Question About Downsizing House
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8 years ago
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Chicago Tribune article about downsizing
Comments (6)5. "Avoid the check-out line. [In lieu of shopping,] stroll down an alley or look in a Dumpster to see how much stuff doesn't survive the first move. Think about this and don't buy it to start with." I call this one, "first, do no harm"--just don't buy it in the first place. Stuff like foot baths, and battery-powered rotary shower scrubbers. Little gadgety appliances. Also, look at the shelves in the thrift shop, or the leftovers at the garage sale. So many things, NOBODY wants! Not even for free, really. Toss them in the garbage, then. My church had a HUGE rummage sale--so, so much was left at the end, it was an education. Things that people would say, "it's still good, it still have value"--NOT! I feel much less guilty now when I toss something in the garbage. Stuff that really the only time you'd buy it is if you needed to get someone a gift--sometimes I think nobody should even MAKE those things. And I liked #2--"unburder surfaces." We decluttered for selling the place, and I cleared stuff off the mantel. And suddenly I *liked* the mantel. I had candles, etc., on there just because people gave them to me, and so that was where I had available to put them. I got rid of those stupid candles. I don't care if they are penguins, etc.--I like my mantel better EMPTY. I don't WANT to have so much "pretty" stuff on display, even if it IS pretty. (and these weren't my choice anyway)...See Morequestion about what conveys when buying a house
Comments (18)While I can feel sorry for the tenant for all the time, effort and money he put into the garden, the fact remains that he is a renter. He knows, and has known all along, that he doesn't own the place. Any improvements he puts in belong to the landlord. I rent. Right now, I'm putting up with an incredibly ugly, rusty radiator in my bathroom because the landlord sees no point in painting it, I'm not sure I want to go to the trouble of sanding and painting it and to buy a radiator cover would be at least $250 and I would have to leave it behind. That's the breaks when you rent. With all the information you have given, it would be best to make sure that the tenant is out of the house and so is all the furniture and other stuff before you close. The problem of getting the tenant out and of clearing out old furniture should be the seller's, not the buyer's. Honestly, the garden seems like the least of your worries right now. You can be "nice" to the tenant and allow him to remove some plants. You can say nothing and accept the fact that he may take some plants and just deal with it after you move in. You can specify that all plantings remain, but the tenant may remove some out of spite....See MoreTalking About Downsizing
Comments (3)Thanks for the link! I actually like that first picture (and I'm not that into neutrals) but the fireplace surround is nice! We do plan to move closer to town, but in a BIGGER house! LOL Does it still count as a 'smaller home' if mom lives with us? And the horses? And the kitties? And my nephew's plan to have chickens with 'grandma'? And the home office? Oh well, you get the idea! :)...See Moregeneral question about timelines for buiding custom homes
Comments (15)Thanks to everyone for so much great advice! If we're able to pull off this dream, we want to definitely ensure we do it thoughtfully, carefully, and correctly (thank you Virgil!). I'll be 54 when I retire and hubby will be 56. Years ago he used to talk about getting 10+ acres so I've had to drag him back to reality with regard to maintenance as we age. My best friend custom built on 10 acres an hour north of Sacramento (her DH is very talented and built it himself) and I've seen the nightmare in time commitment for the upkeep. Now I'm thinking half an acre tops will work. We can't/won't stay in our current home for several reasons: it's a 2 -story with many wasted rooms for just the 2 of us (we want a single story and smaller), it's in a more expensive county than Olympia, and we own 40 acres of land (for DH who is an avid duck hunter) that is currently 1.5 hours from us but is only about 30 minutes from Olympia. The traffic around Olympia isn't so bad (especially since we won't be working then) and it's a big enough city to give us all the amenities we need, including good medical care. We love Western WA and do not like Eastern WA at all. David Cary- I definitely won't even attempt to predict land prices and interest rates so far into the future. But how would I find out about estimates for tear downs? Virgil- Thanks for the estimates on time frames for all the various phases. You said "All of this can be seriously reduced by going to an existing tract development under construction or completed." I've read a few posts of people purchasing lots in tract developments. But does this mean I'd have to pick one of their builder's models or could only choose finishes? I'm not interested in doing that at all. Kristin S and Summit-nice ideas about poking around on Redfin now and spending some time in Olympia to see where we may want to live. I like the idea of being able to set up a search. But here's another question that is kind of rhetorical- a few months ago DH said he DIDN'T want to look for land too soon in Olympia. He cited the horrendous ongoing and growing homelessness problem in Seattle (it's actually spread to a suburb 20 minutes from us, of course on a smaller scale) and said he didn't want to buy land if Olympia may end up having similar problems. I sort of agree but think we'd really need a crystal ball to answer that question!...See MoreUser
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