Is it too late to have a new home built in one's 70s?

[YellowSubmarine]

Go for it...just have a good General Contractor; and he coordinates all bids, work, scheduling, supplies, inspections, etc. Used to be 15% cost of house/ project. He is your only designated contact. Get references.

 

[audreyh1]

We did. Started the process last year with DH 70 and me 65. Now a year older, we’re dealing with the move in and taking our time.

DH felt Iike we needed to do it then, not later.

 

[skyking1]

I do not subscribe to the dream home rhetoric, a house is a house, you do not marry it, like a car, it is simply a thing to enjoy. If it loses that, then get a new one.

We don't either. It is the home for now, for this time. I am the last person to ask but yes I say go for it. Enjoy!

 

[finnski1]

I'm definitely in the go for it camp.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Thanks for all the good input, we will see how it progresses and when site selection starts we will make a decision. We have enough to buy it before we sell our current home, so we should have plenty of time.

For those who do not approve of our choice of 2 charities, we have heard the opposite. Besides we will not care as we will be dead!

 

[Koolau]

You have to know yourself and especially your temperament. IF you can deal with all the issues, then the age isn't that important. Understand that, at your ages, your time of enjoying the new place will be relatively short. Is it worth the hassle? If so, then go for it. Otherwise look for an existing place that meets your needs.

Good luck!!

 

[Route246]

I do not subscribe to the dream home rhetoric, a house is a house, you do not marry it, like a car, it is simply a thing to enjoy. If it loses that, then get a new one.

I do subscribe to the forever home concept, that being the home we build to expire in. We are exactly building it to meet all of our requirements, not really paying attention to finances and making sure everything is perfect in terms of matching our requirements and wish list. One example is when the architect asked us if we want conferred ceilings. I said I've seen that and it looks nice but what purpose does it serve? The response was quick, it just shows others you have money to spend on something that has almost no ROI. That option was removed from consideration. We were at a flooring shop and chose our floor and locked it in recently. Not once did my wife look at the price of the different options and we made a choice based on the one we liked even though it was on the high side. The same story for counter tops, back splash, fixtures and tub and shower choices. Everything is locked in and not once was price a consideration.

One design goal was we did not want to outclass the neighborhood, at least not by too much. The finishes will be high end but cannot be seen from the street. The exterior will be period-correct (mid-century ranch style, I believe is what they call it) and we have no desire to put some modern "sugar cube" home on the block. There are a few of those and they really stand out, but not in any positive way, other than, "hey, look at us, we paid for a teardown and remodel."

We don't either. It is the home for now, for this time. I am the last person to ask but yes I say go for it. Enjoy!

My feeling is this is our last chance to get a perfected home, at least perfected to our preferences. We are a little different as we lived well below our means for our entire life, so spending on this project is really outside of our force field and it has been a little weird. But, the renderings look nice and it should be nice once the work is done.

Our current home, while remodeled quite well is lacking a few things, mainly constrained by space. Our next home will have no such constraints. I think it could be categorized as a dream home but that is just semantics.

 

[deserat]

If my neighbors are any indication, you are young! Go for it....

 

[NW-Bound]

Last year, I looked at homes in an upscale subdivision nearby. Homes are large, up to more than 6,000 sq.ft., and large lots of 0.5-acre and up. We wanted to be here all our life. And now that we can afford to pay cash for one without having to sell our 2 existing homes first to raise money, and also that my travel lust has diminished, perhaps it's time to make the move.

After making two tours to see one that's just the right size, not too big but with a 4-car garage for me to convert part of it to a workshop, we decided that it would be too much work to move.

So, building a new one is out of the question for us. I am sure people with more stamina and better temperament to handle the stress of contracting and supervising construction can handle this. We can't.

 

[Doolish1]

Only if it has stairs.

 

[sengsational]

Some people thrive on stuff like building a house and the 500 decisions that something like that requires. Personally, I'd rather walk into a house, look around and say "this will do." A single decision and I'm back to doing the things I like doing. Except moving. That involves hundreds of pack, find a home for, or toss decisions. Again, some people thrive on that shtuff, for me, it's torture. And I'm not worried about stairs. If I need a ramp, I'll have one built. I'm or sure how many years I'd want to spend in a wheelchair anyway

 

[Chuckanut]

I don't think it so much your age when it's done as the hassle factor when building it at your current age.

Everybody I know who has had a home built from scratch has had issues with building it, and then getting it "right" after moving in. Do you need that in your 70's? I don't know. I do know I don't want the hassles. YMMV.

 

[Ronstar]

I see no problem with folks in their 70's having a house built for them. Probably only take a year.

I would love to build a cabin - maybe 2 bedrooms around 1300 sf. And do most of the work myself, or with some subcontractors. Probably take a couple of years. But the clock is ticking.

 

[skyking1]

Some people thrive on stuff like building a house and the 500 decisions that something like that requires. Personally, I'd rather walk into a house, look around and say "this will do." A single decision and I'm back to doing the things I like doing. Except moving. That involves hundreds of pack, find a home for, or toss decisions. Again, some people thrive on that shtuff, for me, it's torture. And I'm not worried about stairs. If I need a ramp, I'll have one built. I'm or sure how many years I'd want to spend in a wheelchair anyway

I like the building and making process. I was tied up in the working process and could not enjoy it, but now that I am retired, I can be as creative as I wish.

 

[Amethyst]

Del Webb have a good reputation for being somewhat efficient. We will do our due diligence before we commit. I am just worried that we may be too old to embark on the project as we have never done it before.

It's all in your personal energy level and tolerance for disruption. I don't see your ages as being particularly old or limiting, but that's something only you would know.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

There are 2 New Del Webb developments in our general area. We are checking them out. One is Really New and we will be early adopters if we go for it. The other is further away and partially built. We are going to visit the latter in a couple of weeks for a tour. Both are concrete block homes in "X" Flood zones (Important for Florida) So we will see.

I was wondering if there is anyone here who lives in or near Melbourne, Florida?

 

[audreyh1]

We had a builder in our existing development. There were a small number of plans for our section and a few floor plan options, so not overwhelming. Yes you also have to choose flooring, cabinets, colors, tile, light fixtures, etc., but there are a limited number of choices for each. The house took approximately 6 months to build and finish out. The whole process started 3-4 months before that. We are currently having additional things done to the house before we move in.

 

[sengsational]

a limited number of choices for each.

If I could sit down with the options (with prices) and let my wife make all the decisions (hehehehe) and be done with it in one sitting, I'd be fine with that. It's dragging my, self, to showrooms with a salesman using every annoying tactic in to book to upsell me. Or somebody hand waving the undisclosed price difference when it's not their money. Sure, I might really appreciate the alternative, and maybe it's worth the difference in price, but managing those situations isn't the way I want to spend my days.

 

[Amethyst]

Thanks for all the good input, we will see how it progresses and when site selection starts we will make a decision. We have enough to buy it before we sell our current home, so we should have plenty of time.

For those who do not approve of our choice of 2 charities, we have heard the opposite. Besides we will not care as we will be dead!

I'm not pleased that anyone felt entitled to express judgment of such a highly personal decision, just because you happened to share it. Some folks just can't refrain from judging everything in sight.

 

[Gallaher]

Definitely too late just like it’s too late for fishing, traveling, walking in the rain, SEX!, dessert, laughing, parties, sore backs, dancing, bike riding, music….
Maybe you get the point

 

[calmloki]

Definitely too late just like it’s too late for fishing, traveling, walking in the rain, SEX!, dessert, laughing, parties, sore backs, dancing, bike riding, music….
Maybe you get the point

Think I get what you mean, but if those other things are of more interest than the effort of building a house maybe it's better to focus on them.

 

[JoeWras]

I'm not pleased that anyone felt entitled to express judgment of such a highly personal decision, just because you happened to share it. Some folks just can't refrain from judging everything in sight.

It is why I slowed down to almost no viewing of NextDoor. Oh my goodness, all the things I'm doing wrong in my life! Latest was I ran out of rain barrel water and legally watered my tomatoes within the restriction guidelines. Not enough! I'm a bad person.

As to OP's topic: good question. We are pondering the same. I'm thinking, though, we go with a 55+ established community and buy an existing home. But that also brings up questions like if we don't buy into a new one, will everyone be super old because they all bought at the same time 20 years ago.

 

[bobandsherry]

Not sure of your reasons, as you are looking at a 55+ I'd guess it's to enjoy the lifestyle. My DW and I moved into an active 55+ several years ago from a "regular" community with few amenities and definitely no clubs. Our reasons were to find activities to keep us moving. So, I guess I'd say, unless you have concerns about health issues in the near future, why not.

 

[Teacher Terry]

I’ve had one brand new home and it was in a subdivision where all the homes were built, but all the finishes were not done so the buyer could choose those. We chose the model we wanted and then I think it only took a few months for them to add in all the finishes. It was a lot of fun to pick the countertops, floors, fixtures, etc.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

OK, here is an update. We have been looking around and in the Del Webb we were looking at near Melbourne, Florida. It is so much cheaper, all things being equal, to buy a resale home than build a new one. There are not many resales but the ones that are are up to $150k cheaper. The problem is the posted prices by the builder are for a Builder Basic home and no lot. Lots are up to $250k and the average upgrade prices are ~$200k. This does not seem as cost effective as I first thought. We are still looking and weighing up the advantages vs disadvantages. There is a great resale of a model we like, but it has Ludicrous Vinyl Planking (LVP) that honestly in our opinion looks cheap and is a compromise to a proper floor selection. We want a full porcelain tile floor. We are still considering our options as there is no hurry or impending event.