How Many Primary Homes Have You Bought?

[old medic]

We are going with 5...
#1 $11500 in 1991 Cash
Our 1st home was a couple year old repoed single wide trailer that we put on the property of the house we were renting... We started there in the rundown 1 bedroom and by 1991 was a family of 4. We tried buying the place but she wanted to move back to her family home when she retired......
#2 $64500 in 1996 Mortgage
We bought 5 acres a mile away and got a modular put in... We did almost everything but drill the hole for the well and put the 2 halves together. At this time was the deepest in debt we ever were @ around $78K.
#3&4 $38000 & $10500 in 2017 Cash
In 2017, in an amazing turn of events, we sold the house and bought the same house we once rented... Problem was my brother had rented it since we moved in 96 and part of the deal was he stayed... So we bought home #4... A 2002 36 FT camper that became our home for the next 7 years....
#5 $6500 in 2018 Cash
The abandoned house that her brother built on the family property in 1972 and later split off. We almost set on fire but rebuilt it to our forever home.
So we now have a 4 acre homestead with 2 houses free and clear.

 

[VanWinkle]

I have never bought an existing primary home, but have built three over the years. 33 years in the first one, 10 years in the second one, and going on 3 years in June on the existing Tennessee homestead.

 

[Pointby2]

We've moved over a dozen times but only owned four places. One manufactured home, then a 1,050 Sq ft home, then a brand new home and finally our current home.

 

[JoeWras]

Two for me over 40 years. It is no surprise to see 2 be the current winning answer. Even then, 3 or less is a huge majority in this self selected poll.

Why no surprise? Because it fits in with the LBYM lifestyle that brought many of us to early retirement. Moving and buying new homes is very expensive and blows up savings plans.

 

[Dash man]

I put 3, not counting the home my wife had when we married and I moved into. My first was 1987 for four years, second was 1993 that I lived in for 3 years but owned for 12 years. Last was 2001 that is our current home that we are about to blow that dough on a new kitchen this year and a new master bath next year.

 

[COcheesehead]

Two for me over 40 years. It is no surprise to see 2 be the current winning answer. Even then, 3 or less is a huge majority in this self selected poll.

Why no surprise? Because it fits in with the LBYM lifestyle that brought many of us to early retirement. Moving and buying new homes is very expensive and blows up savings plans.

I disagree on having multiple houses not being a part of a LBYM lifestyle. It is very dependent on one’s circumstances. We move for better jobs, better communities. We leverage market growth to improve our situation. Selling expenses are negotiable and come out of appreciation. Moving expenses can be cheap. I paid less than $700 to our movers recently.
The money made from your house is a combination of market growth, leverage and time in the market.

 

[street]

I voted one. We built it in 1984 and still in it.

 

[Dtail]

I disagree on having multiple houses not being a part of a LBYM lifestyle. It is very dependent on one’s circumstances. We move for better jobs, better communities. We leverage market growth to improve our situation. Selling expenses are negotiable and come out of appreciation. Moving expenses can be cheap. I paid less than $700 to our movers recently.
The money made from your house is a combination of market growth, leverage and time in the market.

Agree in general. I voted 5 and it started with a 1 bedroom place, then 2, then 3, then 4 and current 4. I have made good monies on each sale. So for me, it was also to have more space.

 

[JoeWras]

Whoa, whoa! You do you. I'm speaking in general about LYBM. Don't take offense if you have had many houses. I make no judgement. All I'm saying is if you do a lot of real estate transactions, it is expensive. For many not paying attention, it "blows up" savings. Of course, many here have great reasons to move or adjust type of house. And to an early retiree who smartly plans, those transactions costs are well spent.

As much as I'm not surprised to see 2 be the common answer for Early Retirement. I'm also not surprised to see a lesser number be 5 or more.

I bring this perspective from a friend who has gone through 8 home sale lateral transactions, usually out of desire and not need. We were recently talking over lunch and he calculated all the money they spent, looked at me, and said, "I guess that's why we worked to 70."

 

[38Chevy454]

Back to my number of 8. I have always made money on each house. Plus each move was generally to a nicer house. Being work related, most had realtor fees paid by employer. So the number is not correlated to LBYM in my case.

 

[EastWest Gal]

We bought a condo 7 years into our marriage. Seven years later, we moved across the country. We've been in our present home 27 years.

 

[pjigar]

We actually bought 4 primary homes so far. We will build at least one more. In addition to those, we had 3 homes under contract but didn't close so they don't count! Two: we walked (new construction) for better deals. One: seller walked (short sale).

 

[Sorcerer]

Back to my number of 8. I have always made money on each house. Plus each move was generally to a nicer house. Being work related, most had realtor fees paid by employer. So the number is not correlated to LBYM in my case.

Did you view your homes as investments?

 

[Sue J]

We are still living in our one and only house.

Bought it in 1983 so it will be 43 years this summer.

How was life different then? We bought a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house for $60,000. We put $15,000 down and had a $45,000 mortgage at 12 3/8%. Currently Zillow says it's worth $250,000.

I know real estate is different now, it's very common to overbid the asking price. In 1983 the house was on the market for over 6 months, listed for $68,000. We offered $55,000, they countered with $63,000. Then we offered $58,000 and they countered with $60,000, which is the price we really wanted.

 

[misanman]

I voted 2. We bought a lot and built a house in 1972 when I was discharged from the US Army and then repeated the process in 1995 and we still live in that one.

 

[RetiredHappy]

My first primary home actually cost the most of all my homes and one that I never even slept in it for a day. I was separated from my !@#$ first husband and put money down on a 1119 sq ft ground level condo (20+ floors in high rise) before construction. It took 3 to 4 years for the large development to be completed (About 1000 homes with pool, tennis courts, gym, etc). Three years later, the mega corp sent me to China on an expat assignment so when the construction was completed, I was on my way to China. My sister managed the home as a rental for me for 15 years or so before I sold it. I was then posted to the USA from China by the same mega corp. I reported rental income and capital gains when I sold the place to the US the whole time. The year that I sold, I was hit with the newly enacted retroactive millionaire tax back to earlier in the year even though it was on the ballot in Nov/Dec. I used to live in one of the most expensive cities in the world. I paid $500K in taxes between Fed and Ca that year. Definitely a huge ouch.

 

[Lorenzo]

To those who have moved four or five or more times, did you do the moving work yourself or hire a mover? I have only moved house a couple of times. One was through a professional mover, and even that was stressful. The recent move three years ago was all on DW and me. Rented a U-Haul, got a couple of guys to move the heaviest stuff, but otherwise packed and moved it all ourselves.. And then there is the unpacking at the new house. I think we finally dug into the last unopened box just recently. I never want to go through that again.

 

[RetiredHappy]

To those who have moved four or five or more times, did you do the moving work yourself or hire a mover? I have only moved house a couple of times. One was through a professional mover, and even that was stressful. The recent move three years ago was all on DW and me. Rented a U-Haul, got a couple of guys to move the heaviest stuff, but otherwise packed and moved it all ourselves.. And then there is the unpacking at the new house. I think we finally dug into the last unopened box just recently. I never want to go through that again.

We always hire movers. I have moved across 3 countries and 2 states, and several times within the same city, and always had professional movers.

 

[COcheesehead]

To those who have moved four or five or more times, did you do the moving work yourself or hire a mover? I have only moved house a couple of times. One was through a professional mover, and even that was stressful. The recent move three years ago was all on DW and me. Rented a U-Haul, got a couple of guys to move the heaviest stuff, but otherwise packed and moved it all ourselves.. And then there is the unpacking at the new house. I think we finally dug into the last unopened box just recently. I never want to go through that again.

Hired folks to do it. We move the sensitive stuff. Movers move the big stuff. Last move was less than $700 - Two Men and Truck. Good guys.

 

[Lorenzo]

Hired folks to do it. We move the sensitive stuff. Movers move the big stuff. Last move was less than $700 - Two Men and Truck. Good guys.

$700 is a great price--and for a nationally known outfit to boot. We got a few quotes for a move across town, and decided to DIY as much as possible.

 

[COcheesehead]

$700 is a great price--and for a nationally known outfit to boot. We got a few quotes for a move across town, and decided to DIY as much as possible.

It actually came in under estimate, but I have learned a few things about moving. I prestage things. Patio furniture was already in the garage, all the lamps by the front door, tubs of things stacked in one pile, etc. They charge by the hour. I don’t like to pay for them walking around a lot.

 

[pjigar]

To those who have moved four or five or more times, did you do the moving work yourself or hire a mover? I have only moved house a couple of times. One was through a professional mover, and even that was stressful. The recent move three years ago was all on DW and me. Rented a U-Haul, got a couple of guys to move the heaviest stuff, but otherwise packed and moved it all ourselves.. And then there is the unpacking at the new house. I think we finally dug into the last unopened box just recently. I never want to go through that again.

First move was paid by employer but then again, I didn't have much stuff to move. Next two moves were combination of movers for the large items and us for small items/boxes. We did all the boxing. Last move was planned the same way (half/half) but the movers literally ran away after the first trip (in-town) because of 1200' narrow tree-lined private road. I ended up moving the rest of the large items in my trailer by myself. Thankfully, we sold most of the large furniture because we moved to a 2200 sq ft home from a 5000 sq ft home. We still have a few boxes that we haven't unboxed after 5 years, which means we don't need the contents after all!

 

[audreyh1]

Moving into our new house was fun. We had a deadline to close and take possession to qualify to a large tax credit for 2009/2010 as we hadn’t owned a house for over 3 years. We closed with a couple days to spare and backed up the RV into the large covered RV port and plugged in. There, we had taken possession. After that we gradually ordered furniture and other things for the new home. Didn’t need movers that time as we had gotten rid of almost all furniture prior to moving into the motorhome.

 

[pacergal]

First home, before kids, 1984 3bd 2 bath 1100 sq ft
Second and hopefully last, needed a bit more space, 1990 3 bd, 2.5 bath 1700 sq ft

 

[Dtail]

To those who have moved four or five or more times, did you do the moving work yourself or hire a mover? I have only moved house a couple of times. One was through a professional mover, and even that was stressful. The recent move three years ago was all on DW and me. Rented a U-Haul, got a couple of guys to move the heaviest stuff, but otherwise packed and moved it all ourselves.. And then there is the unpacking at the new house. I think we finally dug into the last unopened box just recently. I never want to go through that again.

Ist move into the 1 bedroom co op and move out of there, we DIY. All subsequent moves, we used professionals. The move from NJ to FLA was of course the most expensive one, costing many thousands.