Mother of all Moves

[Ronstar]

I don’t blame your wife for not leaving her behind. I would move into the condo too while looking. I would be brutal about getting rid of stuff in Illinois.

It is brutal getting rid of stuff in Illinois. I have exercise equipment on Craigs List that isn't getting any inquiries. I've tried to sell furniture before with no luck. But I got rid of an 18 year old car with 160000 miles in 2 days.

 

[Ronstar]

OP are you looking for a casita type arrangement for your MIL. I feel that arrangement is a lot more common in the West/SW....

I like the casita arrangement, but none of the homes we are looking at so far have have casitas.

 

[Ronstar]

Congratulations! I wondered if you were moving DW too : as I remembered your saying she was reluctant about it. Really nice for your MIL to be able to live with you in your new digs.

Thanks - DW was reluctant at first. Then I heard her telling friends that we were moving. She was worried that she wasn't going to have as nice a place in Az as in Illinois. I think visits to a few model homes showed her that living in Az could be ok.

 

[Ronstar]

How about this instead? It sounds so much easier to me, although I really don't have a handle on all the details like you probably do:

1. Major decluttering of IL stuff, 80% either tossed or donated. Put IL house on the market and sell. Then have movers move the other 20% of stuff that is left, to your AZ snowbird condo, using it as storage.

2. Say goodbye to IL. Go to AZ and live in a motel or extended stay place. Look for, find, and buy AZ house.

3. Have local movers (much cheaper!) move stuff from AZ condo to new AZ house. Sell AZ condo.

I like your idea. Our Az condo is 2 levels, but only the garage is at ground level. So I don't want to move anything into the condo living area. But stuffing the garage full of stuff is an option. And I suspect that the stuff we would move from Illinois would fit in a garage.

And I like the idea of looking for an Az place while living there. It's difficult finding an Az house while sitting in Illinois.

 

[ivinsfan]

I like your idea. Our Az condo is 2 levels, but only the garage is at ground level. So I don't want to move anything into the condo living area. But stuffing the garage full of stuff is an option. And I suspect that the stuff we would move from Illinois would fit in a garage.

And I like the idea of looking for an Az place while living there. It's difficult finding an Az house while sitting in Illinois.

That idea makes sense to me too. Because you don't want your house empty while you try to sell. You certainly don't want to pay for staging.

I'll throw out one more idea. Have you thought about a 12 month rental in AZ. Sell in IL move your limited amount of items to AZ into the rental house. Sell your AZ condo..have lots of money to pay for new house, no mortgage hassle.

You can even build new doing this because you have a 12 month window and get a casita , your DW can have exactly what she wants down to paint colors. It will probably cost more but the hassle factor with drop considerably.


It also seems that all cash buyers have leverage particularly when buying an existing home.

 

[socca]

I've moved many times, including internationally. It might be obvious, but a key strategy in my experience involves first sorting your stuff into two piles: (1) a small pile of critical, irreplaceable, highly valuable stuff (checkbooks, financial records, passports, personal electronics, etc.) and (2) a large pile of all of your other stuff.

During a move, I always kept the critical pile nearby at all times (a daypack filled with the critical stuff came in handy). Since you are moving three people, you might need more space for the critical stuff - 3 daypacks, perhaps?

There are so many distractions during a move that it's easy to take your eye off the ball. Having your critical stuff nearby at all times reduces the probability that this will happen.

Good luck!

 

[msanniee]

Sold my condo in SF Bay Area. Put everything I kept into storage and used that profits to buy a house in South Carolina. Used Airbnb part of the time, stayed with friends some of the time until my house was built.

Get rid of stuff. Donate, sell, or foster upon your friends. Don't move it. It was a nice feeling for me to have my new home streamlined. I rarely miss anything that I didn't hold on to for the move.

For me it was easier as it was just me. Good luck on your move. When you are in your forever home, you'll be happy and know the hassles were worth it.

 

[RHONDAVE]

Congratulations on getting Unstuck from Ill. I just got Unstuck from Nebraska also. The second time in 2.5 years and moving back to Goodyear, AZ for good, but leaving MIL here in Midwest. I recall a previous 'being stuck' discussion, do you? I placed an ad in Nextdoor.com in our old neighborhood in AZ and found some part time residents that will let me use their garage and even their furnished house and be just blocks away from our new home as its being built. I am getting real good at moving. Good Luck, See ya there!

 

[meleana]

Your situation is a lot better than ours will be. At least you will have something to move into before your Illinois house sells. To me- that is GOLDEN!


For us- we need the money from the sale of our only home in order to buy another in another state where the housing is more expensive and limited for what we want.Makes me sick just thinking about it. I really hate the idea of having to rent and put things in storage and waiting around hoping for a home we want (we prefer a 55+ active adult community in NH. Good luck with that I see).


Not to mention we probably won't have enough $$ from the proceeds of our home sale, meaning we will have to dip into our retirement accounts to put towards it.


I am starting to by lottery scratch offs.


Anyway, best of luck with everything!

 

[meleana]

We are right now in the middle of a 1200 mile move from Iowa to Florida. We purchased a home in February in Florida, then came back to Iowa to prepare for the move. As of this date we have a purchase agreement signed for the purchase of our house in Iowa, closing hopefully about mid May. We are moving only about 10%-15% of all our possessions. We are moving very little furniture as most of what we own is 20 years old and we want to purchase new in more of a Florida style. Over the last 35 days we have packed up everything ourselves that we plan to take. We contracted with Allied to come load us up next Monday April 22. We are also moving a classic car and have arranged with a car transporter to take it to Florida for us.

We sold a car and quite a few items on Craigslist, and the rest that we are not taking with us will be sold at auction at a cost of 20% of selling price. We did this b/4 when we cleaned out parent's house 5 years ago with very good result. We will be leaving Iowa the day after Allied picks up our possessions. We do not plan to return for either the auction or for closing on our house.

Only possible downside is if home buyer gets cold feet and backs out at last minute. We would then have to come back and get it listed with a realtor. The current sale was done without realtor and utilizing our attorney. Much cheaper all around that way. Assuming house sale goes thru as expected, we then pay off Florida home, buy a new golf cart, then get settled in to our new lifestyle.

Our situations are similar in some respects and different in others. The only recommendation I would make to you is leave ALL the furniture behind. Why pay huge $ to move it when it likely needs replaced due to age, or style, or size. You would save a lot of storage fees if you are required to store the furniture.

Good luck with your move. It is a ton of work but since we are on the downhill side of it we are really getting excited.

Can you tell me how you sold your home yourself? The details? How/where you advertised? What it cost you minus the attorney? Where did you get your For Sale sign made up? How you handled inquiries and showings? Things like that.

We are considering this also since our home has barely appreciated in our area due to market conditions (not the condition of the home, which is updated and has all the conveniences you could want, plus a lot of land).


Also- did you take out a mortgage on your Florida home then? No issues getting a mortgage being retired? If so, my fear would be that soemthing could go wrong with your sale and then you are stuck with 2 homes and the expenses that go along with that. That is what I worry about and we can't afford two houses expenses. We at least do not have a mortgage on our current home, but still...

 

[imoldernu]

No help here, but lots of sympathy. jeanie and I just discussed this last night and verified our 22 complete moves since marriage in 1958..

Our final move will be coming up soon... 1 to 7 years at the most. Plan is to offer the kids whatever they want, dump the rest, and move into the Liberty Estates apartments with the minimum.

More emotion here than I can believe. Imagine... the later years of an expert hoarder.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

For storage, Illinois friends put their stuff in big "Packrat" containers and had a moving company take them to AZ, then stored very cheaply for a couple of months because there was no unloading and reloading a truck- just put the containers in a secure lot.
They told us that PODS are similar but lower quality in protecting your stuff.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I'm hesitant to comment on the MIL issue, but...


My MIL was the best you could ever hope for- friendly, fun, very happy that I had married her daughter. We had 40 years of great relationships, took her on vacation with us, and had planned on her living in our downstairs (with some minor remodeling) since the kids were gone. We are in Illinois and she had moved to Florida but we visited her to help with minor things and enjoy her company at least a couple of times per year. Life was good.


About seven years ago she rather quickly developed some combination of dementia and Alzheimer's. For a while we tried to help her long distance, then she moved into a Florida retirement home. Two years ago they said she needed special memory care, her son moved her to a nursing home near him in Las Vegas. She now alternates between being a zombie and a screaming bitch at the home.


Distasteful as it may be, you should have some kind of "escape plan" in mind if it becomes needed. Check with an elder attorney to be sure you don't get legally locked into something by having her live with you.
And I hope you never need this information.

 

[DeborahB]

Just in case this didn’t get mentioned yet... I shipped a car halfway across the country. I’m not up to driving 1400 miles. If you do that, you can’t put or leave anything in the car.

I had the movers pack me, a mixed blessing but I couldn’t do it, physically. The whole process was exhausting. I didn’t have time to downsize before I left - 2 years later, I’m still donating things.

 

[DeborahB]

Also- did you take out a mortgage on your Florida home then? No issues getting a mortgage being retired? If so, my fear would be that soemthing could go wrong with your sale and then you are stuck with 2 homes and the expenses that go along with that. That is what I worry about and we can't afford two houses expenses. We at least do not have a mortgage on our current home, but still...

I had an interesting time getting a mortgage. My credit score was 800+. I had lots of invested assets. I live on the dividends plus SS. What I didn’t have was an income stream of any sort. I ended up setting up an automatic payout of $6,000 a month (I think) from my IRA. I did that until I closed on the house. It had been less than 60 days and I was able to stop it and return the money to my IRA with no penalties. I was 68.

 

[COcheesehead]

Just an added bit of information. Movers for cross country base rates on weight and distance. So if you have heavy items it can save you money moving them in your vehicle.

Like a refrigerator?

 

[Buckeye]

She has started telling her friends that she is moving, and I think she is done downsizing. Took her a week. It's possible that she could change her mind, but I doubt it. And you're right - it would be a kick in the pants if she changed her mind.

Make sure you've got the AC cranked up (down?) for her! The heat and humidity can be hard on the oldsters, especially if their breathing is compromised.

 

[Canoeboy]

We did a 1300 mile move last year from a large house to a small fixer-upper with limited storage. Move was planned well in advance in prep for retirement and to be timed with youngest finishing HS and going to college. Originally we had planned to rent for a while in new location, then buy a place after home sold in prior state. However, found a lakeside place with potential in the area we wanted to be and bought it in late 2017 (took a HELOC loan to cover).

What we did right:
- dejunked in advance of move - it’s never too early to start.
- sold most everything we no longer wanted or that did not mesh with new life, mostly on Craigslist.
- starting 9 months before putting home on market we finished complete remodel of the house (started years earlier), updating bathrooms, new carpet, fresh paint inside and out, level jacked outside walkways, etc.
- also addressed anything that would be flagged by a home inspector. (Repaired window sashes, replaced foggy windows, fixed ceiling cracks, replaced 27 year old hot water heater, installed child safety outlets and checked/replaced GFCI, etc)
- evaluated options on moving stuff. Ended up with 2 Packrat containers and a full 22 foot Estes truck. Packrat cost more per foot, but had advantage of ground level loading and longer term climate controlled storage if needed.
- hired a local crew to unload most of Estes trailer
- staggered delivery of the containers and truck - one at a time to load and unpack.
- finding the new place in advance made for a less stressful transition for the family.
- selling old utility trailer and buying smaller one in new state. This eliminated need for a 2nd trip, but increased space needed in containers to move “boy toys”.
- got out of a high tax area.

What I would have done differently:
- get rid of more stuff. Seriously, half of what we moved is now in the unfinished basement or storage shed. Probably could have cut half of that stuff out and saved $$ on the move.
- would have hired a crew to load the heaviest stuff on the Estes trailer. It was packed over 3 days ending at midnight the night we pulled out of the state. Quite stressful on the family (and on my back).
- get rid of more stuff.....

Biggest thing I learned was the high cost of holding a house on the market.
- lawn service cost is high and can’t be neglected while on the market.
- absentee repairs are high if you are DIY oriented.
- vacant home insurance is 3-4x cost of regular homeowners.
- something always breaks days before closing. In our case the chain came off the garage door opener. If I was there it would have been a simple $10 fix, instead we had to have a new opener installed.

 

[Ronstar]

Wow - thanks for all of the great moving advice and info! I'm already putting some of the advice to use.

A common theme in most of the above posts - declutter to the max and move as little stuff as possible. I've started the declutter process, but have a long way to go.

Our condo hits the market any day now. Currently there are no units for sale in our development of 170 units. Realtor thinks that it will sell fast.

I think I have a house plan in a tract development picked out. Probably the way to go rather than going through the pain of DW redoing an existing house. Az house would take 6-9 months to build once we signed a contract. Plan is to do this when our condo sells.

In the mean time, I plan on wrapping up some home repairs and getting our house on the market around June 1.

 

[ivinsfan]

So you plan to rent in AZ if necessary and hopefully it will be because your house in IL will sell quickly. In our Northern climates you can't miss that prime Spring/early Summer listing period. Can you get a month to month lease?

A hassle but still easiest IMO. Good luck on the pieces going together smoothly. The good news you have a floor plan for the new house to help you figure out what to move cross country.

 

[Ronstar]

So you plan to rent in AZ if necessary and hopefully it will be because your house in IL will sell quickly. In our Northern climates you can't miss that prime Spring/early Summer listing period. Can you get a month to month lease?

A hassle but still easiest IMO. Good luck on the pieces going together smoothly. The good news you have a floor plan for the new house to help you figure out what to move cross country.

Yes I plan on renting in Az short term if necessary. Maybe have DW stay with her mom in Il while I rent in Az. Should be able to get a 6 month or a month to month lease depending on the timing of all of this.

I should have the Illinois house ready for listing around June 1. Real estate isn't moving too fast in Illinois, so It would be great if it sold before the end of the year.

DW knows what stuff she wants to move. Yes - the anticipated floor plan is helping to decide on what moves with us.

 

[brett]

Downsizing started off easy for us. That was only round one. We had two or three rounds after that. We thought that we were ruthless at the end. We could only keep what went into the container. Looking back, we could have been more ruthless. We still have at least one unopened box that has moved across the country twice.

Ten months later when we unloaded we discovered that there were still items that we did not leave. Quite a few.

The firm that provided the container, PODS, offered us contents insurance for in transit and in strorage. We found that we got a substantially better rate from our previous home insurer. About a third the price, higher coverage, lower deductable.

 

[ivinsfan]

Yes I plan on renting in Az short term if necessary. Maybe have DW stay with her mom in Il while I rent in Az. Should be able to get a 6 month or a month to month lease depending on the timing of all of this.

I should have the Illinois house ready for listing around June 1. Real estate isn't moving too fast in Illinois, so It would be great if it sold before the end of the year.

DW knows what stuff she wants to move. Yes - the anticipated floor plan is helping to decide on what moves with us.

You are definitely a motivated seller so hopefully the right agent and a competitive price will help get a speedy sale.

 

[Tom52]

Can you tell me how you sold your home yourself? The details? How/where you advertised? What it cost you minus the attorney? Where did you get your For Sale sign made up? How you handled inquiries and showings? Things like that.

We are considering this also since our home has barely appreciated in our area due to market conditions (not the condition of the home, which is updated and has all the conveniences you could want, plus a lot of land).


Also- did you take out a mortgage on your Florida home then? No issues getting a mortgage being retired? If so, my fear would be that soemthing could go wrong with your sale and then you are stuck with 2 homes and the expenses that go along with that. That is what I worry about and we can't afford two houses expenses. We at least do not have a mortgage on our current home, but still...

Sorry to not respond sooner, we have now completed the 1200 mile move to Florida and have been without internet until recently. To answer some of your questions, we intended to purchase a home in Florida during our annual snowbird trip earlier this year. We made the decision to purchase our Florida home before we worried about selling our Northern home.

We have not yet closed on our Northern home but we expect closing will take place about mid May. Fortunately, we did not have to advertise our home for sale as we were contacted by a couple who was interested in purchasing our home before we were able to list it. No realtor was involved so zero commission.

Our total cost to sell is as follows:
termite inspection $75
septic inspection $275
abstract fee $150
lawyer fees $325

If everything goes as expected we will consider ourselves fortunate that the sale went so smoothly.

Only hiccup in the move to Florida was that the auto transport company didn't come thru for us as promised. We ended up driving my classic car the 1200 miles to Florida. Fortunately, it made the trip without any problems.

 

[Ronstar]

Update - Phase I of the relocation plan is complete. Sale of condo closed yesterday. We drove my truck from Illinois to az in May, and did a total “declutter” of the condo. Removed everything, and brought stuff to Goodwill, a consignment store, and a pickup truck load came home.

We looked at several houses in Arizona. Even put an offer on one, with contingencies to sell both out condo and house. MIL called a few hours after our house offer and said she would not move to Arizona. DW will not move to Arizona and leave her mom alone in Illinois. Luckily the house seller declined our offer due to the contingencies.

MIL is having increasing memory issues and DW is handling almost all of her affairs. Meeting with an elder care attorney is coming soon.

We are still decluttering our Illinois house and doing a few improvements so that it will be ready to sell quickly if/when our situation changes. The moving plan will continue, but probably at a much slower pace.