Retirement House

[HI Bill]

If I were in the OP's shoes and wanted to travel, I would probably get a condo....if we want to go away, clean out the fridge, turn off the water, close and lock the door and arm the security system.... easy peasy.

Our annual costs, excluding mortgage payments since we bought for cash, are about $9k a year all in so it is very affordable too.

+1. My plan is to buy a condo in a gated community for the first decade of retirement (54-~64) when we intend to travel a lot. I looked at buying a house in a gated community, but the monthly costs would sink half our travel budget. My hope is that in the next decade, our assets (and the condo) appreciate enough to allow us to buy a really nice house. In the mean time, I'll be selling ETFs annually (and re-purchasing similar funds) to the limit that allows the LTGCs to be tax-free. That way, any time after 59.5, I'll have ready cash available for the purchase.

 

[Moemg]

Have you looked at Venice ,Fl. ? It has a nice historic downtown and is very close to the beach . It has been discovered and is getting built up but it is a very pretty area .

 

[INTJ10]

If you are an introvert as your INTJ handle implies, I’m thinking the Villages would not be a good fit. Too much social interaction. And yes, you don’t have to partake in all they offer, but why move to this type of community if not to participate. That’s just me, YMMV.

That is a fair point. Although, i don’t dislike social interaction, I just prefer smaller groups. I am curious to see what it is like.

 

[joeea]

If I were in the OP's shoes and wanted to travel, I would probably get a condo.

A lock and leave condo makes a lot of sense if you don't need the rental income.

 

[INTJ10]

Have you looked at Venice ,Fl. ? It has a nice historic downtown and is very close to the beach . It has been discovered and is getting built up but it is a very pretty area .

Venice, is great. It gets pricey to get near Venice Ave and/or the beach so a little rental income might make it practical to get a place closer to the water if it is worth the hassle.

 

[bigcmagor]

We never rented out our Florida home, but allowed friends, family and coworkers to use it for free (along with the car) when we weren't there. Providing a virtually free vacation for people we like seemed to be a good idea at the time. Spending time each trip repainting scuff marks on the walls and cleaning carpets got to be discouraging. The more money we poured into improvements, the less accommodative we became and eventually we just stopped allowing it. Nobody cares for your stuff like you do.

 

[cathy63]

Wherever you end up buying, do some serious research on the status of home sharing laws in the area and listen for any rumblings of discontent that might portend future restrictions. I don't know how Floridians feel about this, but most coastal communities in So Cal have implemented outright bans or very tight restrictions on short term rentals. It would be a shame to buy a place where you depend on an income stream only to have a restrictive law passed shortly thereafter.

And on the other side of that coin, don't forget to find out how many other houses in the neighborhood are listed on AirBnB. If the 2-bedroom home next door is listed as "sleeps 8", that tends to have an impact on your peace and quiet.

 

[INTJ10]

Wherever you end up buying, do some serious research on the status of home sharing laws in the area and listen for any rumblings of discontent that might portend future restrictions. I don't know how Floridians feel about this, but most coastal communities in So Cal have implemented outright bans or very tight restrictions on short term rentals. It would be a shame to buy a place where you depend on an income stream only to have a restrictive law passed shortly thereafter.

And on the other side of that coin, don't forget to find out how many other houses in the neighborhood are listed on AirBnB. If the 2-bedroom home next door is listed as "sleeps 8", that tends to have an impact on your peace and quiet.

Very true. I made the mistake of volunteering to be in our HOA Board and quickly became aware of deed restrictions. I actually had to enforce our “no short term rental” rule.

Florida lives off tourism. The state smells money so they have proposed a law that Does Not allow communities to restrict short term rentals. At the same
Time Air BnB made an agreement with the state to collect sales tax on bookings and pass it along to the state.

Some have suggested condo/ townhouses which would be nice for traveling. It is hard to find a condo/townhouse that would make it possible to do Air BnB since all are deed restricted. It is also almost impossible to find a townhouse with a 3 car garage.

 

[rk911]

Not us. There's no way I'd want someone else living in my home while I was away.

If we had planned to travel that much, we would have rented rather than buying.

agree. we are usually in the RV 5-6 months a year. we have zero debt including the mortgage and have been cash flowing an extensive remodeling job. we pretty much have the house the way we like it and will be staying here until health makes it difficult to remain.

 

[rk911]

We are going to check out the villages. A “lifestyle visit” is a four day minimum.

from folks who lived there with whom i talked the villages can be very cliquey and excluding especially if you don't play golf or drink.

 

[Calico]

We are going to check out the villages. A “lifestyle visit” is a four day minimum.

FYI, an earlier thread: http://www.early-retirement.org/for...sit-to-the-villages-in-a-few-weeks-96561.html

 

[Scuba]

We have never rented out our primary home as an Air BnB and I think it would be hard to do so. We have rented many homes/condos from VRBO, Air BnB and other rental agencies. Nice rentals do not have any personal belongings in them, except for one locked closet. That means no clothing, personal photos, or personal effects of any kind, no food, except maybe some spices and coffee or tea. Essentially you would have to move out of your home when you wanted to rent it. Too much hassle for us, not to mention potential damage to nice furniture, artwork, rugs, etc. If you decide to do this, I would furnish it accordingly - ie stylishly but cheap stuff that looks good. The risk of damage is high from short-term renters.

We have rented a second home out on the short-term rental market. We only made around $12K per year, and it was also a big hassle dealing with property management, bad tenants who caused significant damage, etc. If we ever do that again, we will furnish it much differently. Our stuff was too nice and damage happened.

We rented out our primary residence, unfurnished, for long-term rentals when we moved away for a couple of years and that was fine. If you want to do a long-term trip, putting your things in storage and renting it out unfurnished could be a good option.

 

[INTJ10]

Thanks for all of the advice/comments. Based on the feedback, we gave up on the idea of short term rentals. We did sign a contract for a property that could be attractive for long term rentals if we want to travel for multiple months. The property is on a canal that provides direct access to the Gulf of Mexico but it is inexpensive enough so we don't have to depend on any rentals because it is distant from population centers.

 

[Scuba]

Thanks for all of the advice/comments. Based on the feedback, we gave up on the idea of short term rentals. We did sign a contract for a property that could be attractive for long term rentals if we want to travel for multiple months. The property is on a canal that provides direct access to the Gulf of Mexico but it is inexpensive enough so we don't have to depend on any rentals because it is distant from population centers.

Good decision, I think.

 

[Music Lover]

BUT - - first I would retire, and spend a couple of years in retirement before selling or buying any real estate. My reason for this is that many of us seem to find it much easier to figure out what we need and want in retirement, after:
(1) completely adjusting to retirement, and then
(2) experiencing retirement.

Plenty of people on this site have said a lot of the things that they planned to do after retirement never happened. People should take a year or so to adjust before making a major purchase like a house in a new area. And, if it's a new area it's wise to rent for a few months first to get the lay of the land before committing.

 

[COcheesehead]

Plenty of people on this site have said a lot of the things that they planned to do after retirement never happened. People should take a year or so to adjust before making a major purchase like a house in a new area. And, if it's a new area it's wise to rent for a few months first to get the lay of the land before committing.

I tend to agree with everything you said, but I actually did the opposite and its turned out well.

We bought our retirement house in a new town about 18 months out from our retirement date. We thought we did enough research and spent enough time in the new town before hand that we felt comfortable in pulling the trigger. We also found a great house at a great price and felt it was something we couldn't pass up.

We are now about 6 months into our "new situation". We have made friends in the new town and enjoy the opportunity to discover a different part of the state. I commute back and forth during the week to complete my w*rk obligations.

So I am not recommending anyone do what we did, but so far, so good.

 

[justexperienced]

I think this is a bad idea. Speaking as Airbnb host. You need to be there to check on your renters for checkin and out. It would be hard to monitor your business if you are away. What I can suggest if your really want this arangement is for you to hire someoene who can assist the renters and you can just instruct him/her for onboarding, that way you can continue traveling and at the same time earning money.

 

[RetireBy90]

If I were in the OP's shoes and wanted to travel, I would probably get a condo. I love our Florida condo... if we want to go away, clean out the fridge, turn off the water, close and lock the door and arm the security system.... easy peasy.

Our annual costs, excluding mortgage payments since we bought for cash, are about $9k a year all in so it is very affordable too.

+1



This was or is my thinking. May never do it but a condo in the keys and one in Maine would be ideal. With condo don't have to worry as much about things going wrong while you are away.



We have a neighbor who does winters in Fla and had a pipe burst while they were away. They have a son here but he only visits every couple weeks to check on it. Took about 2 months to get place repaired.

 

[pb4uski]

.... We have a neighbor who does winters in Fla and had a pipe burst while they were away. They have a son here but he only visits every couple weeks to check on it. Took about 2 months to get place repaired.

We turn off the water while we are away for that very reason.... only takes 15 seconds.

 

[Senator]

I am ready to pull the plug next year. My wife and I ended up in Florida to work at our “last jobs”. We bought a home based on the location to make our commutes easier not knowing if we would want to remain in Florida. We knew this home was okay but not a long term solution.

At this point we are starting to look for a home based on our retirement lifestyle needs. We want to do some traveling while our health still allows. We now face the decision regarding how much to spend on the house vs. traveling and other stuff. One option is to buy an Air BnB friendly house so that we could buy something in a nicer location and not feel guilty when we are not using it while traveling.

I was wondering if anyone else has done this approach and how it worked out.

I purchased a vacation rental in Kissimmee. FL, via a 1031 Exchange. I use Evolve Vacation Rental as the marketing company, and they have a property manager for stuff on the ground like check-ins, check-outs, cleaning and repairs.

It has worked out well. It can be 100% hands off. Or you can schedule your time and go there. From a tax perspective, it can be good if you only use it 14 days or less. Travel and meals are all deductible.

 

[YoungSaver]

One option is to buy an Air BnB friendly house so that we could buy something in a nicer location and not feel guilty when we are not using it while traveling.

Who is going to wash the sheets and vacuum the house for the AirBnB'rs? The cleaners might need to be there a couple times a week. How much do you have to pay them?

 

[Senator]

Who is going to wash the sheets and vacuum the house for the AirBnB'rs? The cleaners might need to be there a couple times a week. How much do you have to pay them?

When people book my place, they pay a $95 cleaning fee. The cleaners come after every guest. If it's extra dirty, you get charged more after the stay. That is typical.

Hotels have mid-stay cleaners, AirBNB's do not. You wash your own sheets and vacuum if you need that during your stay.

I have had guests stay 6 weeks. The cleaner only comes once, after the guest is out.

 

[YoungSaver]

Thanks for the info!

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

We're hoping to travel half the year during retirement but not necessarily in one 6 month stretch. Everyone is different but I don't want someone living all over "my space" either. However, our house is configured to support a somewhat self-contained rental in one corner of the house. I wouldn't mind setting up that as a rental if just to have someone onsite to identify issues like burst pipes etc while we're away. A lot of people in Vancouver are also building laneway home additions as an in-law or rental suite but the ROI on those seem to be about 10+ years.

 

[Bamaman]

We have a closing tomorrow on another house an hour away. Found out Friday that the roof's condition was not good, and $2500 repairs is just a band aid. The two real estate agents didn't disclose the report (with pictures) until Tuesday. They were going to let me close the purchase without full disclosure.

The sellers refused to file a comprehensive claim on hail damage. I'm not about to close on a house needing a $15K roof in another year or two.

I have a bunch of cash to wire transfer back to Ally Bank until we can come up with another house. What's so bad is this is the perfect house for our family and furniture--4000 sq. ft. with triple car garage.

There are other houses on the market, but our area's really hopping business wise..