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Old 08-03-2018, 07:31 AM   #21
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Affordable 2,500 sqft adobe. The house was cheap and the carrying costs are minimal.

I love the neighborhood (safe, quiet, established landscaping, close to everything, etc...). I like my neighbors. I rather like the mid-size city I live in (a bit small for my taste sometimes). But the house is older and quirky. It requires a lot of maintenance. It is too large for our needs. The floor plan is very fragmented. And it was not built to maximize natural light. That being said, it is comfortable and peaceful. And when I feel myself wanting more, I try to remember that this house already exceeds my needs. Plus I doubt that this will be my forever home.

Last week I saw a house that I would love: a modern construction in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood. I have no idea how much it cost but it was probably $$$.
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Old 08-03-2018, 07:48 AM   #22
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Have lived in ours for 25 years. Kids are raised and out of the house. I'm actually tired of it. It is 2800 square feet on an acre.

Grass, WEEDS grow all year and I feel I'm glued to de-weeding unless I paid someone to do it (not doing it). Other than that, our yard is nice but it's a TON of upkeep and it's 90 degrees by 10 am. We seem to get a HOA letter if our grass is an inch too high or if our driveway is a little dirty. And we have a ton of grass and a huge circular driveway.

It's a nice neighborhood but many of the "first generation" homeowners have moved so I don't really know many of them any more.

We have deer and all sorts of other smaller animals in our yard almost every day which is nice. Had a bear here about a week ago which I love (yeah and I go follow him with my camera in hand!)

We've replaced/remodeled almost everything. Kitchen still looks ok but not completely updated. Fine with me.

I'd like a brand new house in a retirement-type with neighbors and lots to do but not sure if DH would go for it.
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Old 08-03-2018, 07:53 AM   #23
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Do you love your home?

I don’t love it, but I like it a lot. Even though I’m in the beginning of a 1057 sf remodel. New cabinets, appliances, paint, trim/wainscoting, hardwood flooring in kitchen, living room, dining room, hallways, half bath, breakfast nook.

Good thing about a house that is too big - we still have 2800 sf of unmolested living space to occupy during remodeling.

The great thing about our home is location. An hour from Chicago, but out in the country with Nice bike trails, parks, and a lake in my back yard. And my detached workshop where I spend most of my time.
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Old 08-03-2018, 07:57 AM   #24
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Both.
~450sqft of exceptional waterfront where ever we choose......
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:00 AM   #25
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We love our home. This is the first home that DW and I have lived in. It is 1400 sq ft and just right for us.

Recently DW has turned the back of our carport into a lovely oasis.We have a table, 2 teak rockers, and are surrounded by lots of small succulents.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:00 AM   #26
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Do you love your home?

We love our home. Georgian-style building on the most-storied street in the Midwest. 90-year old hardwood floors, high ceilings and chandeliers, rehabbed recently with all the modern amenities. Finished and furnished by a woman with exquisite taste (DW). Looks out on a marina and Lincoln Park, “our front yard” (which we share with the public, most of whom pay taxes to help pay the maintenance). Tennis and golf and bike paths and a beach and bird sanctuary. Three miles from the center city with all its business and cultural venues. Express bus stops at our front door. No need to drive anywhere. (Need to get rid of our car, or downsize it at least.) We share an elevator with one couple on our floor. Hope to live here until we both pass, several decades hence.

We realize this would not work for people who don’t value big city features and use them daily, as we do.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:01 AM   #27
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We love our little 1456 sq/ft home on a little less than 2 acres. We built it ourselves in 2003 with a little savings and cash each month, so we never had a mortgage. I drew the construction plans myself and my wife and I did all the building ourselves.

We designed it to be our forever home, all one level, 36" doorways throughout in case we ever need walkers or wheelchairs, a large curbless shower in our master bath, etc.

We live at about 1500 feet on a mountain. We moved out here to be close to nature and get away from the city. Unfortunately, over the last decade our mountain has been taken over by million dollar mansions, increasing traffic and raising our property taxes. But we're still surrounded by trees and have daily visits by the deer and raccoons. We also have the occasional rabbits, bobcat, coyote, and bear.

I have a time lapse video and photos of our house on my web site 2003 - Building Our Own House

We've been in our house about 14 years now and still haven't found anything we would want different. It suits our needs and wishes perfectly.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:02 AM   #28
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We both love both our homes. Both are new to us post-FIRE, as we re-arranged our living locations several years ago.

Our primary home for tax purposes is a 3,500 sf oceanfront condo with 1,200 sf of outdoor living areas. Completely quiet building in a small development with many amenities and great neighbors. It was a dream of mine to be on the ocean, so this is a dream home. It lives like a house, not a condo.

Our second home, which is really now the large family home, is a 5,500 sf house and guest cottage on 3 1/2 acres with a pool and great landscaping. Not oceanfront, but you can see the ocean from the roof deck. It is our second home in this location, and is in a sense a dream home because it is a significant upgrade in size and amenities from the first one. Also very quiet, with two barely visible neighboring houses, and 330 acres of conservation land abutting our back yard.

One good thing about both is that our kids love them both as much as we do and visit often.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:02 AM   #29
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I’m somewhere between. My husband and I had our house built in 1999. It’s a small (1300+ sq ft) moderate house but it was an upgrade from our previous houses. It was the first brand new house that either of us had ever lived in. We were proud of it and I still am.

Our mortgage had been paid off several years before my husband’s death so that’s really a plus. I get less than $100 per month from my husband’s pension and I get nothing from SS. So, having a paid off mortgage is a big plus.

I love my home and I’ve spent quite a lot over the last few years trying to keep it moderately updated. However, most of my spending has been on basic utility functions of a house...roof, furnace/AC, landscaping, etc. I did update the kitchen because it was getting shabby and depressing plus I was thinking of resale value.

I’ve always lived in my state so overall I’m happy with my state and my town. But, I’m getting older and scooping snow is not fun. Ice on sidewalks in the winter,for retrieving my mail, is dangerous and that brings me to my neighbor. My neighbor bought more house than she can afford. So, her house is getting very shabby...no upkeep. Plus, a junky car in the driveway.

So, I don’t want to make any more updates to my house with my current neighbor letting her house deteriorate. So, for the last couple of years I’ve been just updating my furniture. I’ve selected quality furniture that will last many years and that I can take with me when it’s time to move.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:07 AM   #30
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We love it. Picked the place and designed the home and for us affordable.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:10 AM   #31
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Ours beats sleeping out in the rain.......almost.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:20 AM   #32
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Yes, more or less. We downsized from a true mansion 7 years ago and took almost 2 years looking before we found our present place. The mansion was a fixer upper when we bought it for a song and we did most of the work but ran out of steam before finishing but did make some money on it.

We bought almost new construction in what turns out to be a great location for the area. We travel a lot and can go without worries. I’m also extremely happy with the lower cost, much lower taxes, and tremendously lower utility bills. I miss the trees and nicer walking areas of the established neighborhood but this place will get better as it ages after all the building is completed. I don’t miss the large yard and large flowerbed area and all the work that went with it.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:32 AM   #33
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Love it - No, Like it - Yes, Love the neighborhood and area - Yes. Hard to replace though in the current Area.

We WOULD Love it if it had not guest room above the Garage and No Pool. We do own it, so upkeep is reasonable for our area. We use all of the 2,800sqft on the main floor and None of the second floor, except to check and flush the toilet and vacuum up the dead bugs once in a while.

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Old 08-03-2018, 08:44 AM   #34
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I love the DW - who came with a 1922 Craftsman Bungalow and a Farm. My 'Leave to Beaver' tract home got sold after the wedding. Prior to that for 30 years home was where you parked your stuff when not at 'Home' inside the rocket plant.

heh heh heh - developing a city boy's love for metal pole barns. Which may pass.
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Old 08-03-2018, 08:53 AM   #35
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Love my house. Custom designed and built on a lot I picked out for a view that I love too. I certainly could do with a lot smaller, and if I had reason to do it over I would, but I'd retain a lot of the key concepts.
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:02 AM   #36
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Originally Posted by Optionallyretired View Post
Just wondering. Is your home an affordable abode or the space of your dreams, which one are you?
both - still owe a bit on it but we are on an acre in a 5200 sq ft house in a golf course community overlooking the city

hopefully we will never move
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:03 AM   #37
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Originally Posted by ShokWaveRider View Post
Love it - No, Like it - Yes, Love the neighborhood and area - Yes. Hard to replace though in the current Area.
nice pad!
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:03 AM   #38
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We love it. Picked the place and designed the home and for us affordable.
we looked at houses on lake livingston when we lived in htown - gorgeous!
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:09 AM   #39
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We love our house, the location not so much. Built new in 2011 by my sister(a general new construction contractor). The market had been down in her new development for 5 years. I felt compelled to have her build me a new one to give her work and sell one of her 3/4 acre lots. It is a rural area and we find ourselves driving to the metro area 4-5 time a week. The house is 1750 square ft ranch with a 728 sq ft over sized 2 car garage.
Geo-thermal heat/cool is the best part- total heat/cool usually under 85.00 per month with all electric. up to 125-130 in the hottest/coldest months.
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Old 08-03-2018, 09:19 AM   #40
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It's hard for me to say I'd "love" any home, but I'm certainly happy with where I'm at now. Bought a lot for $115k, then spent just over $300k to design + build. That was about 5 years ago. That's a 0.5 acre lot, 2300 square foot home + a 1300 square foot unfinished basement, + a 1600 square foot garage. My favorite part is that monster garage!

I made a conscious decision not to go with some of my "dream" list, with the primary item being a property on a river, as the price premium for that was more than I'd want to pay both up front as well as in yearly property taxes. So I'm firmly in the good/great but not "love" camp...
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