We are in a 55+ apartment, that is part of a larger new development (townhouses, condos, pool with clubhouse, restaurant, historic building, and park.) Walking distance to train into city, library, yoga, walgreens, bakeries, etc. We are on the third floor (top floor) with a small patio (can fit two chairs) and a lovely view. Coming from a quiet suburb (well quiet except for the constant drone of mowers, blowers, etc.), we are enjoying having some activity to look at from our patio (kids in the pool, people walking the park, trains passing, and small planes overhead).
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kiddie - that sounds wonderful! Walkability is so key (I am realizing more and more - particularly as night driving gets a little more dicey!)
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Thereâs one âluckyâ group of homeownerâs in Americaâs housing market
This. Iâm not planning to trade my mortgage-free home for something smaller that will cost the same or close which would be the case in our area. Getting âlessâ for 2.5 times what we paid for our current home does not sound âluckyâ to me. And blowing through the proceeds of our current home on rent does seem like a good deal to me either even if interest would offset some of the rental cost.
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We have done some drive-by shopping. A smaller house that has all the amenities we would like would cost less than what we could sell our current home for â but not enough less to cover closing costs and pay off the relatively small mortgage we have left.
We are staying put for now, fixing up and maintaining our house as we go so we will be more ready to sell in the future, and paying down the remaining mortgage. I am hoping the numbers will pencil out better in about 5 years.
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We could not afford our paid off house here near the ocean in San Diego if we had to buy it at current prices. This would only work for us if we wanted to sell and move to a lower COL area which is something we are not ready to do. We have great walkability where we are located which includes the trolley that is less than a 10 minute walk. Grocery stores, restaurants, movie theaters and shops are all within a 5 to 10 minute walk.
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Interesting thoughts! Hub and I definitely do not want to stay long-term in the state in which we currently live.
We love our neighborhood but itâs a v HCOL area, not at all tax-friendly for retirees (that will be us in a few years), our one kid has settled out west (1,700 miles away), and weâd like to be closer to nature (ideally mountains part of year and beach for few months).
So we for sure wouldnât want to trade our current house for a smaller version in the same location. No interest at all in that. Just trying to leverage a future relocationâŠ!
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Our house is in a very low COL area. We canât duplicate anywhere. Downsizing will likely cost the same or more than our home expenses if we ever want to move.
We also rent a much smaller space in a very high COL area which we occupy about 5 months each year. Itâs fine - but ONLY because I know weâll be returning to our home eventually. I like the privacy (and quiet) of the home. I also like being able to fully decorate to our preferences (including simple finishes such as paint and flooring).
Our apartment is in a very nice urban, walkable neighborhood, which is enjoyable. However, since it is an apartment, weâre much closer to neighbors. We once had a very difficult experience with one (so much so that the landlord would not renew their lease).
DH wants a condo for the freedom. The only way I will agree is if it is an end-unit townhouse with some yard space and distance between neighbors. By that time, it might as well be a small house, and hire someone to take care of the yard.
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I would like to downsize a bit, we have no need for a 6 bedroom house anymore. Weâre in a hcol area and have about $900,000 + in equity. That amount after fees and closing costs would not be enough to buy a new house. Interest rates are going crazy and our current $300,000 mortgage is at 2. something %. Thereâs also very little on the market to even look at in our area. So for now, we wait it out.
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Iâm curious ⊠Do you rent for the whole year but only use it five months? Or have you found it possible to find a place to rent for only five months?
Dh doesnât want a second place, such as a condo, near our kids. Heâd much rather rent for a few months at a time so we can easily walk away in case the kids end up relocating.
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@Youdon_tsay : We rent all year. If only 2-3 months, a short-term rental might work, but the logistics do not work for us for 5 months. To not sideline the topic, I sent a DM (PM?) with a lot more info.
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We sold our large suburban house and bought a house in a (different) city. Paid almost as much for a smaller house. But I love it. With less space we were forced to get rid of a lot of extra stuff, its much easier to clean, yard work is much less and we can walk to everything. I do not miss the extra space.
I know the issue of moving near your kids has been discussed here. We did just that (many of our friends from our prior area were moving anyway) but we have not regretted it. We have been here for 18 months and have already gone through our GD being born prematurely and (recently) her 3+ week stay in the childrenâs hospital here. In fact we are VERY glad we are close.
YMMV
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We just went under contract on our house of 26 years today. We bought another house which we will move to late August. When people ask if we are downsizing (I sort of hate that that is the assumption just because weâre in our 60âsâŠ.) I say âno, weâre right sizing!â
Our current house is about 2000 sq ftâŠthe new house is actually about 2600 sq feet - doesnât really feel bigger but has larger rooms. But it is âright sizedâ because if need be (after a bathroom Reno that will bring the laundry on the main floor) we can live on the main floor if needed - something we canât do in our current home.
We chose to take the proceeds from the current âfamilyâ home and the $$ from a cottage we had to sell and buy a âstaycationâ home. A home that has more to offer than the average house - at least that we are used to! And a place that will be extra fun/nice for the kids to come and stay.
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Good friends of ours who moved way about 15 years ago just closed on a house here and are returning. They are empty nesters but actually bought a BIGGER house than they have in their other city. It (New purchase) has less land (but still enough land to build a pool as they plan). AND this house needs a lot of work. Not sure what their reasoning was, but regardless, I am happy they are returning and will live nearby. There is a remote chance that one of their sons might come back and live in their lower level, but not sure how likely that is.
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So interesting to hear the different perspectives!
A couple I know also âright-sizedâ to a much larger, custom-built, beautiful home in a much lower COL state. I believe in their case it was made extra big in anticipation of adult kid visits. However, I donât think those visits have quite panned out the way envisioned.
Iâm trying to keep that in mind when looking to next stage - make a home welcoming for adult kids but donât plan everything around those visits- because they may be somewhat infrequent!
Of course others have different experiences, but watching this couple is helping me focus on keeping those potential realities in mindâŠ!
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For me, I wouldnât plan on lots of visits unless I relocated to a really fun place. Right now, with us still being in the kidsâ childhood homes, their visits always include seeing friends who are still in town or who, like them, are visiting at the holidays. In other words, there are draws for them to come home besides just seeing us. My DILâs parents relocated, and my DIL has no ties to the new place. Of course, it is tons closer than we are so they see them much more often, if not at their home then some place in between.
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August next year??
We have a guest room in our current house (2 if we move my treadmill and pull down the Murphy bed). One of our kids lives here, the other does visit. But we havenât had a stream of visitors and many prefer to stay in hotels anyway. I think H expected a lot of visits from his sisters and their families , but they rarely visited when we lived in DC area for decades (tons to do/see there) so Iâm not expecting much. They prefer regular trips to Disney and golf in Florida. Oh, well.
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That was a typo - we bought the new house August 2023, moving later this month!
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Congrats.
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Thatâs so exciting, abasket! 