Do you love your home?

[Moemg]

My house has an amazing view over Sarasota Bay .It is three stories but we have an elevator to the second floor and a staircase to the third floor . I use the stairs as a way to keep me mobile .On exercise days I do the stairs 20 times and I am 71 . We are looking to downsize but since this is my last home I want what I want so the search continues .

[Ed B]

We are the 2nd owners of our home which was built in 1979 and is on the small side at 1500 square feet, 2 bed, 2 bath, and quirky in several ways. But it is pleasant with a good sized kitchen, bigger bedrooms and an extra room that has been a den, formal dining, bedroom and office at different times. It sits on two heavily wooded acres on a quiet dead end road. The heavy shade and thick trees make it cheap to cool and heat. We had a 450 sq/ft quest house built about 5 years ago which is occupied by my mother at the moment.

As I mentioned it is quirky but we do love it here. Lots of wildlife and the feeling of being in the country even though we are only 3 miles from our local town of 25k.

Our P&E is only $540/m and being content with this home instead of chasing the newer nicer homes going up around us is part of why we were able to save and save and retire early.

I remember telling my father on the day we moved here back in 1995 that I could envision retiring here. And here I am living the dream. [emoji3]

[Bestwifeever]

We have lived in our little old starter house since 8/8/78. Yeah we love it.

[ShokWaveRider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg My house has an amazing view over Sarasota Bay .It is three stories but we have an elevator to the second floor and a staircase to the third floor . I use the stairs as a way to keep me mobile .On exercise days I do the stairs 20 times and I am 71.

Sounds expensive....

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg My house has an amazing view over Sarasota Bay. It is three stories but we have an elevator to the second floor and a staircase to the third floor . I use the stairs as a way to keep me mobile .On exercise days I do the stairs 20 times and I am 71 . We are looking to downsize but since this is my last home I want what I want so the search continues .

Good luck in your search! I hope you find your last home soon and that it is exactly what you want.

[Yarnstormer]

Only thing that would improve my home would be a waterfront view. Ok, modern drain lines would be great. Plumbing issues aside, I do love it and also it’s handicap friendly in case I need that. They yard is a lot of work. I’m about to reroof so I guess I’m in it for the long run!
Sometimes I wish I had bought something very affordable and truly retired, but I love this place.

[imoldernu]

We really like our home, and where we live. It's a villa (a private home in a CCRC.)

Based on some of the negative comments that there have been on considering this as a later life option, I thought it might be a good thing to show that living in a CCRC, may not be the end of the world.

It's not always being nestled in a tiny apartment, waiting to die, and not always giving up your independence.

I would ask the indulgence of the moderators for posting a short video of that describes our Villas, and what is increasingly available in hundreds more CCRC's (not ours) as they adapt to younger retirees settling in to a somewhat different lifestyle. I am sure that seeing the video would not cause anyone here to move into Peru, Il, and hope it will not be construed as a commercial link (I have no vested interest in the corporation). If the link should needs be deleted per the rules... (that's ok) then those interested might find the same information by searching - simply the finest. The villa shown is almost exactly like ours. 'cept it doesn't open up on the pond.

https://libertyvillageofperu.com/villasv.htm


FWIW, over the past 10 years, we are finding more and more younger couples moving in. Early retirees who are establishing their new home and social life, with the security of knowing that if anything should happen, the safety net of a full service community is available.

The popularity is such that an additional 20 villas are being constructed to fill the demand. There are none available for sale in our section of 69 homes, and when people move out to go to other parts of the community, ie. assisted living, word of mouth sells the home before it goes on the market.

Our home is very similar to the one shown in the video... vaulted ceilings, fireplace, large kitchen and with all the safety features that are meaningful to seniors. We bought in 2004, @$140K... the current assessed value is $180K.
1500+ s.f. 2 car garage. HOA Fee $150 mo.. Taxes $2500.

Do we love our home?... I LOVE my bride... I really like my home.

[doneat54]

Pretty much the home of our dreams. Not much of a mortgage because we did really well selling our last home. But at 3700s.f., it is a bit more than a pair of empty nesters need. Taxes are getting real close to $10k/yr and utilities are high. Monthly, taxes, utilities and insurance exceed to the mortgage by a long shot. But we do love the town, our very large wooded lot in a tiny town and my separate shop building for my antique car hobby. We are more and more having serious discussions about where/what we move to next when DW retires in 3 years. Doing some soul searching about what we really value in home.

[wingfooted]

Class of 2016

Building the dream in rural Oregon. Four story post and beam.

Its really nuts as we are empty nesters and dont need such a house. But its what I dreamed about for years while living in 'challenging' overseas locations and dragging out consecutive 'one more year' contract extensions.

17 months on this project so far and hope to move in during the spring of 2019.




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[Ronnieboy]

Like our house, not love. We bought it in the bubble period of 2009. We thought if we were ever going to 'upgrade' we should do it when prices are low. Purchased a bank owned under 6700 sq ft house on 3/4 acre. The basement of 2700 is unfinished. I had dreams of getting it finished at some point but now that there are only two kids left in the house it seems like it won't be.

Our dream/retirement house will be a wide open rambler with plenty of room. Initially we were thinking of a few acres so we don't have any close neighbors but after reading some of the comments about maintenance on the land maybe that won't be such a good idea as we not the gardening/lawn maintenance type.

[bclover]

I like my home but no it is not the home of my dreams. Nor is it the last house I will have simply because it is not a house to age into.
4 floors lots of steps and big. I do love the location, right in the middle of town, walk score of 98 and lovely neighborhood.
I will probably sell in a year or two.

[jmp470]

Love ours, 4bed/3 bath, 3k square feet. Heated In ground pool w/ spa and a swim lane. Full electricity, but, produce all our own electricity. Next I’m doing a well, to reduce lawn costs.

[Janet from FIRE Planet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountainsoft 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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I enjoyed visiting your site. Everything you do amazes me. Maybe someday I'll order the software for recipes you developed! Thank you for your most interesting post!

[Rambler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Freedom56 It's very expensive in Switzerland and this area in particular. The rental income of 6231 CHF monthly covers all expenses and funds improvements and expenses while we are here. My FIL gave us this property. He gave a home to each of his three daughters which was very generous of him. He bought the home in 1992 for 1.44M CHF and put about 400K CHF into improvements. It would sell for about 4.8M-5.2M CHF today ($4.9M-5.3M USD). When the hot hazy weather clears, I'll post pictures of the amazing views of Lake Geneva and the Alps.

I love Switzerland and particularly Lausanne. I have many fond memories and friends there from my working days. For the last 13 or 14 years of my career, I visited Lausanne at least once a year and often more than that. Megacorp treated me really well, and had us stay at the Beau-Rivage most of the time...ah, beautiful place. But yes, it is tremendously expensive to live there.

[mtheulen]

I love my home so much...............
I sold it! Built my own ICF home in 2004 after work.Got an offer i could not refuse and let it go in June.Now i live in a 700 sq ft casita.House was 3000+

Ive never been happier! Rent and utilities are the same as what i paid in property tax! I think i have it in me to build 1 more small home.(shop will be bigger than the house) but until iam ready, iam going to enjoy this cheap, no headache way of living

[Jamie1101]

I have been in my old home located in a designated historic district for 20 years now. I enjoy doing projects so there is always something going on to keep me busy. I bought this home in 1996 and had it paid off in full in four years. I moved here at a time of peak overtime at my factory so for a few years I lived very frugally and put that extra overtime money to good use.

Averaging out my fixed expenses of house insurance, taxes, & utilites they work out to be about $500.00 a month.

Property values have skyrocketed in the historic district where I live. I'm in a very walkable area. There are 3 and 4 day stretches I don't use my truck at all. I am always getting cards in the mail from real estate agents wanting to know if I'm interested in selling my home.

I could easily do an instant quick sale for 4Xs my original purchase price but then where could I go to live as cheaply or happily as I do now?

Once I post this it will be time to get to my book. I'll be reading it on the front porch in the swing under the fan which gives a wonderful breeze and keeps the mosquitoes away. My cat will join me and I will most likely interact with neighbors passing by. I'm enjoying a good life no amount of money could buy...

[StuckinCT]

We have a beautiful home on 6 acres in Connecticut, 5 BRs 6 baths 5,890 sf. We paid $1.7mm put $80k in and worth $1.5mm due to our state's budget mess and large companies like GE leaving. That and the $33,400 in property taxes caused me a lot of stress for a while, but my kids love it and it has become our home. We can afford to retire here with a second home in Vermont, but if it weren't for the schools/friends/family we would definitely leave. I am scared to even put it on the market.

But we do like it here and kids love it so its hard to complain too much..

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[RockDoctor]

While we like our home, neither of us is in love with it. When we FIREd and moved back to the US, we went for a 5700 sq ft 5BR 6BA Queen Anne Victorian (no rennovations needed), but bailed before having to plow any major money into it. Enjoyed it, but heating it in the winter time in MN was not cheap. It's now a B&B. Current abode was new when we bought in 2007, 2900 sq ft (including the finished walk-out basement) on about 0.3 acres in a subdivision that could be almost anywhere in the US but happens to be 2 mi from my 93-year old in-laws. MIL's father lived to 100, her aunt lived to 113, so we may be here for a while.

[socca]

Things I like:
(1) low acquisition cost
(2) low carrying cost
(3) reasonably quiet neighborhood
(4) plenty of room for one person
(5) fabulous water and sunset views
(6) convenient to everything

If I were forced out of this house for some reason, I could probably find another in SW Florida that satisfies #3 - #6 (although #3 is getting more difficult with rampant regional overdevelopment). However, finding a house that satisfies #1 - #6 would be extremely difficult.

I was lucky that so many potential buyers were discouraged by the numerous cosmetic problems with the house a few years ago. I looked at the house at the very start of my house search and then bought it five months later.

Of course, if a Cat 5 hurricane comes ashore during the next two months I might consider myself less fortunate ...

[Sanstar]

We love our home. In 2013 we made a list of what we’d want in a retirement house. Things included were single story, wide hallways, no or tolerable HOA, at least an acre, fenced property, wrap-around porch, patio, decent sized entryway, ability to keep the Airstream on the property with electrical hookup.

We found what we wanted for $220K but had to add the fence, pad for RV and electrical hookup. Have since replaced/upgraded master bath to include Toto bidet and jetted soaker tub. Have done lots of planting of pecan and fruit trees, raised beds, blackberries and grapes. Only item on the list we didn’t get and won’t be adding is the wrap around porch. DH was not happy about the acre (too much work) but a sprinkler system and John Deere took care of that. I think he spends more time on the Deere then he needs and even drives it across the street on occasion to cut the neighbor’s grass! I believe this home will do us fine for many years to come.