My daughter considered a manufactured home recently when looking at a few properties. I don’t remember all the details but I think I’m order to get permanent financing the home needed to be bolted to a foundation and have a garage. They also found that they couldn’t get a bank loan that covered the cost of the property and the manufactured home. That meant they needed more up front money. They also found that it wasn’t significantly less expensive than a stick house. They thought it might be faster as it is hard to find contractors as everyone is busy.
One property they liked had a great barn and rising ring which were top of their list. The house was an older modular home. The owners of the property had updated the exterior and it was pretty nice. They ended up not buying the property as they couldn’t get a mortgage because the modular was too old.
Do you mean this sort of thing (first home shown)? If yes, keep in mind that in addition to purchase price there is lot rental (can be about $800/month)… but I think low taxes.
https://www.homes.com/longmont-co/mobile-homes-for-sale/?bbox=40.053315601078864,-105.20990861576561,40.20740164502356,-104.9678660742617
Thanks for all the feedback!!
Colorado_mom - no, not a mobile home…instead, it’s the kind of home that looks like a ‘regular’ (non-mobile) that has premade parts from elsewhere (probably inaccurate description, but that’s the general gist). From the outside, you can’t it apart from a regular home.
Actually…you can’t tell from the inside either. These modular homes are very well built now.
I’ve had the same thoughts lately. We’re downsizing, but the new house is still much larger than we need. H refused to go any smaller. I have no problem hiring help for the house and yard, but the pool will be more challenging.
In our new area there are only a couple of pool service and repair companies; it’s hard to get on their waiting lists. H did a lot of the work on our last pool and expects to continue caring not only for the pool but also for the yard. I’ve already seen the problem with that plan. Since we hope to move out of our temporary house in a couple of months, H didn’t want to hire a lawn service and said he’d mow. So far, the back yard has been mowed once. He hasn’t mowed the front yet and it needs it. He hasn’t felt up to it since getting his booster shot last Monday, he was very busy before that, and I’m no help since I’m recuperating from an accident. I expect a note from the HOA soon. 
LOL my husband was adamant about wanting some grass in both front and back yards and didn’t believe in using a lawn service. So now he’s had three different orthopedic surgeries in the seven years we lived here. All of which prevented him from mowing for several weeks each. I do not like mowing. Although it beats shoveling snow!
Thanks for sharing. I do think the ‘can I do this alone?’ is something at least worth exploring. The whole ‘I will hire a handy-person and lawn maintenance’ idea is I guess the solution and presumably something that I’d have to generously allocate in my future budget. So maybe working for a few extra years…!
The, “handling it alone,” factor is one of the reasons a condo is so appealing.
My mil was widowed about three and a half years ago. She lives in a patio home, but there is still grass mowing, yard treatments, and landscaping services. All of those are now hired out, but I do not know what she pays.
One positive, IMO, for my mil is that she also hired a housekeeper after Fil passed away. He would never have, “allowed,” her to spend money on that.
I think considering stage two is wise.
We have a big old house with a lot of maintenance needs. We do have a lawn company for yard maintenance, but I do all the planting and watering, snow removal, etc… In my area, the yard maintenance is a small fortune. As much as I love the house, if something happened to H, I would downsize to a condo where all that stuff is taken care of in the HOA fee. (We’ve already done the math that the lower taxes of a condo+monthly HOAs would still be less than what we pay for the house). I would also want the ease of locking up and being able to travel without worrying about a house sitter and such.
I foresee downsizing to a condo at some point even if we are both healthy and well. The house is a lot to keep up with!
Sometimes downsizing is more about the yard and outside needs as opposed to inside the house needs/space!
Here are some thoughts about downsizing. My folks bought their house in 1971. A nice 3 bed 2 bath ranch about 1300-1400 sq ft. Growing up we didn’t have extra money so they never bought a bigger house. They blinked and I(the youngest child) was gone off to college in 1990. Once I was gone they had plenty of space for the two of them. They paid off the house in 1997, so no mortgage for 25 years now.
In the end they didn’t have to downsize because they never bought the bigger house. They didn’t face all the issues that have been brought up in this thread.
I didn’t realize this until after I had bought my house. We easily could have survived with a smaller house. So maybe pass this along to our kids before they go out and get that McMansion. I look at big homes on TV shows or movies these days and all I can think about is the upkeep and wasted space.
For sure… we see that a lot with older friends. I used to roll my eyes that their “downsizing” resulted in higher costs (newer place, maintenance fees for outdoor upkeep). But now I get it. A manageable house that can defer the need for switch to apartment or assisted living can be a great thing. Not there yet ourselves, but my husband has made some comments about long term appeal. I point out that I still spend a lot of time in the yard… and if we move someday, space for the the woodworking equipment that he rarely uses will NOT be a priority.
We have a 3 bed 2 bath house and still want to downsize now that we are retired. Even without the McMansion we have somehow accumulated a lot of stuff. Also, even a small house requires maintenance, that we are tired of doing.
@gpo613 - sounds like H’s sister and BIL. Their 3BD/2Bath ranch style house is “right size” now that they are empty nesters.
OTOH, H and I lived in a an area we loved, but it was far from family. Neither of our kids settled there so we were going to be moving anyway. The house we moved into is about 2/3 the size of the one we raised our family in and it’s plenty big for 2 people and occasional guests. The yard is pretty but tiny, which is fine.
I always say that I don’t have to downsize because I never upsized. Our 3/2 is larger than your parents but still less than 2,000 sf. It’s the perfect size. I never wanted a big house where the kids would go off to a separate area and not be a part of family life.
I suppose if both kids marry and have kids a trip to grandma’s could be a little crowded, but isn’t that half the fun?
Isnt that why there are hotels and Airbnb?
My Inlaws kept their huge house so that all 6 kids and families could stay there for visits at the same time. Let’s just say…it wasn’t a mansion, and there are few houses large enough to accommodate all the kids, spouses and grandkids for more than a day.
We all started to stay at a local hotel. Made the visits ever so much better!
I think I could live in my starter home if I’m by myself, however I like the space I have now, it’s not the space but I like having a bigger yard, no grass, I just like to plant things, everyday I get to walk around my yard, it’s like having an hour to meditate, much more enjoyable, reduced anxiety and stress, and during the pandemic, it’s definitely life saver.
If husband goes first, I would not want to handle everything myself. But I am happy with the size of the house and location. I would likely xeriscape the front and make some landscaping changes in the back. We already have a pool guy, a sprinkler system guy, and a tree trimming guy. So I would likely look into hiring a yard guy. Or perhaps hire a live in companion that could handle it all!
I would also add some rails to our few short steps of stairs in front and on the back deck (or see if ramping is logical), and add rails for the pool steps.
And I would totally update the kitchen.
If I go first, no idea what husband would do. He does not like change.
DH and I have a separate residence due to job/family factors. Apartment in one location & home in another – about 2500 miles apart. He’s primarily been at the apartment for about 5+ years, and I at the home. I “commuted” to the apartment about 5 months each year (like snowbirds but not south).
On the plus side, we’ve both learned to live on our own at least for 5 months each year. In our former life, our roles were more traditionally based. But in the recent years, I’ve had to take care of the house, car, yard, and he’s had to cook, do laundry, etc. We’ve learned to live in 600SF vs 2400 SF (but only temporarily). Neither is ideal, but I’ll take the 2400 over the 600 any day.
For retirement, he wants a condo; I do not. 
I need a small yard and private outdoor space. I prefer my own “front door” rather than a shared hall, HOA politics (and cost), and potential neighbor issues. A future townhouse will hopefully be our compromise. Pocket housing another option, but those are rare, and typically pricey.
What I didn’t anticipate, however, was the penalty when selling our home. We’ve owned the house together for at least 30 years - but he’s been away for about 5. So the capital gains taxes are likely to be a royal pain since we’ve owned the home so long. We’re now discussing having him return to spend the reverse (5 months at the apartment, and 7 at the home) for the next two years at least. That part makes me angry since the house was his residency for at least 24 of the 30+ years, he’s still owner with me, and co-responsible for all maintenance & improvements. It’s primarily due to his job that his residency has been elsewhere during that time.
A townhome sounds exactly like what you need. Our townhome is 3 stories (2 car garage on the bottom) with our own front door and a lovely small outdoor space in front and a large outdoor deck in the back. We have lots of plants (front and back) and an outdoor sitting and dining area on the deck. We also have a pool and 2 tennis courts. So if H goes first I have no need to leave our home and I don’t have to worry about outside yardwork although I would need to have someone help with indoor maintenance as needed.