Comments on: Thought Experiment – Retirement Dwellings

By: Rusha Wenrik

Rusha Wenrik — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 04:54:57 +0000

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By: Early Retirement Extreme

Early Retirement Extreme — Thu, 27 May 2010 08:17:13 +0000

Home equity is a bit of a misnomer. A large home equity can even mean a large negative cash flow, which is detrimental to financial freedom.

In general though, for me, location-location-location holds. I’d rather live in a small place in a great location than a great place in the boring location.

I don’t know it for sure, but I also suspect that being tied to one location for decades might not be the optimal solution for me. For the past 15 years, I have moved every 3 years or so; about 1500 miles at a time.
.-= Early Retirement Extreme´s last blog ..The Latte-factor and brewing your own coffee =-.

By: Technology and entertainment making us unhappy? « Simple Life in France

Technology and entertainment making us unhappy? « Simple Life in France — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:26:32 +0000

[...] Lean Life Coach from Eliminate the Muda ponders the topic of alternative Retirement Dwellings in this interesting economy. « Where would you pinch pennies if you had [...]

By: The LeanLifeCoach

The LeanLifeCoach — Sun, 23 May 2010 01:56:55 +0000

@MoneySmarts – I understand the reservation but in the end the container ends up just being the outer fascia. Inside is very traditional and comfortable.

@Little House – FWIW… If I could do it again (and convince the wife!) I would buy as small and inexpensive of a house as we could possibly find. The quicker you can build wealth the sooner you can afford whatever you really want.

@FinEngr – Change is always difficult, especially if family is involved.

@MoneyReasons – I considered that myself. You might not think so but I think it could be done. There is precedence, Hechinger hardware stores was started by a family that would tear down old barns, prep then sell the used lumber.

@Roshawn – I’m with you on that, but let’s challenge ourselves to find housing that represents the smallest possible portion of our net worth.

@SIF – Not only that, but if your are willing to go small and more importantly, simple you can have decent home constructed.

@finallygettingtoeven – poke around the PF blog world and you will see some pretty convincing articles that side on renting over ownership. It just might work out best. Then again if you are going to travel, maybe no home is best. Just sign up for house sitting gigs!

@Squirrelers – The agents in our area were trying to convince us to buy nearly twice the house. I have often considered how unhappy I would be right now had I listened!

By: Squirrelers

Squirrelers — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:44:23 +0000

I like the nugget you put in about diversification. Very true, I know folks that have lost quite a sizeable percentage of net worth in the recent housing decline. I’m glad to have avoided this fate, but very well could have if I made different decisions. Fate is an interesting thing!

Yes, Detroit does have some incredibly low-cost housing. I don’t live there, but am fascinated with the opportunities that exist there in real estate. Not sure if they are a mirage though.
.-= Squirrelers´s last blog ..Months of Covered Expenses: An Alternate Measure of Wealth =-.

By: finallygettingtoeven.com

finallygettingtoeven.com — Wed, 19 May 2010 12:35:17 +0000

I could very easily live in a ‘tiny home’, the husband, not so much…he likes his space. We currently live in a 2800s/f tri level which we use about 1/4 of and we also have a small one-bedroom cabin on a lake in the woods… the cabin is 1/3 the size of our ‘home’ but when we are there i am in complete heaven (and not just because of the surroundings, though they are very, very helpful mind you)..it’s just the fact that we utilize the entire space while we are there, there is no waste. To me that is the perfect scenerio of how we SHOULD be living. McMansions to me are ridiculous.
The plan (or should i say dream) for when we retire is to downsize the main home and while i would love to just live in the cabin the hubby would be very unhappy due to it’s proximity of, well, the rest of the world. He needs to have other human social contact besides ME…haha
So we see ourselves moving to a ‘smaller’ place and spending months at a time overseas traveling and months back in the US in a low-maintenance easy to keep dwelling. And that could very easily include just going back to apartment living.

By: Simple in France

Simple in France — Wed, 19 May 2010 07:56:14 +0000

Interesting. I wouldn’t mind living in a very small space–as long as my husband would agree not to have too much stuff .

I’ve seen some mobile homes and pre-fab type homes that are quite live able and I’m all for rethinking ‘needs’ in order to make saving for retirement more doable.

Really, I’ve seen too many arguments saying you have to have a 10% return or else you can’t retire. I think that’s what’s driven people to take on so much risk–yes, it’s a gamble, but many folks I know seem to think it’s the only way–I think that’s strongly linked to our assumptions about how much we need to be happy.
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..Where would you pinch pennies if you had to? =-.

By: Roshawn @ Watson Inc

Roshawn @ Watson Inc — Wed, 19 May 2010 04:44:25 +0000

I have to agree that your home should represent a relatively small portion of your overall net worth. The average millionaire has a net worth that is 6.5 times that of their nonmillionaire neighbors who outnumber the millionaires 3:1. One interpretation is that most millionaires don't keep most of their wealth in their homes. Otherwise, millionaires wouldn't have so many non-millionaire neighbors .-= Roshawn @ Watson Inc´s last blog ..Yakezie Round Up & Uncommon Money News (Vol. 94) =-.

By: Money Reasons

Money Reasons — Wed, 19 May 2010 01:18:52 +0000

Hmmm, your comments about Detroit got me wondering if the prices on the houses are so low that it might be worth buying the houses breaking them down and selling the lumber, and metal in the piping, etc?… I would guess no, and it would be a lot of work, but…. hmmm

Nice alternatives, the Minimalist homes are interesting, but it would feel a bit like living in a coffin IMHO… If I didn’t have kids nor enough money to afford a normal house, I’d still consider it!
.-= Money Reasons´s last blog ..How I Got A Deck Table And Chairs For 25 Percent of The Cost =-.

By: FinEngr

FinEngr — Tue, 18 May 2010 13:09:00 +0000

Way to go and question our “conventional” thoughts on retirement. There’s no hard and fast rule about how you have to live.

It seems like the driving factor is change. Many older people I know simply don’t want to move because they have a routine or are used to the way their live unfolds each day.
.-= FinEngr´s last blog ..Don’t Be Fooled by Sneaky Labeling! =-.