Downsizing the family home

[ronandannette]

I don’t want to burden my children selling a 2000 sq foot home that we lived in for 40 years. It’s not fair to them. Been there, done that.

And it would be nice not to deal with yard stuff.

For example sell our house for $650,000 get a nice 1000 square foot condo for $250,000.

Have $350,000 in the bank after realtor and legal fees.

I’m not one for “stuff” and won’t burden my kids with a house of junk.

Two years ago we did basically this exact thing but the goal was more towards positioning ourselves financially for DH’s retirement than any other considerations. We sold high and moved into and fully renovated a modest but lovely apartment condo (although in this market we couldn’t quite hit your potential price point but we did basically make bank).

DH (71) was rather unexpectedly retired last year and we are so glad we had everything in order. Where we are now is where we expect to be unless or until we need a senior's facility.

It wasn’t a huge lifestyle adjustment because we’d already made that particular move 15 years ago and were already very comfortable in a multi-family environment. We already knew that mowing and shovelling is for chumps. The one piece of advice I would give is to not buy a condo straight away but to consider renting one for a bit to be sure you can actually tolerate it. We did that initially when we left our “big house” all those years ago. That way, if it’s just not going to be a fit for you, you can still go for a different type of single-family situation and save an additional sell/buy cycle and all the expense that entails.

 

[soccerdad72]

Our current plans are to sell our primary home once our boys have gotten places of their own and buy or rent something down south for the winter. Probably FL right now, just because my wife's mom is in Fort Myers and she occasionally needs some assistance. That's 2-3 years out, however, so a lot can change from now until then.

 

[MIGrandma]

DH and I are both 68, currently live in the country on a farm in the house he grew up in. We bought the house from his parents in 1980. 4 bed/3 bath. It is too much for us as we age, and we have plans to move into town within 2-3 years. Our daughter and her family plan to build a house and we plan to buy their house they are currently living in. I grew up living in town, so I’m looking forward to being back. It might be an adjustment for DH, having always lived on the farm. But having medical care in town, grocery, etc. it will be wonderful.

 

[china mom]

....

Recent health changes have made me aware I have to do a few things to make my home more senior friendly. One is a ramp to the outside in the event my back gets worse. That's relatively easy and will be completed this fall. The other will be done when I renovate my personal bathroom. Again this fall. And, I'm staying here as it works best long term for me. Family are not far away and friends drop by. And Disney is within reach if I 'have to' fly - 2 hour flight. Otherwise while I can I'll drive.

Boy do I relate to this. We bought our current house to accommodate my mother - who at the time, cold handle the three steps into the apartment. She could not lift her legs to get into the shower/tub combo so we ripped it out and put in a roll in shower (no lip at all).

As her mobility declined, we put a handicapped ramp and porch on.

After she passed, I had about 3 years of battling foot reconstructions in both feet and probably had a cumulative 6 months being non weigh bearing. The stairs to our second floor primary bedroom re still hard on me so I limit my trips up and down the stairs.

Every house I look out form here on out will either be single level or have a first floor primary. Bonus points for 36 inch wide interior doors in case I end up in a wheelchair one day.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

At the moment people aren't downsizing in high numbers if they did it in the earlier part of the pandemic and received a low interest rate. Homes have only gone up in pricing so downsizing could end up costing a lot more than staying put but that also compounds the housing shortage here.

My in-laws increased the size of their home when they moved a few years before the pandemic. From HOA-controlled suburbia to more country/rural with acreage. They immediately spent a ton of money to change things in the house redoing parts of the kitchen redoing a bathroom, they really just wanted the land but the home wasn't as much as they liked. The walk-out basement was finished but they added a bedroom down there, made a kitchenette down there and their youngest kid moved in with her husband for a few years before they moved out. We all thought it was a bad move because at their point in life more land=more caretaking mostly mowing, more house=more to take care of, plus living in a construction zone for 2 or so years. While they are more country and rural that area has gotten a boom due to a new housing subdivision located within 10 mins or so which has significantly brought up the home values (which is bad because that area was known as a low-cost rural area now is quickly becoming a higher cost suburbia area) but if they had to sell the house within the next few years that does mean the value even though it's more country would sell at a high enough number.

Conversely my mom has long-since wanted to move out of her home she's had since the mid-90s in favor of a smaller home or an apartment or condo, hers is already small IMO but she's not necessarily as interested in having the yard to mow/take care of and it's just her living there though she had rented out one of the bedrooms over the years.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

have a first floor primary.

Back when we were looking for our house plan in 2013 (we built our house in 2014) a newer trend was younger individuals looking for a main level bedroom which meant they were less looking at 2 story and more reverse 1 1/2 or 1 1/2 story. I'm not sure it was tied to thinking many decades in the future so much that they wanted more separation from any kids they may have, guests or have different usages for the upstairs bedrooms but there is that advantage from having the main bedroom being on the first floor from a mobility standpoint. In terms of the shower and tub you'd still have to do a major overhaul to make it more mobility-easy but still.

 

[TAX GUY]

We did, about 4 years ago. We went from a 3000 sq' colonial style (three levels plus the finished room above the garage was a different level) to a 2400 sq' ranch style home. Bigger footprint, all being on one level. It does have a walk out basement, that's unfinished. The new house does have much more garage space (three car attached, an 18x20 post and beam barn, a 50' storage container with a car port) and sets about 650' off the road, so it MUCH more private. Its a newer home with more comforts (like central AC, whole house generator and propane furnace. Its also significantly more energy efficient too, so our energy costs greatly decreased. We have zero regrets and absolutely love our new home. We wanted single level living in the event stairs become a challenge for us as we age.

 

[china mom]

Back when we were looking for our house plan in 2013 (we built our house in 2014) a newer trend was younger individuals looking for a main level bedroom which meant they were less looking at 2 story and more reverse 1 1/2 or 1 1/2 story. I'm not sure it was tied to thinking many decades in the future so much that they wanted more separation from any kids they may have, guests or have different usages for the upstairs bedrooms but there is that advantage from having the main bedroom being on the first floor from a mobility standpoint. In terms of the shower and tub you'd still have to do a major overhaul to make it more mobility-easy but still.

Not necessarily. For my winter house in Florida search, I am finding a lot of first floor primary bedrooms with a separate tub and shower. I think builder s caught on that many who want a first floor bedroom want something elderly friendly.

Now, roll in, wheelchair friendly, yes, I would probably have to renovate. Thankfully, I am not there at this time.