Retirees buying 4,000 sq ft houses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Here’s an idea. When someone asks a question, you can answer it or be helpful. The person asking the question might learn something.

Name calling isn’t helpful.

Here’s what I’m asking:
Why do 70 year olds buy into neighborhoods with 4000 sq feet houses, large 2 acre lots.
It’s not a TYPICAL retiree area…I lived in Williamsburg for a long time and it was highly desirable for retirees.

Do I mean that all 70 year olds want the same thing? Surely not!

I would think (and many of you are proving me wrong) that if your kids are grown, you’d want less house, less yard.

If you’re a retiree purchasing a large home in a neighborhood with young families, explain why to me so I can learn.

I suspect that, like anything in life, it’s because it’s what they like.

I asked you above very politely if you could explain why you find it surprising that retirees would be interested in buying this house you’ve described. You didn’t really respond to that.

I’m very curious as to the answer to this question. I’ve had lots of people of various ages move into many different neighborhoods I’ve lived in over the years. I have to admit that I’ve never wondered why someone bought any particular house in any particular neighborhood because of their age, so I’m wondering why you’re wondering about this.

[Anonymous]

My husband and I are retired and in our 60's. We have lived in our current house for 26 years (raised a child here). It is 2400 sq. ft. with another 600 sq. ft. as a finished basement. A quarter acre lot. Is that too big? Yes, probably, but I have a sewing hobby that takes up the finished basement. My husband and I have finally been able to garden (a great hobby) and our yard is arguably now the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood. We have upgraded hardscaping and provided habitat for birds. The neighbor kids like to come and look at all of the plants and flowers. We also have relatives who have visited for various periods of time. My friends come for lunch and I have enough room to do that. Will we live here forever? No. But as other posters have said, why not live here for as long as we can enjoy it? We have neighbors who are also our friends and that means a lot to us.

We would probably only move if we needed to be closer to our adult child or something like that.

We are probably helping our community by not having children that cause school overcrowding and by not being out on the roads commuting every day. We are really very "cheap" community members at this point. Still healthy. Someday the OP will be old and then he/she will understand what it means to stay in the community they know and love. Or maybe know what it means to move closer to loved ones even if the house there is rather large.

We also consider our home to be the "fall back" position should something happen to our adult child (job layoff, etc.). Our adult child will likely never be able to afford to buy for various reasons and this house is security for all of us really.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they want to host extended family for Thanksgiving and other holidays.

[Anonymous]

Maybe they ARE downsizing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Here’s an idea. When someone asks a question, you can answer it or be helpful. The person asking the question might learn something.

Name calling isn’t helpful.

Here’s what I’m asking:
Why do 70 year olds buy into neighborhoods with 4000 sq feet houses, large 2 acre lots.
It’s not a TYPICAL retiree area…I lived in Williamsburg for a long time and it was highly desirable for retirees.

Do I mean that all 70 year olds want the same thing? Surely not!

I would think (and many of you are proving me wrong) that if your kids are grown, you’d want less house, less yard.

If you’re a retiree purchasing a large home in a neighborhood with young families, explain why to me so I can learn.

For some reason thus site is attracting a lot of mansplainers from reddit...

OP you are not asking a questions, you a demanding a justification as to why people do something that you have declared is wrong.

Fall back.

[Anonymous]

We are retired currently working with builder on a custom 6000sq ft ranch home in Fairfax. We are retired, not “dead”. Need room to entertain, children, grandchildren, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
home size is not always issue. My new empty Nestor neighbor downsized into same sized house, they were in a 4,000 sf house on two acres with a pool further out in Potomac and moved to a 4,000 sf on a 1/2 acre no pool walking distance village.

They wanted less land to maintain and be closer to stores and doctors but same size house

My parents did the same. They moved from 3 acres and a pool to a 4000 SFH in a 55+ community. They are 80 and 77

[Anonymous]

My in laws "downsized" from 7000 square feet to 4000 square feet. Both homes needed another primary on the first level with easy walk in shower with seat.

My FIL grew up in a very small one bathroom house with multiple siblings where you could open the window hold out your arm and touch the other home. He did not like this and still to this day doesn't want to see neighbor homes so he he has always bought acreage or put up lots of landscaping for privacy.

They are both in their 70s and relatively healthy. MIL has some health issues (why the first primary). It will be hard to clean out if they live there forever. In the process of cleaning out a relative's 4000 square foot home. Total nightmare... So if you live in this space, please be organized and declutter! They think we are crazy to live in a 2000 SFH but we don't want/ couldn't afford 4000 square feet in the area we love to live.

[Anonymous]

A lot of explanations in this thread, but none of them are rational.

[Anonymous]

A lot of explanations in this thread, but none of them are rational.

Define "rational".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Death houses. They die a lot quicker in these places, especially if there are stairs.

Elevator.

Nah. Most homes don’t have them. And people take the stairs because those in-home elevators are slooooow and/or in constant need of repair. Old people get impatient - “oh I left my key upstairs, I’ll just take the stairs real quick.” Then they fall down the stairs, break their hip, and pass away due to complications in the following months. Which is exactly what happened to our beloved neighbor in our expensive NW DC neighborhood.

People buy these enormous homes in retirement because they are just used to consuming. Less space feels like a downgrade, even though it’s what they need as they age.

I don’t blame longtime home owners for remaining in their too-large house. People are emotional creatures of habit. Their social network and support system is near their home, so moving elsewhere often becomes a daunting ordeal.

[Anonymous]

We could sell our larger house and buy a smaller place, but we would then want to be in a better location (closer to stores, restaurants, transit, etc.) so we would not be saving any money. Plus the selling and buying process costs money (and we would owe taxes on part of the profit since the value has escalated so much). We might even have to pay more as far as the actual price to get the smaller place.

Instead we bought a luxury EV so we can travel safely and with less impact. We power it with the solar panels we installed on our larger roof. So our carbon footprint is smaller. And as someone else said, we're not dead yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Death houses. They die a lot quicker in these places, especially if there are stairs.

Elevator.

Nah. Most homes don’t have them. And people take the stairs because those in-home elevators are slooooow and/or in constant need of repair. Old people get impatient - “oh I left my key upstairs, I’ll just take the stairs real quick.” Then they fall down the stairs, break their hip, and pass away due to complications in the following months. Which is exactly what happened to our beloved neighbor in our expensive NW DC neighborhood.

People buy these enormous homes in retirement because they are just used to consuming. Less space feels like a downgrade, even though it’s what they need as they age.

I don’t blame longtime home owners for remaining in their too-large house. People are emotional creatures of habit. Their social network and support system is near their home, so moving elsewhere often becomes a daunting ordeal.

Stairlifts and vacuum elevators solve the stair problem.

[Anonymous]

There is no why. Just personal preference. It’s like asking why do people by blue Audis versus green Volvos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
My husband and I are retired and in our 60's. We have lived in our current house for 26 years (raised a child here). It is 2400 sq. ft. with another 600 sq. ft. as a finished basement. A quarter acre lot. Is that too big? Yes, probably, but I have a sewing hobby that takes up the finished basement. My husband and I have finally been able to garden (a great hobby) and our yard is arguably now the most beautiful yard in the neighborhood. We have upgraded hardscaping and provided habitat for birds. The neighbor kids like to come and look at all of the plants and flowers. We also have relatives who have visited for various periods of time. My friends come for lunch and I have enough room to do that. Will we live here forever? No. But as other posters have said, why not live here for as long as we can enjoy it? We have neighbors who are also our friends and that means a lot to us.

We would probably only move if we needed to be closer to our adult child or something like that.

We are probably helping our community by not having children that cause school overcrowding and by not being out on the roads commuting every day. We are really very "cheap" community members at this point. Still healthy. Someday the OP will be old and then he/she will understand what it means to stay in the community they know and love. Or maybe know what it means to move closer to loved ones even if the house there is rather large.

We also consider our home to be the "fall back" position should something happen to our adult child (job layoff, etc.). Our adult child will likely never be able to afford to buy for various reasons and this house is security for all of us really.

On this website that is tiny. Homes are so big in DCOM land my daughters friend parents have a 1,500 sf MBR and their basement is 3,000 sf