NorthNola
Dryer sheet wannabe
Hi all- looking for some sage advice on downsizing. I would love to hear your experiences - pitfalls or delights, unexpected issues and upsides and downsides. What did you wish you had known or checked into first before you downsized and made your choices. What were some unexpected costs or savings. I'd love a bit of your 20/20 hindsight vision.
A little background on finances and lifestyle: I share a home with my sister (I 64 Semi FIRED at 58 PT 40k from PT job, 50k from investments. sister 70 fully retired 30k income from SS and investments). We’ve had a vacation condo for 17 years and upgraded to a larger unit 5 years ago (425k value with 200k mortgage) and want to spend more time there - 3 months Jan-March, 2-3 weeks in summer and again 2-3 weeks in Fall. A few small additional trips during the year and 1 international trip is our norm.
Investments doing well at 2M and with 3.5% WR providing us with a good income along with PT job and SS. Sister on medicare and I have great health insurance through work. We LWM but definitely spend what we bring in. I work with a FA and monitor our savings. We love the Semi and retired lifestyle and I can work (24 hrs/week) from anywhere. We know these are our "Go-Go" years and things will slow down or change down the road.
What put the fire under us is that our primary residence (175k value and have owned for 27 years) has a large yard and pool. It is maintenance heavy, and our dear neighbors have helped us with the upkeep for years. They are downsizing and moving - just a little faster and earlier than we had planned. They have been lifesavers (or lifestyle savers!) but we understand and grateful for all the years of help. It will be physically too much for us to keep up with for any length of time nor do we want to. (Health generally good but for some back issues and arthritis in both of us.) And an added expense if we can get someone for lawn care for sure. So our 5 year downsizing plan just kicked into a 1-2 year plan!
I’m looking for your insight and thoughts and experiences as to buying a standalone (ideally one floor patio type) home vs a condo or renting an apartment. What did you like and what didn’t work out well. After selling the primary home I would look at financing about 100k if I bought, so looking at a 275-320k condo or home. That price range gets me more space in a standalone house but a big factor would be the ability to just shut the door and go for months at a time which is more along the condo or apartment route. We would ideally need a 3 bedroom as we have a large sewing, crafting, costuming hobby (its Mardi Gras oriented so IYKYK!). Just a prelim look and the price difference between a 2 bedroom vs a 3 bedroom in a condo or apartment is significant. Buying seems to be cheaper per month than a 3 BR rental. I fear rent increases but fear appliance and roof and HVAC replacements as well!!
Thanks in advance for your wisdom and insight! It will help us as we start looking around at the next chapter.
A little background on finances and lifestyle: I share a home with my sister (I 64 Semi FIRED at 58 PT 40k from PT job, 50k from investments. sister 70 fully retired 30k income from SS and investments). We’ve had a vacation condo for 17 years and upgraded to a larger unit 5 years ago (425k value with 200k mortgage) and want to spend more time there - 3 months Jan-March, 2-3 weeks in summer and again 2-3 weeks in Fall. A few small additional trips during the year and 1 international trip is our norm.
Investments doing well at 2M and with 3.5% WR providing us with a good income along with PT job and SS. Sister on medicare and I have great health insurance through work. We LWM but definitely spend what we bring in. I work with a FA and monitor our savings. We love the Semi and retired lifestyle and I can work (24 hrs/week) from anywhere. We know these are our "Go-Go" years and things will slow down or change down the road.
What put the fire under us is that our primary residence (175k value and have owned for 27 years) has a large yard and pool. It is maintenance heavy, and our dear neighbors have helped us with the upkeep for years. They are downsizing and moving - just a little faster and earlier than we had planned. They have been lifesavers (or lifestyle savers!) but we understand and grateful for all the years of help. It will be physically too much for us to keep up with for any length of time nor do we want to. (Health generally good but for some back issues and arthritis in both of us.) And an added expense if we can get someone for lawn care for sure. So our 5 year downsizing plan just kicked into a 1-2 year plan!
I’m looking for your insight and thoughts and experiences as to buying a standalone (ideally one floor patio type) home vs a condo or renting an apartment. What did you like and what didn’t work out well. After selling the primary home I would look at financing about 100k if I bought, so looking at a 275-320k condo or home. That price range gets me more space in a standalone house but a big factor would be the ability to just shut the door and go for months at a time which is more along the condo or apartment route. We would ideally need a 3 bedroom as we have a large sewing, crafting, costuming hobby (its Mardi Gras oriented so IYKYK!). Just a prelim look and the price difference between a 2 bedroom vs a 3 bedroom in a condo or apartment is significant. Buying seems to be cheaper per month than a 3 BR rental. I fear rent increases but fear appliance and roof and HVAC replacements as well!!
Thanks in advance for your wisdom and insight! It will help us as we start looking around at the next chapter.