House or Location

[brett]

I am a big fan of a smaller house in great area. A house that has potential both in terms of living area and investment.

Never want the most expensive house in the neighbourhood-most especially if it is in the wrong neighbourhood.

Our last two homes were selected this way. We renovated and made changes to suit our family's lifestyle. We did very well financially when we sold AND we sold fairly quickly with lots of interest.

We just did the very same thing two months ago....only there are no renos, it was move in ready in all respects.

 

[rodi]

As a couple other folks have mentioned - 80% location, 20% house.

House you can change, remodel, add on, modify... heck even tear down and build from scratch. Not so much with location.

I live in a great community that is very convenient for getting around - close to two freeways and close to the beach (10-15 minute drive.) It's also close to job centers so when we sell, someday, it should sell fast.

That said - we will be selling sometime in the future... it's a 2 story and eventually we want a small 1 story or a 1 level condo. It will also be in a neighborhood with better public transit (we have to walk more than a mile to the closest bus stop). And more amenities walkable (library is 1/2 mile and grocery is almost a mile... which we walk to regularly... but as we age....) We want less of a yard and less maintenance. But for now - the house works well for us - 2000sf is about the perfect size for our family of 4.

 

[MRG]

I think 80/20 for a us. Our last home was too big for us(3800' house+1500' outbuilding). The location was nice, but taxes were stupid. DW did like the house, for me it was a big PIA to take care of .

Our new house is 2200' on the edge of a canyon. Taxes modest. Within 10 minutes of the house is bank, doctors, dentist, grocery....

 

[Music Lover]

I'm lucky to have both but if I had to choose, it would be location because a house can be renovated to your liking, but a location can't be changed.

My location is perfect...I'm less than 2 minutes from the outskirts of the city on 1.7 acres and 800 yards down the road from my aging parents who I check up on daily. I'm 5 minutes from my favourite golf course and less than 10 minutes from Costco, a grocery store, Home Depot, and the liquor store

The house is 1000 square feet which is about right...the only thing I don't like is a tight back landing with the exterior door right at the top of the basement stairs.

 

[Teacher Terry]

When we decided to downsize 5 years ago the first thing we picked was the location and told the realtor. We also told her 1 story and not more then 1500 sq ft. So she found a 1400 sq ft home in the right neighborhood and I also had to have a eat in kitchen or dining room both of which are hard to find in this neighborhood as the homes were built in 1950. She found a home in foreclosure in bad condition but DH is very handy. I hired him a helper and after working on it f.t. every day we moved in 4 months later. The following year we did the yard. The street behind us faces a lovely park whereas we are on a busier street. Sure it would be nice to be on the other block but we got an addition that was put on in 1970 which includes a big dining room and master bedroom. We added a mater bath. so we got 95% of what we wanted. 5 years later we love it and like to walk downtown for events, etc. We also have bus stop nearby, etc.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

I like our house and yard but for us location has been the main consideration. We like living in a place with a mild climate, diversity, parks, mountains, beaches, cultural activities and day trips. Our current house is also kind of big for us these days but it is close to the commuter train station, shopping, a state park, hospital, library, bank, post office, hiking trails, open space and most of what we need. Plus the local senior center has many services including inexpensive meals and door to door bus service so we should be able to age in place if we decide that is what we want to do.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Our house is walkable (< 1 mile) to everything one could need--from a bakery to an old fashioned hardware store, Starbucks, library, hospital, commuter train station, restaurants, and even the funeral home. We have seven rooms and every day we use every one of them, so here we stay as we like both the house (in spite of the stairs I mentioned above) and the location. But if I had to pick one, it would be location over house.

 

[Koolau]

Must be location for us. We moved from 2700 SF tri-level to a small condo at 3 X the price and 5000 miles away. Looking out on the Pacific from our Lanai, watching the waves crash on the reef, it all seems worth it, but YMMV.

 

[ABQ2015]

For me, location (e.g., neighborhood, quiet, parks) is more important than the house. I never thought of “location” as including being in close proximity to shopping but on other retirement forums there has been a lot of discussion on the desire to retire in a walkable area or within five minutes of stores and near major medical facilities. My thoughts are that I will probably move again when I’m in my mid to late 70s as I become less independent and will take this into consideration.

But I’m not a big city person and want tranquility and nice surroundings in my 60’s so my retirement plan is to move to a much smaller city on the edge of a national forest and be closer to nature. I’m planning on living in town but on the more residential side of town in a small single family home; however, stores are only about 10-15 minutes away. Local medical facilities are reasonably good but the local mall is terrible with the closest large city being 2 ½ hours away so I’ll have to learn to rely on online shopping. I have a friend in the area who lives on acreage, ten miles from the highway and another ten miles from the edge of a small nearby town and it does get old making that trip even to just check the mail.

 

[Scuba]

Location, location, location.

+1
Isn't that the most basic principle of real estate valuation? That's why a 1 BR shack in some locations will sell for well over $1M. As another poster said, it's much easier to adapt a house to your preferences than change the location.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Location.... I put up with the humidity because you cannot get a better location over all, at least not in the US. And I have lived in Canada, SoCAL, Colorado and many more places.

 

[Jerry1]

Location. We were in a similar situation to you though I doubt anywhere near it financially. Anyway, we had more house that we needed (kids were gone) and it was 15 minutes each way to get to any kind of store and further for anything nice. Then the kicker, we were 40 minutes away from grand kids.

Now we live in a smaller house and have downsized considerably, however, we found a 1 acre lot in what is essentially suburbia where lot sizes are typically no bigger than the house. We're 5 minutes away from restaurants and good shopping (grocery) and much closer to high end shopping (which didn't really matter to use any more). But most important, we're less than 10 minutes from DD and grand kids. They never use to "pop in" before, but now we're close enough to enjoy them much more.

We're also closer to a good hospital and the large medical center is closer and easier to get to than it was from our old house. I'm sure there are better places to live but there are also many more less desirable places (assuming the same financial base).

 

[imoldernu]

A 1600 sf home (villa) in Liberty Village CCRC, in a town of 10,300 population. semi rural. Nicest part of town. Home is built for seniors. 4 minutes to Dr. or excellent hospital, 3 minutes to mall, and 4 minutes to Walmart. 5 1/2 minutes to country roads in all directions. Easy traffic, laid back drivers. Built in 2000. All exterior grass, landscaping and snow removal...(we like the 4 seasons). Excellent service and reasonable. Taxes $2600.
The main reason we bought was the idea of being able to move to any other part of the complex... apartments, assisted living, or nursing home, without having to travel, or change our neighborhood friends. Moved in at age 68 and have not regretted the move for a moment.

 

[Meadbh]

A 1600 sf home (villa) in Liberty Village CCRC, in a town of 10,300 population. semi rural. Nicest part of town. Home is built for seniors. 4 minutes to Dr. or excellent hospital, 3 minutes to mall, and 4 minutes to Walmart. 5 1/2 minutes to country roads in all directions. Easy traffic, laid back drivers. Built in 2000. All exterior grass, landscaping and snow removal...(we like the 4 seasons). Excellent service and reasonable. Taxes $2600.
The main reason we bought was the idea of being able to move to any other part of the complex... apartments, assisted living, or nursing home, without having to travel, or change our neighborhood friends. Moved in at age 68 and have not regretted the move for a moment.

So can we assume that you chose the location rather than the house?

 

[imoldernu]

So can we assume that you chose the location rather than the house?

We love the house! The only thing we miss, is a lake in the back yard, but we have that at Woodhaven, a half hour away. Just got back this AM, from three days of biking, canoeing, and (hmmm... ) working on the sea wall...
Woke up to a deer looking in the window, a beaver swimming with a branch in his mouth going to build a dam, and my geese begging for a handout.
Life is good!

 

[Teacher Terry]

SW: I am curious what it is you love about Florida. I thought the Villages looked like a fun place to live but I love to be outside year round and with the heat and humidity I would never be outside.

 

[Moemg]

IMO the Villages is an extroverts dream location and an introverts nightmare .

 

[Tree-dweller]

We like our house well enough. We like our location well enough. Our cozy house, customized over the years, is in a close suburb of a big city. We pretend that central-city or waterfront might be fun to live in, but realistically we're priced out of those in this high COL area if we want to keep certain amenities (e.g. Fireplace, dog, garden) and each are a 20 minute drive or less away, our kids less than an hour. So right now, location is ahead by a nose. But with the near completion of nearby apt/condo complexes in an underutilized town center, we have to see what the net impact of that will be on "location".

 

[ShokWaveRider]

SW: I am curious what it is you love about Florida. I thought the Villages looked like a fun place to live but I love to be outside year round and with the heat and humidity I would never be outside.

Not touting the Villages, do not like the location one bit. But what FLA boils down to is the worse of 2 evils. We have lived in SoCAL, Denver, Canada, UK, Caribbean and other places during my working life. All of those but one for more than 5 years each and the other for 3. While nothing can beat the SoCAL climate, crowds, traffic, taxes and RE prices outweigh the benefits.

While FLA is a little warm in the summer, the winters are perfect. We would rather (at the end of the day) be hot than cold. But it is not just that, winter in some places is very bleak and always looks dirty with the snow piled on the side of the road with dirt in it. (Would not be so bad if it was nice and white all the time) Overcast cold winters make one feel drab, miserable, and dreary (25 years in the UK will do that to you). The Exceptions are places like Calgary and Denver that are bright and sunny all year, but the cold and the fact they have a very short summer (Calgary) gets tedious too.

NE, FLA has the best of both worlds weather wise. IOHO. You just have to pick the right spot. Like anywhere. We also like being 1 - 2 miles from an ocean.