heading for bankruptcy.

 

[REWahoo]

Surely a couple of multimillionaires can afford to build a brand new 1,500 sqft house in Alabama without heading for bankruptcy.

Depends on the builder and the number of change orders.

 

[FIREd]

Depends on the builder and the number of change orders.

Well maybe we should just rent then. Plan 4? or is that 5?

 

[ivinsfan]

I don't think anyone implied you were going to go broke over it.

Projects like this take money, time and aggravation, only you can decide your tolerance for all 3. Most posters here would get queasy at the idea of tearing down a usable house. You did ask us what we thought.......LOL

 

[Meadbh]

If you can't sell the house and decide to rebuild, could you put an RV on the property and live in it during the build?

 

[FIREd]

If you can't sell the house and decide to rebuild, could you put an RV on the property and live in it during the build?

The lot is too small for that, I think.

 

[Sarah in SC]

Oooh, what fun! A big project to come "home" to after your big city adventure!

I like the idea of renovating it to be more to your current needs (putting aside old age/mobility stuff for now) and staying in it. The location sounds perfect, to me.

Most important consideration...what will the kitties like best?

 

[FIREd]

The kitties love to sunbathe, so lots of natural light is important. Otherwise, they are pretty easy to please.

 

[Alan]

Good luck on your move and new adventure. When we moved to Scotland in 1985 we built from scratch while living in a rental house close by and it was fun watching the house being built over a 6 month period. (the bad memories of any stress during that transition period with kids aged 2 and 4 have long since faded).

In 1992 we bought a 20 year old big house, by auction through a foreclosure sale, in Baton Rouge that needed lots of renovation. More hassle than our buying new experience but we loved the end product and enjoyed living there for 11 years before selling up and moving to Texas. Even though it had new kitchen, new bathroom, wood floors etc, because it was so big it took over 6 months to sell.

We will probably be buying a house in the UK within the next couple of years and have decided that we don't want to buy a house that needs a lot renovation, these days we just don't want the aggravation of living with construction work for weeks or months at a time.

The only advice I would offer is that whatever you decide to do, don't look back and wish you'd done something else, because all options are going to come with a certain level of pain.

 

[Al in Ohio]

I do not recommend option 3. It will deplete too much of your nest egg and test your nerves. I'm biased and in the design and construction field. Option 2 is worth exploring and there are plenty of sub options to going that route. You may want to enlist the ideas of a talented architect. It's amazing how an older house can be modernized very cleverly. And yes, consider moving or adding on a master bedroom suite to the first floor. Open up your best views to the outside with expansive Windows Etc.


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[FIREd]

Update: I had the chance to go back to the house and the neighborhood over the holidays.

The area has changed a lot since my last visit, for the better! It's become a bit posher with lots of new luxury apartments and neighborhoods going up all around. There is a new project under construction that will bring a "mini downtown" within walking distance to the house - with shops, restaurants, and entertainment. There is also a new grocery store within walking distance. Some houses in the old neighborhood have been demolished to make way for larger, newer houses. So I feel confident that the area is moving in the right direction.

We looked at smaller, 3-bedroom, 2-bath houses in the area but they are either old and un-renovated, or brand new and luxurious. The latter are marketed to retirees. They are very appealing but the asking price is ridiculous (several times what we could get by selling our larger house).

After touring our existing house, we realized that it can be turned into something nice and we will likely renovate it. The extent of the renovation will be dictated by the amount of money we have set aside for the project by the time we move next year.

Instead of making big structural modifications, I think that we will use tricks popular in Northern Europe in order to maximize the natural light inside the house. Pushing the tree line further away from the house will help too. We might also use reflective landscape elements (like a light-colored fence) to indirectly bring more light inside the house.

 

[W2R]

Sounds great, FIREd! How terrific that the neighborhood is becoming so much nicer. It sounds like a wonderful place to retire.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the update, sounds like it's all good

 

[REWahoo]

Update: I had the chance to go back to the house and the neighborhood over the holidays.

The area has changed a lot since my last visit, for the better!

Great news! Way too often the opposite occurs.

Are you going to get a couple of pros in there to come up with renovation ideas? Sounds like you've identified some things you want done, but an outside look or two might come up with options/suggestions you never considered.