Poll: Did You Retire in your Most Expensive Home?

[iloveyoga]

Staying in our current, paid off home is an important part of my overall strategy, as long as we can take care of it and manage the stairs.

 

[MI-Roger]

We spent an evening with a college fraternity brother and his wife earlier this summer at their new Forever Home. $1M plus price tag, between 4500 to 6500 sq ft depending upon which Real Estate web site you believe, architect designed, interior decorator furnished, lake front property, very complex heating/cooling system (he and I both studied this in college but only I remained somewhat in the field), three stories of living areas but with open stairways and no elevator, multiple Master Suites, etc. I got lost returning from the Powder Room!

Absolutely gorgeous! The wife no longer works and spends all day tending to the home and lot. Their three children all live hundreds of miles away, like ours. Like us they also have no grandchildren.

It it their choice but I worry advancing age will push them out of their dream home far sooner than they expect. At least their Master Suite is on the main floor.

We have lived in our ~1800 sq ft home for nearly 40 years and it has a market worth of about $250K based on recent neighborhood sales. Assuming we move from here into a final or forever home it will likely; be smaller than our current home, be single story, and (if new) will cost more than the sales price of our current home.

 

[braumeister]

This is our most expensive home, but only a little more than the previous one, and not really what most would call expensive. It's a condo that is almost exactly the same size as the SFH we move out of, so we didn't have to do much downsizing. The downside of that is that we have a storage room that is crammed full of useless stuff (my opinion) that DW has been unable to part with.

We also moved across a state line, so different property taxes, income taxes, license fees, insurance rates, etc., but all that worked out to a slight decrease. The HOA fees are more than what we were spending on the SFH, but the convenience factor is well worth it.

 

[Perryinva]

We are moving in 2 weeks to a 3 story townhouse, with elevator and 2 car garage. While larger living space, 2950 vs 2200, itnhas less storage so we did downsize. More floors mean more separation when wanted for privacy, sound, hobbies, etc. This is the first new built for us home where we called the design shots and it is better designed, layout and efficiency wise, in a higher end location, and while only a mile from where we are now, it is county instead of city taxes and utilities. Saltwater pool and superb gym, it SHOULD be a good lifestyle & location for aging for the next 20 years. Plenty of much older people already living in them. It is a small neighborhood, only 90 or so townhouses, ut have yet to meet anyone that doesn’t love living there and most all moved from a larger SFH. It was about $100k more than the home we sold, which was nearly paid off. We used to laugh at the prices of these, but had never been in one and when we visited on a whim it rang true. Thanks to the lure of recent significant appreciation and still low rates, coupled wih the neighborhood changes in the last 12 years we’ve been here (from nice quiet to kid central/bus stop on our corner, increased maintenance,) and desire for no exterior maintenance, or interior for at least the next 10 years, pushed us to make the move. Though larger, it will be far easier to clean due to design layout and lack of traffic. We’ e always had a housecleaner but for now we decided it is honestly more trouble than it is worth, with this new home. But getting my weekends to be mine and relaxing will be key to easing in to retirement. Could have paid cash but chose to only put $200k down. No frequent visitors or grands to consider and prolonged vacations will be far easier. Easily fits in to our cash flow.

 

[donheff]

I vote with the members who advise evaluating your resources and doing the numbers. Some of us budget huge amounts for travel. Your wife wants to put a big chunk into living in her dream house. Well, you scrimped and saved to enjoy ER, if the numbers add up go for it. If a worse than worse case scenario hits you can always sell the joint and downsize. Or take Tom Selleck's advice and live off the equity in the house.

 

[Moemg]

I spent the last 17 years living in the big expensive house . It is 3800 square feet on Sarasota Bay and since waterfront has gone sky high I will make a huge profit. My next house if I ever find one will be smaller and cheaper but still tricked out with all the bells and whistles and definitely maintenance free . So my last house will be less than I sell this house for but probably not less than I paid for it years ago.

 

[mountainsoft]

Our first home was a 750 sq/ft single wide mobile home that we lived in for 13 years on our property. We paid $20,000 for it back in 1991.

Our current home is a 1456 sq/ft home my wife and I built ourselves. It cost us $60,000 to build our home back in 2004.

We plan to stay in our current home the rest of our lives. So we will retire in our most expensive home, even though it cost far less than any comparable home.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

We are grappling with this now as we prepare to move to flyover country. We will initially be living in a house that is about 700 square feet less than where we live now, and even after getting rid of a decent amount of stuff, I am not sure how it will all fit in the new house. At any rate, we have been on the lookout for a "perfect" (or at least, "good enough") house to which we intent to retire to. The search hasn't been very successful, so it seems as though we will most likely build something. In talking to a couple of builders and see the prices, we expect that we will spend about 30% more than what we are selling our Atlanta house for.

I was going back and forth on the "allowable budget" (no mortgage) with what I was going to be comfortable with, but ultimately, even on the high end of the budget (and a gracious contingency), we will still be quite comfortable $ wise and I have stopped worrying about it. In the almost 4 years I have been retired, I would say that I have been home about 95% of that time and it is my favorite place to be...no question about it. So, if we spend a little more to make the home damn near perfect for our needs...then so be it. Even so, the square footage we are aiming for is about 2400-2500 (about what we have now) and no stairs. In watching my Mom and Dad age in (and ultimately die) in their "forever home", I gained appreciation for the inevitability of getting old that my Mom planned for in the home. No stairs, wide doors, easy access to items if you were in a wheelchair...all great ideas that they actually used. And, although I am only in my mid 40's, it just so happened to be the same age that they built their forever home...they recognized, even at that relative young age, that they would get old and things would be more difficult for them, and I recognize the same thing. Perhaps the next home we land at won't be the last, but it very well could be...so we are planning for that possibility.

For the people that noted the size of their homes I am surprised at how many empty nesters have such large houses. No way do I want that much space to clean.

I have noticed that many of my friend's parents have done this. When the kids were at home, they all lived in 1400-1500 square foot ranch homes. Then the kids move out, they retire, and then build 5000 square foot monster homes. I don't really understand it, but to each their own!

 

[Bamaman]

We left Atlanta and our 4400 sq. ft. home at the top of the market 15 years ago. Moved to Ultra LCOL place with 3500 sq. ft. and a very small mortgage--knowing Megacorp would "retire us" early. We also have an inherited lake house across town.

A foreclosure came available down the street--stately 6700 sq. ft. on 5.5 acres with 4 garages for $317K. It's commonly known as the Beverly Hillbillies house. Didn't have the cash to buy it and replace carpeting and kitchen, so we passed.

Wife found a beautiful 5200 sq. ft. house in a great neighborhood with 2 double garages for under $300K. My man-cave is 26' by 48'--immense. Neighbor homes are 7500-10,500 square feet. We jumped on it as a solid buy.

After 10 months of cleaning and painting, we sold our 3500 square ft. house for top dollar. Bought my daughter a 2800 sq. ft. house for cash but later sold it.

We are raising a 7 year old granddaughter and her brother is here often so we actually use the space. But this house will not be our last home as it's simply too large for one person. When one of us passes, the other will sell this house and move into a more manageable one story home or to the lake house.

 

[brett]

We downsized from a large home. Lots of motivators.

My spouse no longer wanted to clean a home on three floors that had four full bathrooms, five unused bedrooms, and an unused living room, rec room, and dining room.

I did not want to renovate or replace the huge cedar shingle roof windows, or renovate the kitchen, bathrooms, and decks. Nor did I want to pay the property taxes, heat the place, insurance, etc. and be responsible for clearing snow from the sidewalk. We were paying big bucks for a millstone around our respective necks.

Moved to a 1500 sq foot bungalow duplex HOA. One bedroom, den, open plan on main floor. Finished basement w/ bedroom. Great neighbours. We can lock and go...which we will be doing in October for several weeks and and in January for two months. At the moment, as I look out, the HOA crew are clearing away a foot of snow that fell in our area over the past 24 hours. That is as close as I want to come to snow removal and lawn care.

We are both thrilled with the move. Don't miss the old mausoleum. We rented for four years in between because of the real estate market. This actually helped us to narrow our focus and really define what we wanted, location, etc.

 

[kcowan]

Interesting post, thanks for sharing. Believe it or not I remember being mildly surprised you didn’t move to Springfield after you mentioned it many times...

I was also surprised. And she did move to a different house in NO. So she had disconnected from the existing place. It seems to have worked out.

 

[KingB]

DW wins again, as usual...

You are a winner too. A happy wife and comfortable about the next house. You will be happy too.

 

[Fedup]

I didn’t get my way either. My husband won. But I’m beginning to see his wisdom.

 

[ERD50]

I didn't read every post, but even if a few years down the road, you decide this wasn't a great idea, or that you really don't want that much $ tied up in this home, you can always sell it.

You might even make a profit. Sure, it would be a pain to sell/buy/move again, and there are a lot of costs. But it isn't a lifetime commitment.

My prediction (based on nothing other than my sunny disposition!) is that you and your wife will be very happy with this decision. Good luck, and all the best for the new home!

-ERD50

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Did You Retire in your Most Expensive Home?

After I retired, we bought bare forest land. We cleared an acre of land overlooking a river, and we built our retirement home.

This is the fifth home that we have owned.

This is the lowest priced home that we have owned.

When we were dating, dreaming about our future 'ideal' home, we decided that we wanted to live surrounded by dense forest, with a nearby river, grow our own food, raise livestock, and be off the power grid.

This home is the largest home we have owned and it is on the largest acreage property, though it has the lowest property taxes of all homes we have owned.

 

[cyber888]

Im planning to retire in our current house, which is the most expensive one so far

 

[Kim451]

Great quote

No regrets. Our current home, purchased six years into FIRE, was 50% more expensive than the selling price of our prior home, but it also came with a complete change in lifestyle that is hard to put a price value on. In addition to getting the coastal-close view location we'd long desired, we are able to play daily at the beach, always temperate here in S. California, and that has resulted in unexpected savings elsewhere. Our utility bills are lower due to cooler climate, as is our EQ insurance (we're now further from a major fault line), we do less fine dining in that we prefer to eat out in our lovely backyard, and less travel due to still much enjoying our new geographic location. Should any of these things change for the negative at some point, we can always sell and relocate either elsewhere, or to someplace less expensive. We won't regret our years here, regardless.

Yes, this is exactly how I feel! I'm in probably the highest COL area in the country but no longer feeling any need to traipse off to the Caribbean for beach vacations (I can walk to a nice beach) or to escape the weather; and travel so far consists of occasional island hopping and one (6 hour flight!) trip to Tahiti. HI has low property taxes and doesn't tax my pension or SS. Gas is expensive but I only fill the tank twice a month since I'm on an island and I can walk to post office, drugstore, Target, etc. and take the bus into Waikiki. Farmer's markets are fun as well as less expensive! and I've lived on 5 islands already so knew island fever wouldn't be a problem, especially with few relatives left to go visit, but, as you said, if I decide I need to, I can relocate and I'll never regret having had the chance to live here. At least I'll never have that "what if.." thought hanging around in back of my mind... I'd hate that.

 

[gooddog]

Least and most expensive

We retired into the home that is worth the most we have ever owned, but it has a guest house that we rent out and it covers all house related expenses - and then some. Not sure if that makes it the most or least expensive. Our place is on the beach in California, but we did buy a place in Florida on the water very near Cocoa Beach. The Florida place will be the retirement home eventually due to Florida having no income tax and favorable property tax treatment for owners there. Selling the home in California will be a heart breaker, but it sure won't hurt the bank account....

Six years retired, and don't miss work at all.

 

[gooddog]

No regrets. Our current home, purchased six years into FIRE, was 50% more expensive than the selling price of our prior home, but it also came with a complete change in lifestyle that is hard to put a price value on. In addition to getting the coastal-close view location we'd long desired, we are able to play daily at the beach, always temperate here in S. California, and that has resulted in unexpected savings elsewhere. Our utility bills are lower due to cooler climate, as is our EQ insurance (we're now further from a major fault line), we do less fine dining in that we prefer to eat out in our lovely backyard, and less travel due to still much enjoying our new geographic location. Should any of these things change for the negative at some point, we can always sell and relocate either elsewhere, or to someplace less expensive. We won't regret our years here, regardless.

You hit on something a lot of people miss IMO. If you own a home where there are things you want to do, and you enjoy your local community - travel becomes very secondary. Your costs actually go down for travel, dining and other activities because you are where you want to be. Some people "save" money on their retirement home and spend a lot more on all the other stuff because they are not happy with their retirement home.

 

[NoMoreJob]

We've lived in two homes in retirement, boty smaller and less expensive than the last house we lived in while I was working.

 

[DeborahB]

I retired in 2010 at 62. At 67 I left my SO and moved from the Midwest back to my hometown in New England. This house is the most expensive I’ve owned, though not the largest. Unlike most here, apparently, I got a mortgage intentionally. It’s at 4.125% and I generally make more than that on investments. So I left the $ invested and I’ll deduct the interest for a while on taxes. I don’t have a pension so I live on the dividends on my stocks, and my SS.

This is my last house, unless stairs become impossible. It has 7 steps to get into the house but other than that I mostly live on the first floor. It was rehabbed in 2014 and has a master BR with full bath on the first floor. I love the house and neighborhood. I’m going to move the laundry into the shower of another first floor bath. Upstairs is a guest room with shower in bathroom and another big room filled with books and filed paperwork. I thought I’d keep the office upstairs but that hasn’t happened yet, lol.

But I’m so happy being here, even if I’m still unpacking after 18 months. And I can drive to the beach in summer, easily. All is pretty good.

 

[COcheesehead]

I’ll deduct the interest for a while on taxes.

You must have a lot of interest. With the new tax law I couldn't get close to being over the standard deduction even with all my other deductions.

 

[Fedup]

Single status vs married status.

 

[COcheesehead]

Single status vs married status.

That explains it.

 

[Teacher Terry]

GD, we love where we live with lots to do but travel is not secondary. We love that also. However, 2 weeks is the most I want to be gone. We spent more eating out and experiences because we now have the time.