Downsizing

Tiny Houses for SERIOUS Downsizers

These are for SERIOUS downsizers! Houses/sheds/spheres from 89 to 500SF, Plus a unique bed that rises to the ceiling to create living space underneath. Includes links to manufacturers if you want one

I think this one from local Modern Shed is the best looking, and the Zero House (#7 in the slide show) is amazing in it claims to be completely self-contained off the grid, including water and waste.

See slideshow of  Tiny Houses here

 

 

AARP Boomer Housing Report

AARP does a good job covering housing choices for retirement living.

Visit their housing page here, and check out “Gimme Shelter”  a high-quality video report that covers it all:  Co-housing, aging in place “village” movement, interest-based retirement communities, and remodeling for the long run.

Do More With Less

Moving to a smaller home can shift your financial picture in  a variety of ways.

You can lower or eliminate your house payments, reduce future energy or maintenance expenses, and convert your equity to cash for other investments or expenses without going into debt.

Here’s an example:A couple sells their home in Ravenna for $550,000 and buys a 2 br condo in a well maintained nearby older building for $280,000. After paying off their underlying mortgage of $89,000, less closing costs and fixup costs of $18000, they netted around $488,000 at closing.

They paid cash for their condo plus closing costs totaling $284,000, leaving them $204,000 in cash. Their previous monthly payment inculding mortgage, taxes, insurance, and long term maintenance was $1671/month. Their new monthly outlay for taxes, insurance and $248 monthly condo HOA dues is $448/mo. They have and extra $1223 per month to do with as they please, plus the extra time from no more yard work or maintenance.

This is one scenario. I am willing to help you fill in the numbers to develop yours.

Seattle Area Build-to-Suit

Great news for downsizers! As I was showing homes the other day I noticed that builders are now offering build-to-suit opportunities on infill lots.

For many years now,  downsizers who wanted new ramblers have found they have to travel far from Seattle to find them. All of the infill construction close-in has been multi-level homes because builders needed to build larger houses so they could pay competitive prices for land and still make some money.

This has changed with the re-set economy, and builders are realizing that offering flexibility and choices sells more more new homes now, plus downsizers are a big part of the current market. The result is opportunities to have a custom home in an established neighborhood in a close-in area.  Imagine the possibilities! If the lot is big enough, a detached accessory unit is possible.

Another option for rambler buyers in this market is to look at rehabbed ramblers. Many of yesterday’s builders are now buying foreclosed homes, rehabbing them and reselling them. I realize the “flippers” do not have the best reputation, but some of the builders are producing product of very high quality and design.

If you are interested in these possibilities, let me know and I can send you some listings.

Lock and Leave?

Do you have a mobile lifestyle? Travel frequently, or live in two or more locations? Many downsizers do, and are faced with the challenge of making their home secure when they are gone.

An obvious solution is a condo, especially one with inside hallways. The main entry door and its security system provides a big first layer of protection from the outside world.

You’re not a condo person you say? How about a townhouse? Townhouses usaully do not provide that double layer of security, but there are neighbors close by who can still keep an eye out for your place.

Even with a single-family home there are lock-and-leave options. One solution is to have an accessory apartment in your home. That way some one is there when you are not. Another answer is to hire a house sitter for when you are gone, or even do a house swap. House swaps are easy to do now with websites that specialize on matching people up.

Whatever lock-and-leave option works for you, I would be glad to help you find it!

Less stuff, less room, more life?

TED video by Graham Hill

Writer and designer Graham Hill asks: Can having less stuff, in less room, lead to more happiness? He makes the case for taking up less space, and lays out three rules for editing your life.

Downtown Bothell: Future Downsizer’s Dream?

Investment Alert!!! Vulcan is doing a project in downtown Bothell. Seattle Times story.

Bothell is determined to re-invent itself and has the talent and will to pull it off. It’s always attracted couples who work on both sides of the lake, has 2 colleges including UW, lots of tech and biomed employment, and with its new riverfront work will attract the downsizers too!
Want to get in on the ground floor but don’t have Paul Allen’s budget? Call me, I know the area and have lots of ideas!

See listings in Bothell:

Houses

Condos and Townhouses

Smaller homes a trend with relocating buyers

McMansions are rapidly becoming the housing equivalent of “harvest gold” or “avocado green” appliances as more Americans are opting for smaller residential footprints, according to a new Relocation.com consumer lifestyle survey.

Nearly half the respondents of the survey said their ideal home size would range from 1,000-1,999 square feet. Nearly three of every ten buyers (29 percent) prefer homes that are 2,000 to 2,999 square feet. Only 2 percent reported a home would have to be larger than 5,000 square feet to match their ideal residence.

Five years ago, the average home’s size was 2,400 square feet — about 400 square feet larger than what is desired today — according to the National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB).

Relocation.com conducted the survey to gauge lifestyle factors that drive moving and relocation decisions in the U.S.

Its latest research found many Americans are still attracted to a suburban lifestyle. Fifty-four percent indicated a preference for living in a suburban neighborhood. About one-quarter of those polled (24 percent) said they prefer an urban setting, while 22 percent desired a rural neighborhood.

When asked about commuting, 27 percent of the respondents indicated they wanted to live less than 10 miles from their work place, while another 45 percent reported that they wanted to live within 11 to 30 miles of their workplace. Only 10 percent said they would like to live more than 30 miles away from where they worked, while 18 percent said that it did not matter, since they worked from their home and had no commute to worry about.

Survey sponsors said a surprising finding was that the cost of a residence is not the main deciding factor when purchasing a home: only 29 percent of respondents stated living costs were the most important reason when considering a move.Sixty-one percent said it was somewhat important; 10 percent said it was not important.

“We’re definitely seeing more Americans downsizing due to the current state of the economy,” said Relocation.com chairman and founder Sharon Asher. “But as more homeowners rethink how much space they need, I think we’ll continue to see more innovative approaches to living well and sustainably within a smaller footprint.”

Researchers also asked participants to compare household amenities or features, and to rank factors they deemed to be most important in determining a neighborhood’s safety.

Survey respondents were also asked to rate the importance of various factors in their moving decisions. By a wide margin, “neighborhood safety” outranked all other factors:

Top 2* Importance Rating % Comparisons

The Relocation.com survey, conducted in mid-October 2010, polled 1,500 home owners and buyers.

The Size of Home That Buyers Say They Most Want

By Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine

The “small home” craze continues as buyers say they find less square footage more desirable. Nearly half of Americans say their ideal home size would range from 1,000-1,999 square feet, according to a recent survey by Relocation.com of nearly 1,500 home owners and buyers.

Just five years ago, the National Association of Home Builders reported the average home size to be 2,400 square feet — that’s 400 square feet larger than what buyers say they now want.

So what’s to happen to all the McMansions out there from just a few years ago when big homes were in their heyday?

Naturally, you would assume that the cost of homeownership has gotten buyers thinking smaller. But according to this survey, when asked whether cost was a main deciding factor in choosing a home, most respondents said it wasn’t very important. In fact, only 29 percent of survey respondents said that living costs was the most important reason when considering a move.

So why have buyers gotten so practical with their home buying decisions?

“As home owners rethink how much space they need, I think we’ll continue to see more innovative approaches to living well and sustainably within a smaller footprint,” said Sharon Asher, Relocation.com chairperson and founder, in a public statement about the survey results.

Other notable findings among the survey results:

• Sububia reigns: The Relocation.com survey also found that 54 percent of Americans continue to find a home in the suburbs the most desirable. They want to live near the city but prefer the peace and quiet of the suburbs. Urban and rural neighborhoods were only preferred by 24 percent and 22 percent, respectively.

• Main priorities in selecting a home: Neighborhood safety was an important factor in choosing a home. Buyers judged neighborhood safety by the upkeep of homes and front lawns in the neighborhood, word of mouth reputation, and local crime reports and statistics. Besides neighborhood safety, respondents also ranked proximity to decent shopping and having a large backyard as important factors in selecting a home.

• Most sought-after features: Survey respondents said the most desirable features of a new residence are central air conditioning (87 percent); custom, walk-in closets (50 percent); and “top of the line” dishwasher and/or refrigerator (43 percent).

• Least sought-after features: The least desirable home features were custom window coverings, followed by an in-ground pool or spa.

Buy Local in Bellingham

This fascinating article about a community developing its local economy reminded me of Bellingham.

When I speak with downsizers one common question is “Where can I have a similar quality of life for less?” We Seattlites value our older, walkable, gentrified neighborhoods, our maritime climate and proximity to water for boating or the mountains for hiking.  We also enjoy the intellectual stimulation that comes from living in a city that attracts creative types, be they artists or entrepreneurs. So, in a way this question is hard to answer, because there is really NO place just like Seattle.

Bellingham, however is one place that comes close, and at an affordable cost. It offers similar neighborhoods of older homes and view properties, lots of water related activities (it’s very close to the San Juan Islands) and Mt. Baker and the North Cascades wilderness, and it offers the stimulation of a University town.  If you need to escape to a big city, Vancouver BC is a quick drive over the border, or you can hop on Amtrack for a weekend in Seattle.

In October, 2010, the median sales price in Whatcom Co. was $244,500 vs. $350,000 in King county.  Bellingham has it’s share of pricy luxury properties like Seattle, but also offers some very tempting values as well. Here are current Bellingham listings if  you would like to browse for yourself.  If you would like to contact a good agent in Belllingham, I know one, and would be happy to connect you.

Can a Yankee find Retirement Happiness in the South?

Ever thought of moving to the South to retire? Many northwesterners are playing with the idea. The Carolinas, with their warm climates and low cost of living, are very popular destinations now. One of the first concerns that pop up, though, is how big of a cultural leap would it be to live in the South?

Top Retirements.com, a website that’s all about relocating to retire, tackled that very question in this article.  It’s a great read, but the short answer is the cultural adaptations are greater when moving from urban to rural than from North to South. In other words, Northerners who choose a metropolitan area or even a smaller college town will find it much less of an adjustment than if they moved to a rural area.

Questions to ask a financial planner

I am noticing  more and more clients are wanting to work with financial planners to get the larger perspective on their financial condition and goals in light of our new economic conditions before they make any real estate decisions.  I think it is a great idea.

My wife and I have started working a couple of times with financial advisors, but found pretty quickly that they seemed to end up recommending vague insurance products as something we needed to have. When we researched the products, we found that they were mainly designed to provide good sales comissions, but not necessarily good results for the policy holders. Furthermore, the interest rates were pretty low, and the investments are not insured.

Another recommended a pile of  mutual funds that her company has. After she left, we compared all the fee-laden funds to simple index funds, and found that 8 of the 10 were outperformed by simple index funds! Now, with the recent Wall St fiascoes, we have been more reluctant to trust our savings to any financial firms at all!

So we have begun researching the idea of working with a fee-only financial planner. I would much rather pay a planner for their time and expertise and have them recommend products that are appropriate for me, not them. To select a planner, I would expect them to work like I do: ask a lot of questions, provide a lot of options,  stick with the process until we have a plan that makes sense, and provide monitoring along the way.

I came across this blog post that has questions to ask a financial planner, and found some of the questions pretty interesting.  Most of them relate to finding a planner who has similar values to mine, and one who practices what he or she preaches by doing personal investments in line with what they recommend for clients.

Does anyone else have any recommendations for planners, or how to find a good one?

Seattle Homes and Accessory MIL Apartments

Accessory units seem to be the theme of the week. I have buyers looking for them, looking at them, and figuring out how to create them. Also, more of my recent listings have had them.

As I show homes, more and more homes seem to have these extra separate living spaces.  Usually it is a finished basement that features a separate kitchen, bathroom, and entrance. Homes with basements seem to lend themselves very well to creating accessory units, although sometimes I see them as an addition onto a main level, or sometimes in a separate building in the lot, often a converted garage structure. (not all cities approve of converting garages to living space, check with your local building dept.)

Many of these units are built for extended family living, older parents come back home, or sometimes children, sometimes with families, moving back home. The separate living quarters allow extended families to live close, but keep some parts of their lives separate. For some people, when children grow up and move way, it is a way for the parents to remain in the home and resist the downsize move. Some rent to college students to keep youthful energy around the house.

Another reason so many have been built is to generate income in a house that is too big, or to pay a mortgage that has become otherwise unaffordable.  Later in life, having an extra unit in the house can allow homeowners to live independently for longer by utilizing the apartment for caregivers to live in.

Many apartments in homes are built illegally, in other words permits have not been taken out build them. I think its always a good idea to take out a permit to make sure the work is done safely and correctly, especially the electrical and plumbing.  As a Realtor,  I can say that homes with unpermitted work can be more difficult to resell at times. Most towns and cities allow accessory units either in or attached to an existing structure. Recently, the City of Seattle has been working on a project to allow more back yard accessory  units in the name of increasing density and affordability. Here is more info.

Here is a link to a nice USA TODAY Story on backyard cottages.

Skinny Houses a Good Downsizing Solution

Downsizers have been discovering that Seattle’s skinny houses are perfect for simplifying their lifestyles. They are also finding them to be much more livable than townhouses. Here’s why:

• Skinny houses are generally 1200 to 1600 sf, which are smaller than detached houses, but larger than most townhouses.
• Most skinny houses in Seattle are 2 levels instead of 3, and have more area per floor. Many have bedrooms on the main level, offering mostly one-level living.
• Their lot sizes are around 2500 t0 3000 sf, which leaves a manageable amount of yardwork and enough room for developing pleasant outdoor living spaces.
• Unlike townhouses, they are built in quieter, less dense single-family zoned neighborhoods.

Click here to view Skinny House listings in Seattle

SilverPlanet.com article on Senior Real Estate Specialists

SilverPlanet.com is a website with useful information on aging, housing, finance, health and lifestyles. I spent a few minutes looking at it and found many interesting articles. You can also take a look at their Facebook page.

Here is an article introducing Senior Real Estate Specialists and how they do business differently than traditional Realtors.  The most important distinction is that we look at the big picture of a downsize move, and help with decisions about different possibilities for a downsize, including aging in place, rental,  or purchase of a single home or condo.  We also look at the process as a longer one as there are many more important decisions to be made.

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