How much to budget for retirement home

[Col. Klink]

You may not need as much home as you might anticipate now. One thing the DW and I have found is that kids and friends don't visit as much as one would expect because they still w*rk. We have the free time to go to them... but only in the summer because I don't do snow. Anyway, we found our 3 bdrm 1800 sq. ft. ample for 2 people. Fine for the occasional guests. Easy to clean so we can be outdoors doing stuff we enjoy.

[f35phixer]

You can buy my house back in your old stomping grounds for 249K boat slip included sorry Sunset!!! And I'll get you a J.O.B too. Your MIL is back here in MD, correct, weren't you going to come back here to help, as you know Houses in this aren't CHEAP....

[corn18]

Quote:

Originally Posted by f35phixer You can buy my house back in your old stomping grounds for 249K boat slip included sorry Sunset!!! And I'll get you a J.O.B too. Your MIL is back here in MD, correct, weren't you going to come back here to help, as you know Houses in this aren't CHEAP....

Thinking about moving back to that area. It's 1+45 from her mom, so not bad. And I could get a job at NAVAIR as a govy.

[COcheesehead]

One thing that was helpful for us when we were looking is we toured model homes at different square footage levels to see what a 1500 vs. 2000 vs 2500 vs 3000 square foot house really lives like. It was an eye opener is all I can say. Make sure you don't under buy.

[f35phixer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by corn18 Thinking about moving back to that area. It's 1+45 from her mom, so not bad. And I could get a job at NAVAIR as a govy.

YUP, we area ramping up MS testing here !!!!!!!!

[Cut-Throat]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aja8888 For about $125/sq ft you can get a nice 10 - 15 year old brick and Hardiplank home in The Woodlands, TX. Ours is 1,976 square feet in size and for us, it's perfect. Buy one on one of the 6 golf courses here and you can spend a bit more.

Is this the Woodlands area just north of Houston? --- If so, I thought those homes were Multi-Dollar McMansions?

[Alan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat Is this the Woodlands area just north of Houston? --- If so, I thought those homes were Multi-Dollar McMansions?

We lived there for 12 years and that is just what we used to say to keep the riff raff out

[aja8888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cut-Throat Is this the Woodlands area just north of Houston? --- If so, I thought those homes were Multi-Dollar McMansions?

There are some McMansions around here, but not in most Woodlands neighborhoods. Like here's ours:

WHTheWoodlands

Homes in ours ranges from low $200's to mid $300's.

[FIREd]

Quote:

Originally Posted by COcheesehead I am on the verge of closing on our "retirement" home. I used 10% of our net worth as a guide when we were shopping.

+1. I too am in the process of closing on a retirement home and I used 10% of net worth as a guide. The home I found came in at 8%, but I will put in another 2% in renovations so I’ll be right on target. Real estate prices are pretty high in this area ($400-700 per sqft), so I did not get as much house as I would have liked. But this is where I want to live, so I am happy nonetheless.

[ckelly78z]

Hopefully, if I can retire to a Kentucky piece of property in the 50-100 acre range, and have a running farm/homestead like we do In Northern Ohio on 10 acres, but with far fewer expenses, and way less taxes.

My dream home could be 1/2 the size of my current 2000 SF farmhouse, and I would be perfectly happy with a 1 story floor plan, and a full walk out basement. Of course this also includes an animal barn, and a shop/barn on the property....lots of foreclosures from people who still tried to make a go out it WHILE working.

[COcheesehead]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd +1. I too am in the process of closing on a retirement home and I used 10% of net worth as a guide. The home I found came in at 8%, but I will put in another 2% in renovations so I’ll be right on target. Real estate prices are pretty high in this area ($400-700 per sqft), so I did not get as much house as I would have liked. But this is where I want to live, so I am happy nonetheless.

What blew my mind is the cost of building vs buying existing. Its a 50% premium to build in our area.
We started out going down the design/build road and it just got crazy. I commend anyone who sticks through the process. Whacky builders, whacky designers, constraints from local planners. We went through two builders and 2 different lots. We finally said "enough!" We luckily got all our money back. We ended up buying a home that is only a year old, but about $100/sq ft less than what a new build would have cost. We are doing a light remodel, sticking about $25,000 into it, but it has the location we were looking for. Its hard to remodel location.

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Our current home is assessed at $90k. It has an interior of 2400 sq ft, with an overall roof footprint of 4900 sq ft [which includes a 4 vehicle carport and wrap-around porch on all four sides of the house], 2bdrm, on 150 acres of dense forest land, with 1/4 mile of river frontage. We have grid power, AND we have solar-power with batteries. Our taxes are $850/year.

We have lived here for 13 years. We know a few people who have retired in this area, to buy 3 or 4bdrm farmhouses on 80-acres of land, turn-key farm operations, for $80k.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FIREd Quote: Originally Posted by COcheesehead I am on the verge of closing on our "retirement" home. I used 10% of our net worth as a guide when we were shopping. +1. I too am in the process of closing on a retirement home and I used 10% of net worth as a guide.

Wow - - I never heard of this guideline. Just HAD to try it, so after reading your posts I figured out my net worth and the percentage.

It works! My retirement house is 9.78% of my net worth. It really surprised me to discover this.

[Teacher Terry]

I have lived in many different sizes through the years so I knew 1400 would be plenty big for 2. It also has a 1 car garage and a large shed. It was important to us to have a guest bedroom.

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Wow - - I never heard of this guideline. Just HAD to try it, so after reading your posts I figured out my net worth and the percentage. It works! My retirement house is 9.78% of my net worth. It really surprised me to discover this.

Good for you! I hadn’t heard of this rule of thumb either. I do recall reading somewhere (no idea where) something about shooting for home equity of about 1/3 of net worth but that may have been directed at the early-stage people (vs retirees).

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by steelyman Good for you! I hadn’t heard of this rule of thumb either. I do recall reading somewhere (no idea where) something about shooting for home equity of about 1/3 of net worth but that may have been directed at the early-stage people (vs retirees).

Yes, and in my net worth computations I was including the hypothetical lump sum value of my monthly SS and pension deposits, which I would not have had earlier in life. Otherwise the percentage would have been higher.

[Shabby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by corn18 Right now, we have $500k plugged in. Actually, it's $590k to cover selling current home, moving and buying new home.

You are about to get 3 pages of answers asking for more info. But, like you, I know where you are at when you ask things like this, so allow me to help with my 2 cents.

I am in a larger home now as well that should sell for about 900k. I would like to downsize to get additional money to invest and have a smaller space to upkeep. Like you I was unsure of where, but made a list of the top 10 choices. Researched a lot! I plugged in $600k for my final home. Felt I could get a decent home anywhere I would want for that. Size of home will vary on location, but $600k seemed solid.

Not that you asked, but here was my location list in no particular order:
Charleston SC
Delray Beach, FL (Likely my winner)
Pinehurst, NC
Tampa, FL
Jacksonville, FL
New Orleans
Denver
San Diego (North Solano Beach)
Arizona-Phoenix
Sonoma or Napa

[Shabby]

Quote:

Originally Posted by corn18 We currently live in a 4,600 sq ft spec home in Southlake, TX ($750k). Probably mid range price for this area and a mcmansion type home.

OMG, even the Wikipedia page for Southlake, TX has pics of these homes on it. LOL. Impressive!

Needless to say that house here in Seattle would be $4MM+

[steelyman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Yes, and in my net worth computations I was including the hypothetical lump sum value of my monthly SS and pension deposits, which I would not have had earlier in life. Otherwise the percentage would have been higher.

Makes sense (I hope hope nobody steers this into net worth calculations). It would be interesting to use both as a means of bracketing a price range for a purchase/budget.

[Rustic23]

You might have just ask "How long is a piece of string"

It's up to you and you spouse if $500,000 is enough. In my neighborhood it is twice a much as you need for 2,500 sq. ft. brand new. However, if you want it on the lake, then it may not be enough. On the golf course, some where in the middle. So the long and short of it is ??