How old is "too old"?

[frances]

I know there are several threads on the forum about this, but thought I'd ask again as the threads are a couple of years old.

DH and I have, literally for YEARS, discussed buying property and building a house for retirement.

Now we're there.

Have the funds, are zeroing in on property, and have ideas about house size/design, but am beginning to wonder if we're getting into the boat of "too old for this stuff" to deal with the stress of having a home built.

We're looking at something somewhat rural (Piedmont, AL - about 1.5 hours to Birmingham, AL to the west and 1.5 hours to Atlanta, GA to the east. Gadsden AL is about 30 minutes west). We currently live in a northern suburb of Atlanta and I'm really over having people on my elbows. UGH.

There are plenty of builders that are close enough to where we're looking and have, from what I can tell, been in the business long enough (15-20 years) for us to not be uncomfortable with hiring someone.

We've been looking a really long time and do want something somewhat rural but have found (unfortunately) that houses with acreage where we want to be are either: -very over-priced, -very old and need a ton of work, -cobbled together by the not-so-skilled self-styled handyman and will need A LOT of work to un-do/re-do. We'd rather not have a house as a project at this point.
As an example we recently viewed a house that was completely plumbed with PEX by the current owner. It's just not something we're comfortable with. I know - some people swear by PEX, but for us push-on fittings with high-pressure plumbing using plastic piping in an entire house just seems to spell trouble over time. The plumber we hired to do our bathrooms in our current house was lamenting the pitfalls of PEX as well.
The house also was expanded twice - TWO garages had been converted into living space. Lets just say it wasn't my cup of tea. We really liked the property and location but the house was going to be a major undertaking. Down to the studs in a few rooms, unfortunately.

Anyway,
For those of you that have "been there, done that", would you do it again? And what age were you when you did so?
How long have you been in your home now?

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[pacergal]

Have not gone through a build process myself, at this age and stage it is not something I personally want to do.
What about finding/buying the property you really like and having a manufactured home placed on it? That would not be as stressful as building.
Many manufactured homes are finished with high grade/high quality, such as granite countertops, wood floors, etc.

That is probably the way I would go, if we desired to move.

 

[frances]

Have not gone through a build process myself, at this age and stage it is not something I personally want to do.
What about finding/buying the property you really like and having a manufactured home placed on it? That would not be as stressful as building.
Many manufactured homes are finished with high grade/high quality, such as granite countertops, wood floors, etc.

That is probably the way I would go, if we desired to move.

We've considered a manufactured home, and even looked at kit homes (they come flat-pack on a semi trailer - fascinating idea IMO).

The kit homes unfortunately end up being more expensive that stick-built by the time you get the kit put together and finished out.

The manufactured ones, while they do have some that have high-end finishes, still look a little akin to a double-wide mobile home.

But yes, a good thought, and still on the list for consideration.

Thanks!

 

[aja8888]

New house as of Sept 2023

I just moved into my new house on September 12th. Freshly built, my selected upgrades, new area, etc. I'm thrilled and just turned 80 in October of this year. I picked a builder that has been around for 65 years.

Unfortunately, my wife passed away 12/2022 and I am alone, but getting my new dog this afternoon!

Life is a blast, go enjoy it. Don't sweat the small stuff as all stuff is small stuff.

You only live once!

 

[Sunset]

If you move out to the rural, plan to move back when get really old.

We thought for years to just move to another State, but now mid-60's , it seems more daunting and there is less desire to do it. Somewhere my get up and go fizzled.

 

[Healthy Lifestyle]

As I am now in my mid to late 60's, my age does have a way of getting in the way of planning because of unnecessary stress and worry about nothing.

 

[Fermion]

Almost everyone is using PexA or PexB now.

Touch tone phones too!

 

[frances]

I just moved into my new house on September 12th. Freshly built, my selected upgrades, new area, etc. I'm thrilled and just turned 80 in October of this year. I picked a builder that has been around for 65 years.

Unfortunately, my wife passed away 12/2022 and I am alone, but getting my new dog this afternoon!

Life is a blast, go enjoy it. Don't sweat the small stuff as all stuff is small stuff.

You only live once!

Awww. I'm sorry about your dear wife.

Congratulations on the new home and pup though!
I just got a new puppy last year - a lab that turned one in July. She's now 67# and a bundle of energy.

 

[frances]

If you move out to the rural, plan to move back when get really old.

We thought for years to just move to another State, but now mid-60's , it seems more daunting and there is less desire to do it. Somewhere my get up and go fizzled.

That has crossed our minds. Thank you.

 

[frances]

Almost everyone is using PexA or PexB now.

Touch tone phones too!

yes, but I guess with PEX we're a little old-school.
Thanks.

 

[frances]

As I am now in my mid to late 60's, my age does have a way of getting in the way of planning because of unnecessary stress and worry about nothing.

Seems to happen to me too, but then I have to think about my late mom who worried about E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, and even seemed to fabricate things to worry about. I'm learning to LET IT GO!

 

[COcheesehead]

We built our current house in my first year of retirement, age 57-58. How the process goes depends on a lot a factors, but mainly how good the builder is, how much time you can spend watching the build and how fussy you are.
We spent almost everyday on the build site during the process. Even good builders make decisions along the way that may be to code, but not what you want. If you stay on top of the project, it will come out more to your liking.
It took 6 months to pick everything out and finalize the design. Then it took 7 months to build and it took a year to do all the punch list stuff and get settled. So keep all that in mind.
Would we build again, yes. The right builder is so key to the process.

 

[flyingaway]

59 years old in retirement, having been thinking about downsizing my current house. But the stress of buying and selling houses makes me hesitate to do it actually. Also thought about moving to Florida for better weather, but I am just too lazy to do anything now.

 

[Katsmeow]

When DH was 65 (I was several years younger) we bought what we thought was a forever house. It was in an acreage subdivision (houses were on 1 to about 7 acres) but was 25 minutes to a hospital. It was 20 minutes to the closest grocery. There was one gas station maybe 10 to 15 minutes away. We did some work to the house but nothing major.

About 5 years later we sold it. While it was a great house being so far from amenities was starting to be draining. And, we worried about what would happen if we ever got to a point we couldn't drive as there were no transportation options in that area. And while the 25 minutes to a hospital was almost OK, I realized that it would take time for an ambulance to get to our house before that 25 minutes would even start. Another issue that concerned for the future.

So we moved to a house in a suburban area that was very close to all the amenities. While we didn't build that house we did do a very expensive and disruptive remodel. We gutted our master bath to the studs and redid it. We enlarged a utility room and redid it. We enclosed a patio and removed a chimney. We demolished a pantry and built a new one. We redid several closets. The work took about 6 months to complete.

DH after that said never again. It was very disruptive. But we did like the result. For other reasons 5 years later we decided to sell that house and ended up moving away 1500 miles. We now have a new (to us) house that does need some remodeling. However, even I do not want to do a major remodeling project any more. We found a house that is mostly fine although we do want to do a few things. But these are mostly project that can be done in a few days (maybe a week or so for some items), not in a few months.

 

[old medic]

but the house was going to be a major undertaking. Down to the studs in a few rooms, unfortunately.
For those of you that have "been there, done that", would you do it again? And what age were you when you did so?
How long have you been in your home now?

We had to take the whole house down to the studs, including the exterior siding, some of the subflooring and roofing. Complete new wiring and plumbing (yup its PEX). We started a couple years ago before I retired @ 58, and still not in it. Doing everything ourselves with the help of friends and family. Got the sheetrock hung last weekend.
Do it again? I still have moments that I regret NOT burning it down to begin with. But there is family history behind saving it.
https://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/building-our-house-on-credit-cards-105022.html

 

[Kings over Queens]

Anyway,
For those of you that have "been there, done that", would you do it again? And what age were you when you did so?
How long have you been in your home now?

Thanks for any thoughts.

I acted as the GC and converted a 1,200 sq ft cape into a 2,600 sq ft colonial in 2005, was 38 years old. It was a blast, about the most fun I've had. My wife would disagree.

I'd love to do it again with ground up construction but don't think my marriage would survive. The only way I could do it again would be to hire a builder and GC and be hands off.

 

[Ronstar]

...For those of you that have "been there, done that", would you do it again? And what age were you when you did so?
How long have you been in your home now?

Thanks for any thoughts.

We've done it twice. Once in 1984 at age 29. Once in 1994 at age 39. Still live in the home we built in 1994.

I did most of the work on the first house, a little less on the second house. I'd do it again, but I'd do little or no work on the next house. Getting too old to do the work, but not too old to handle a move.

 

[skyking1]

I am in the thick of plan review on a new home build that I designed and will build. It is pretty stressful right now for us. The city came back with several requirements and questions that I am working on.
If I had a canned plan and a builder, the stress level would be significantly lower.

 

[JoeWras]

Rural building can be challenging during shortage times. Many contractors have moved to the big cities, or serve them, because that's where the cash is. I help out at a non-profit that is rural, near a big city, and it is very difficult to get quality contractors to consider us. And if they do, they jack up the price.

As for PEX. Relax. It will be OK if the DYI guy did it right. That's the real concern.

Do not confuse PEX with Push-On-Fittings.

Sharkbites can be used for any kind of pipe, even copper. Well done PEX uses either contraction bands, or pipe expansion. Both are proven. PEX is not the same as poly butyl pipe.

And I have news for you. Much of the new copper work is being done with contraction band fittings. There's a labor shortage out there, so many new plumbing outfits use "ProPress" fittings. No solder. The government likes it because there is no lead. Contractors like it because it is easier to train workers. There's no fire danger, which is a serious issue with inexperienced workers. Soldered copper is not gone, but it is fading away.

So in the event you specify copper, and you don't like compression fittings of any type, you'll have to specify soldered copper. This may limit your choice of contractor.

Here's a ProPress fitting. Notice the O-ring. The fitting around the ring gets squeezed by a special tool, similar to PEX, but much beefier.

 

[aja8888]

I am in the thick of plan review on a new home build that I designed and will build. It is pretty stressful right now for us. The city came back with several requirements and questions that I am working on.
If I had a canned plan and a builder, the stress level would be significantly lower.

Hang in there, Sky, they want the property tax money.

 

[Ronstar]

I am in the thick of plan review on a new home build that I designed and will build. It is pretty stressful right now for us. The city came back with several requirements and questions that I am working on.
If I had a canned plan and a builder, the stress level would be significantly lower.

I can't imagine what you're going through. A few months ago, I started looking into building a new house on 5 acres in rural northern Illinois. One of the new requirements is plan sign off by the fire department. And they require a driveway with a 75' diameter turnaround at the house.

That's as far into the research phase as I got. I suspect that requirements get a lot worse than that.

 

[DrRoy]

In our 40's, DW and I were quite sure that we wanted to build a new home in retirement in my home state (OH) near Hocking Hills, which was near her family. We even bought some acreage for it. 10 years later approaching RE, we had changed out minds. Doing the project the way we wanted would likely have cost ~$750K, which we did not want to spend. Also, we preferred to stay where we were due to DW's local social groups and regional amenities. Instead, we spent close to ~$200K over 5 years on several remodeling projects on our current house, and we are very happy with that.

Here is an example of a room that we took from painted drywall.

This was the right decision for us, because it gave us what we wanted. You need to decide what you want and then do it. I don't think age is a big factor.
.

 

[JoeWras]

I can't imagine what you're going through. A few months ago, I started looking into building a new house on 5 acres in rural northern Illinois. One of the new requirements is plan sign off by the fire department. And they require a driveway with a 75' diameter turnaround at the house.

That's as far into the research phase as I got. I suspect that requirements get a lot worse than that.

Requirements for residential fire sprinklers is also expanding.

 

[street]

My feelings on it are if want to build, you should and not consider your age. I think in every venture in life we do always has some stress and there are frustrations but those are just part of doing and moving forward.

I did a complete remodel of the kitchen last July and talk about frustration and things that never went well and the hard work. Well, in the end it was a finished product, and I would most defiantly do it again. The fun, challenge and enjoyment and something you want are worth all that in the end.

Have fun and go for it.

 

[aja8888]

In our 40's, DW and I were quite sure that we wanted to build a new home in retirement in my home state (OH) near Hocking Hills, which was near her family. We even bought some acreage for it. 10 years later approaching RE, we had changed out minds. Doing the project the way we wanted would likely have cost ~$750K, which we did not want to spend. Also, we preferred to stay where we were due to DW's local social groups and regional amenities. Instead, we spent close to ~$200K over 5 years on several remodeling projects on our current house, and we are very happy with that.

Here is an example of a room that we took from painted drywall.

This was the right decision for us, because it gave us what we wanted. You need to decide what you want and then do it. I don't think age is a big factor.
.

Wow! Very nice room!