last house before retiring .. or condo?

[brucethebroker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaudrey My parents live in NH, and what they did 20 years ago when they built their house was put the master bedroom/bath on the first floor, along with the kitchen, living, dining room and den. Therefore, although it is a 2 story house, they can live on the first floor. The second floor is a study and 2 guest bedrooms, and another bathroom. Fast forward to today, my mother, at 80, can no longer do stairs easily, and she doesn't have to - everything they need to live is on the main floor. Don't limit yourself to a ranch - just look for a layout that can accommodate you living mostly on the main floor.

Yeah, that is part of my reply also. Here are some ideas I have seen:
1. As a Realtor, I see many 60's-80's homes that are 2 story but have a separate living room plus a family room or large den on the first floor. Some of those rooms could be converted to a first floor master.
2. Tri-levels. In our area of the Midwest, the tri-level (true tri level has 3 floors including a lower level with windows above the ground) was a popular design in the 60's-70's. Most have a lower level with only 3-4 steps and not too steep. Often, there is a family room, spare room/guest room with a 1/2 or full bath on that lower level. We have owned two with ground level back doors that enter the lower area without steps.
3. Two story with a "straight" (no landings) staircase to the second level. Suitable for a chair lift to be installed.
4. Any two story home with enough land to add on to the lower level, adding enough room for a new master and bath.

Good luck!

[audreyh1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HNL Bill Stairs are good for you, until, possibly, the early 80s. My mom came to visit me in Monterey once, at around age 75. When she arrived, she had a hard time climbing two flights. When she left, it was effortless.

LOL! It really is amazing how quickly one can get used to stairs. In Holland they have crazy steep stairs, sometimes even curving with barely enough room for your feet. We call them crazy Dutch stairs. We used an apartment for several weeks up 3 flights of long very steep stairs, and another curvy set inside the two story apartment! The first day was tough. After a few days, we didn't think anything of those stairs. We went up and down those stairs several times every day.

[Scrapr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 LOL! It really is amazing how quickly one can get used to stairs. In Holland they have crazy steep stairs, sometimes even curving with barely enough room for your feet. We call them crazy Dutch stairs. We used an apartment for several weeks up 3 flights of long very steep stairs, and another curvy set inside the two story apartment! The first day was tough. After a few days, we didn't think anything of those stairs. We went up and down those stairs several times every day.

We stayed in a B&B in Antwerp. 5 flights of stairs to the top. Guess where our room was located? Mrs Scrapr was not amused. (but she had a bad cold) I carried all the luggage up/down

Owner was redoing several floors. He might have had a rabbinical student on one floor. His finished area was very nice

We went to leave and the owner says something about the payment. I had thought we pre paid. Had to run down to an ATM real quick

[cyber888]

A few years back, I built a 1,500 sq.ft. 3 bedroom 2 bath rustic cabin with a panoramic view of the mountains. I thought I would retire there .. the views were amazing, but the downtown is like 20 minutes away and most neighbors were part-time residence. One neighbor was also a dick for cutting all the trees and making a part of the mountain bald .. he had no concern for the environment. Lastly, a loghome is high maintenance, with carpenter bees burying itself in the logs and restaining it every 3 years. We sold it. So, I am settling for my brick home near the big city Once in a while we just rent a cabin whenever we want to be in the mountains.

[TwoByFour]

We have a tiny (960 sqft) house but added a 300 sqft lanai. We live in Maui so the lanai is pleasant to sit on 365 days a year and we spend a lot of time on it. Property is 2 acres which means we cannot see or hear any of our neighbors. The nights are inky black with lots of stars and the neighborhood is very quiet except all the birds. The yard is a bit of work but I enjoy it. I surf 2-3 times a week with a bunch of other geezers, one of whom just turned 80. DW is a water color painter and runs all over the island with her painting group, painting stuff. We're having fun.

[googily]

I'm in a 110-year-old two-story townhouse in the center city. It's not a house to retire in--only a half bath downstairs if I stop being able to climb stairs, and I'd have to turn the dining room into a bedroom. But it's been home for 25 years, and the neighbors are great (other than their BARKING DOGS). Assuming the world doesn't fall down around us, I should have a pretty killer amount of equity when I do sell, and would probably move into one of the condo buildings not far from here (or even just rent in one of those buildings). But for now, the house is comfy, and last year after DH died I went on a big spree and replaced the windows and the HVAC and the shower plumbing and the washer and dryer and had most of the rooms repainted. I figure I'll reassess when I'm 60. Or so. (A neighbor down the street in a similar house is now 87 years old and she lives by herself. Using the stairs!)

[NYEXPAT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by audreyh1 LOL! It really is amazing how quickly one can get used to stairs. In Holland they have crazy steep stairs, sometimes even curving with barely enough room for your feet. We call them crazy Dutch stairs. We used an apartment for several weeks up 3 flights of long very steep stairs, and another curvy set inside the two story apartment! The first day was tough. After a few days, we didn't think anything of those stairs. We went up and down those stairs several times every day.

I always wondered how they do that when stoned?

[Helena]

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Buy whichever you can pay off asap, so you will be house debt-free in retirement.

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[pb4uski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by SomedaySoon My 2cents. I loved the full college experience with fraternities, sports, social activities, etc. Then I graduated and married and had kids. I bought a house @ 25 and lived there for 30 yrs. During that time I was your basic workaholic, with no social life. Worked, mowed the lawn, cleaned the pool, shoveled the driveway, fixed what need to be fixed in an old house, repeat. @55 I was laid off and decided to retire. We bought a SFH in a brand new 55+ condo community 5 years ago. One floor energy efficient living with all outside care done by professionals. Since then it has been like being back in college. DW and I go out to eat a couple of nights a week with new friends. I bowl, play golf, pickleball, etc., just about every day. I volunteer @ the local soup kitchen with 5 other guys in the community and it is more fun than you can imagine. There are restrictions on what we can do outside our house, but it is something we can definitely live with. I vote for condo living !

+1 we have a condo in Florida and a SFH in Vermont and my vote is for condo living too.

[Mdlerth]

Statistical outlier here. DW and I just bought our retirement house, downsizing from 5 bedrooms to 7. Yep, you read that right.

I'll explain my thinking, and then you can all tell me, gently, whether I'm nuts.

We wanted to retire on waterfront. After considering beaches, riversides and lakes, we chose lake. This lake in particular offers everything we wanted, including just the right distance from the city to be both rural-quiet and civilization-accessible.

We figured three bedrooms max, with the spare bedrooms on the small side so freeloading relatives would feel a bit cramped after a few days and move on. (We have some experience with boomerang kids, but that's another story. )

A garage was a necessity. Either the house comes with a garage, or there must be space to build one.

We wanted our own boathouse, with a lift and a shed to store skis, life vests, fishing rods, paddle boards, etc. The dock had to be a short walk from the house.

So far, so good. We found lots of properties for sale which met those criteria. Then came the snag.

DW has MS, and while she copes with it in yeomanlike fashion, we figured it best to plan for reduced mobility. That meant single floor living: first floor master, walk-in shower, laundry, roomy kitchen, etc.

All the houses with few bedrooms were too small. No room to fit a wheelchair, all the bedrooms up stairways, and the kitchens were teeny tiny. If we wanted enough space for a future handicapped resident, we had to think larger.

Could we have just bought a plot and hired an architect and designed a custom house and dealt with builders and HOA boards and all that? Yeah, we could do that. But it would take about two years, and when it was all done we'd still find things we'd regret.

Also, on the lake most of the home's value isn't in the building. Location, location, location. A 1600 sq ft house on the same waterfront lot costs 95% of what a 3600 sq ft house costs.

So we found a house that had everything we wanted, plus some extra. It had a motivated seller, so we got it at a good price. We can always close off the extra bedrooms if we want. As for keeping them clean, the robotic vacuum doesn't complain about how many rooms it has to do. If it needs to work for two hours instead of one, it just goes back to its base for recharging more often.

Now, maybe you're thinking, "Hey, what's your hurry, anyway? Couldn't you have kept looking for a while until maybe the perfect, smaller house came on the market?"

The answer is "No." Having read on these pages about the difficulty in securing a mortgage once the W2 income ceases, I felt it was more urgent to buy the retirement castle soon while I still have a pay stub that will qualify for a loan. That gives me the most flexibility in choosing my exit date, or alternatively welcoming a layoff if it happens (there are rumors of imminent downsizings). Once we both are retired, we will sell our current (mortgage-free) house and pay off the loan on the lake house. But for now we're in the catbird seat, so we could choose to FIRE in two months or in two years, whenever it's convenient.

Sorry to go on so long. I hope most of this relates to the original topic. If not, I'll gladly refund your money. Thanks for reading.

[lucky penny]

I love all of these stories. Very interesting to hear about different perspectives and choices -- many of which have me fantasizing for a few minutes. Loved the photos too! Thanks for sharing.

I live in a nice NYC coop which will probably be my retirement home. I wish it was larger, but the same apartment with another bedroom and bathroom would cost twice as much.

[NH Hiker]

I found the NH real estate monthly data at http://www.nhar.org/ to be very interesting. The % paying list price and the declining days on the market is amazing.

[Souschef]

The term condo is used quite a bit, but there is more than one type. My mom lived in what we call "apartment style" in Florida.
I lived in a townhouse style until I retired. It had its own separate entrance and nobody living above us.

[Fedup]

I thought condo is not the same as townhome. Now when I was in UK, there was another term thrown at us, maisonnette. My husband and I racked our brain tried to understand the difference between these terms.

[Souschef]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fedup I thought condo is not the same as townhome. Now when I was in UK, there was another term thrown at us, maisonnette. My husband and I racked our brain tried to understand the difference between these terms.

In strict Real Estate terms, condominium is a type of ownership, where you own your townhouse or apartment, and a fraction of the "common area"
You pay for the upkeep and maintenance of the common area. That is what the association fees cover.
I was on the board of mine for 25 years until the year before I retired.

[KB]

I downsized when I was 51, the year before I retired. My kids were a junior and senior in High school. Knowing they would move away soon, I wanted them to live in the house for awhile before they moved out. So it would have been their home, when they came back to visit.

It was a downsize but not a dramatic one. Two story to one story and no pool. Only a few hundred square feet less. But new vs 20 years old, so less maintenance.

It is in a HOA neighborhood with 24 hour security and front yard maintenance. I knew I wanted to travel and wanted the front yard to look the same whether I was home or not. I did not plant a lawn in back, but a vegetable garden and some interesting shrubs and trees. I can leave it and travel without much impact.

The house has a slight step into the front and back doors, easy to add a 3 or 4 inch tall ramp if needed. Wide halls, easy for wheelchairs and a slight step into the walk in shower. I will stay here until I move into something smaller and easier. Maybe a CCRC, not sure yet.

My kids are still not settled, they both travel quite a bit, so I don't know where they will end up. I would love to move somewhere a little cooler, the Sacramento valley heat is really bothering me as I get older. But the year around vegetable gardening keeps me here for now.

[sheehs1]

I built my home in 1993. It was a 2 story, 3 bd, 2 and 1/2 bath home. I married and needed space for 3 more. The first addition I did was to add a large master suite downstairs. My home ended up as 3,400 sf, 4 beds, 3 1/2 baths. Due to that addition, I can live on the first floor.

It won't be the house that makes me want to move. It will be the yard work, house maintenance and the cleaning of all the upstairs spaces. Yet, I am thinking it will be cheaper to hire others for that than it will be to move. I have always done most of this myself knowing one day I would have to have some help.

Last year I bought a 1,200 sf 2 bed, 2 bath water front condo. It is on the second floor. One flight of steps up and then it is one level living. I love this condo. It is easy to clean and there are no maintenance worries other than your typical wear and tear type items on HVAC, windows, doors, etc. I consider the one flight of steps great exercise as I am up and down many times a day.

I like both my primary home and the condo. But I don't think I'd be happy living in a condo full time. There definitely is not as much privacy and while my dog is fine at the condo, potty duty is easier at my home, particularly during inclement weather. It can be brutal on the bay during the winter. For now I feel I have the best of both worlds.

Not sure which decision I will make in the future. Or if I will even have to make one. For now though, if needed, I have told my daughter to sell both and put me in assisted living on the Bay when it comes to that.

[daylatedollarshort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucethebroker Yeah, that is part of my reply also. Here are some ideas I have seen: 1. As a Realtor, I see many 60's-80's homes that are 2 story but have a separate living room plus a family room or large den on the first floor. Some of those rooms could be converted to a first floor master.

We are thinking more along those lines these days. The units in the local retirement village are the size of our downstairs, plus we have a private yard and full garage and no $800 a month HOA fee if we stay put. So living on the first floor, if need be, with some conversion might be the best choice for us as we age. We have a low cost senior center in town with door to door transportation, lunches and activities, so as long as we can dress ourselves and do basic day to day living functions we might stay put. We're close enough to electric scooter to stores, restaurant and banks if we eventually have to give up driving and can't walk too far.

[nakadude]

We are in transition as we are recently married so we are staying in DW's house until her youngest finishes high school this coming year. After that we will be moving to our 900 SF condo. Built in the late 70s, most are either retired or first time buyers (interesting dynamic). Right on a golf course, it's quiet and well maintained. The age of the units does mean some maintenance items come up and lots of stairs so that's a concern. I'm in the mindset that this is the last place we are going to live (Knoxville, TN).
May reconsider if stairs become an issue or we need an even warmer climate.

[SumDay]

We did this in 2015, and I posted about it: http://www.early-retirement.org/foru...ied-80360.html

Last night DH was getting an ice cream treat and bellered at me as he was looking around the house "do you have any idea how much I love this house?" It's a pretty good feeling when you make a HUGE decision like that and it turns out to be the right one.