Retirement plans re: housing

[luvflorida]

My husband and I are in our mid-fifties, and we relocated from a very cold region to a very warm region. We've been here for almost three years and are now searching for what will probably be our last house purchase. One never knows, but that's how we're thinking. So, we are being very careful and putting a lot of thought into it. We're leaning more and more towards having a house built. Here are some of the things we've decided:

We definitely want a single family home. We're not at all interested in condos, townhouses, apartments, etc. We definitely want a single-story home, no stairs to worry about. One of my top priorities is a backyard with privacy, one that doesn't look over into another backyard. In Arizona, it is the norm to have houses in communities that are built very close together with only a brick or cncrete wall separating yards.

We both like open concepts where the kitchen, living room, dining area are not separated by walls. Our biggest disagreement is over the size of the house. I'd be happy with a smaller house (1800-2200 square feet) whereas my husband thinks we need a larger one. We both want a nicely landscaped backyard with a nice view, but it doesn't have to be a large yard. We enjoy spending time outside and having family cookouts.

As we get older, I know the smaller the house, the easier it'll be to maintain. As far as yard maintenance, there are plenty of landscaping services around here that do that.

Actually, we could have used some help with outside maintenance when we first moved here! Most yards in this area have drip irrigation systems installed. Well, coming from Maine (no one needs such a system in their yards!) we were not at all familiar with such a thing. One of the first times I was outside pulling weeds from between paver cracks, I spotted a very thin, black tube coming out of some rocks. I thought it was just a stray piece of plastic and went to pick it up. It was firmly attached to the ground, and I then thought it was some type of electrical wire. It was quite awhile later that we realized it was part of a drip irrigation system. That thin, black tubing is everywhere out here!

 

[golfgal]

My husband and I are in our mid-fifties, and we relocated from a very cold region to a very warm region. We've been here for almost three years and are now searching for what will probably be our last house purchase. One never knows, but that's how we're thinking. So, we are being very careful and putting a lot of thought into it. We're leaning more and more towards having a house built. Here are some of the things we've decided:

We definitely want a single family home. We're not at all interested in condos, townhouses, apartments, etc. We definitely want a single-story home, no stairs to worry about. One of my top priorities is a backyard with privacy, one that doesn't look over into another backyard. In Arizona, it is the norm to have houses in communities that are built very close together with only a brick or cncrete wall separating yards.

We both like open concepts where the kitchen, living room, dining area are not separated by walls. Our biggest disagreement is over the size of the house. I'd be happy with a smaller house (1800-2200 square feet) whereas my husband thinks we need a larger one. We both want a nicely landscaped backyard with a nice view, but it doesn't have to be a large yard. We enjoy spending time outside and having family cookouts.

As we get older, I know the smaller the house, the easier it'll be to maintain. As far as yard maintenance, there are plenty of landscaping services around here that do that.

Actually, we could have used some help with outside maintenance when we first moved here! Most yards in this area have drip irrigation systems installed. Well, coming from Maine (no one needs such a system in their yards!) we were not at all familiar with such a thing. One of the first times I was outside pulling weeds from between paver cracks, I spotted a very thin, black tube coming out of some rocks. I thought it was just a stray piece of plastic and went to pick it up. It was firmly attached to the ground, and I then thought it was some type of electrical wire. It was quite awhile later that we realized it was part of a drip irrigation system. That thin, black tubing is everywhere out here!

That sounds just like our friends' house that we are visiting next month. They back up to a canyon so no houses behind them. They have a great view. Their yard has the brick wall thing around it but the very back of their yard is lower so they can sit in their great room and see out into the canyon, not the wall. They have a smaller pool in the back and a larger patio area with a summer kitchen.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'd be happy with a smaller house (1800-2200 square feet) whereas my husband thinks we need a larger one.

Slightly OT, but I'm LOL that you would consider a 2200 sq.ft. house "small" for two people. My parents both grew up in families of 11 that lived in under 700 sq.ft., and our house is 1100 sq.ft. (3 bdr) for our family of four. (It is a single-family detached home with a yard, not a duplex or apartment.)

My empty-nest definition of small is probably 600 sq.ft or less, which is actually not bad at all for a couple if you are living in a loft-type layout.

 

[punkin]

Slightly OT, but I'm LOL that you would consider a 2200 sq.ft. house "small" for two people. My parents both grew up in families of 11 that lived in under 700 sq.ft., and our house is 1100 sq.ft. (3 bdr) for our family of four. (It is a single-family detached home with a yard, not a duplex or apartment.)

My empty-nest definition of small is probably 600 sq.ft or less, which is actually not bad at all for a couple if you are living in a loft-type layout.

I'm thinking about 900 sq. ft. would be a large 2 bedroom apartment. That's what I would feel comfortable in. 600 is on the small side, but definitely doable in a pinch.

 

[golfgal]

Slightly OT, but I'm LOL that you would consider a 2200 sq.ft. house "small" for two people. My parents both grew up in families of 11 that lived in under 700 sq.ft., and our house is 1100 sq.ft. (3 bdr) for our family of four. (It is a single-family detached home with a yard, not a duplex or apartment.)

My empty-nest definition of small is probably 600 sq.ft or less, which is actually not bad at all for a couple if you are living in a loft-type layout.

600 sq feet is equal to two 10x15 foot rooms--that is pretty small.

 

[NotUrsula]

600 sq feet is equal to two 10x15 foot rooms--that is pretty small.

The footprint of my home is 24' x 24'; it is 1.5 stories. We have 675 sq.ft down and 425 up, and our upstairs contains 3 bedrooms (the master is 10' x 22'), a small 8' x 9' study and a 3' x 9' hallway.

Like I said, I'd consider 600 to qualify as "small", but I could live with it if it were a mostly-open floor plan and I could get rid of my kids .

Seriously, you have to remember that we are speaking of a warm climate here, and something with outdoor space. In a warmer climate that outdoor space can be part of the living area, too, if you landscape it appropriately.

 

[luvflorida]

Slightly OT, but I'm LOL that you would consider a 2200 sq.ft. house "small" for two people.

That's not exactly what I said. I said I'd be happy with a smaller house- 1800-2200 square feet. I'm basing this on several facts.

When we first moved here, we rented (sight unseen, through an internet rental site) a 3 bedroom house, approximately 1150 sf. It just felt too small and we didn't like it. My husband works from home, so he needs an office or den. Our younger daughter is a college student, and even though she lives near campus, we want her to have a bedroom at home. We are now renting a 2800 sf home and it is really too big. We don't need four bedrooms, an office and three full baths.

Usually, it's just the two of us, but there are other things to consider. We moved to Southern Arizona where the winters are gorgeous, and we have many friends and relatives back in frigid New England. We have no shortage of winter guests. And, we don't mind having visitors, we like it. So, a guest bedroom is a must. We also moved out here to be near our grandchildren. We have two right now, and I'm sure there will be more in the future. I love having a room just for them, for the times they visit and stay overnight.

So, given all that, I think something around 2000sf would be nice.

 

[DisMN]

You've all given me lots to think about so thanks for sharing!

Our idea would be something quite small, as others said though with some of the *living* space being outside. We've done the old and charming route including owning my own business that was run out of an old victorian house with all the gingerbread and vintage floral wallpapers everywhere.
Now we're looking for something more clean lined and sparse, which will be very difficult to achieve due to us both being huge packrats. LOL

Noise factors in an apartment or condo can vary tremendously so we're not too worried about that. I remember a few years ago getting mailed some info on apartment type units that were being sold...all remodels and restyled, VERY nice stuff...hope we can find something similar when we really settle down to looking seriously.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

I live in Solivita, a 55+ community in Poinciana. It takesd me a little more thaan a half hour to get to WDW.

Yes. I do live in a detached house. However, it does have an attached garage so I don't have to worry about carrying groceries, etc. The HOA handles all landscape maintenance including mowing and there is a separate irrigation watering system so it is not part of my bill.

And one of the clubs here is Disney Cast Members. Check out www.solivita.com

 

[MrsPete]

Our idea would be something quite small, as others said though with some of the *living* space being outside.

Something else to consider: The retirement house we're planning /editing right now isn't large -- the original plan is about 1600 sf -- but we're adding in STORAGE, STORAGE, STORAGE. That "saves space".

For example, our kitchen isn't going to be large, but we're going to have a pantry that's almost as large as the kitchen again. The pantry, with plain white sturdy shelves, isn't nearly as expensive to build as nice cabinets /nice countertops, and we won't need nearly so much cabinet space because everything'll store in the pantry. Plus I personally just like the idea of being able to see everything on floor-to-ceiling shelves. Easy to keep clean, and the kitchen won't be "cluttery". It suits me.

So . . . if you have the right storage that fits your needs, the rest of the house can be smaller without loss of quality.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Where are you looking?

There tends to be plenty of condo's and converted apartment complexes in oceanfront cities. For example, I came from Brevard County and there are MANY condo's..the kind on the beach (tall) and the kind inland (more apartment like, 2-3 story).

It is supply and demand. If you are not finding them where you are looking, there isn't enough demand.

I *think*, at least where I came from...they were building like gangbusters, then the housing crisis put an end to that.

No idea what is going on in Orlando, but I suspect the same building issues. There are condo's in downtown, but not sure the status of the outlying areas.

Maybe expand your search?