Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 18:43     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?


I am trying to prepare for the no-more-stairs time in my life. As to how many years that I think I have -- I have no idea. My doc says I will be at my current health/activity level for 30 years. But how does anyone know if it is 30 years vs. 29 years, 6 months, etc? KWIM?

My intent is to continue working as long as I can. My job is stress free, commute free, and lets me interact with work colleagues and friends. I'm currently covering the cost of my kids' car insurance ($$) and mobile phones, which I will be able to drop eventually.

(I could pay the mortgage off now with my savings, but with the low interest rate, I thought I would be better off keeping my savings in HYSA/CDs/MM with interest rates at 5% and higher.)


This gives you some flexibility now. Don't worry about the earlier poster who said that's a high allocation to cash -- it sounds like you need the security and need it to cash flow some expenses for awhile and it's currently earning enough.


She has 375k. She is going to get destroyed long term by holding cash. She needs some sort of plan and then allocate to stocks/bonds accordingly.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 18:32     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?


I am trying to prepare for the no-more-stairs time in my life. As to how many years that I think I have -- I have no idea. My doc says I will be at my current health/activity level for 30 years. But how does anyone know if it is 30 years vs. 29 years, 6 months, etc? KWIM?

My intent is to continue working as long as I can. My job is stress free, commute free, and lets me interact with work colleagues and friends. I'm currently covering the cost of my kids' car insurance ($$) and mobile phones, which I will be able to drop eventually.

(I could pay the mortgage off now with my savings, but with the low interest rate, I thought I would be better off keeping my savings in HYSA/CDs/MM with interest rates at 5% and higher.)


I'm confused. Are you OP? Is this all a sock puppet? Given OP's young age (61) and retirement resources, OP should examine why he/she is not able to cover monthly expenses and how moving would improve that. Can expenses be cut? Can OP get a roommate? Also, OP does not seem to be factoring in moving expenses and expenses associated with the new place to live. Rarely do furniture, window treatments, rugs work perfectly and that costs money.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 16:29     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Op, when your new college grad moves in to saveomey, they should help with renovations as part of their "rent." By thaf I don't mean doing it themselves but perhaps helping implement the plan, screenong contractors, talking about costs. This is very dependent on the adult child in question but it might help you out a bit.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 15:01     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:

DP: You sound like you're doing great and I don't think you have to worry so much now if it's more than 5-10 years away (definitely not if it's 29.5!). If you can, hold out on getting your social security checks until you're 70--keep working and spend down assets as needed instead to supplement.

What are your estimated living expenses for retirement if you were to stay in this house? Your 1m will generate about 40k/yr, you should have a good estimate of your social security on mysocialsecurity.gov, and you have an annuity. If that's enough to cover your expected expenses with some cushion, then you could decide on a portion of the 375k to be spent on renovations that make it work for you to live in for the next 5-10 years. At that point you can reassess if you are staying or selling and make a decision on whether to renovate more or sell as-is.


If I were to stay put, I could cover my monthly expenses, especially after peeling off kids' pricey car insurance costs each month. I haven't factored in house maintenance into my monthly budget yet, though. You raise a good point and I should tweak my spreadsheet a bit. (Roof on the house will likely need replacing in 7-10 years, for example.)
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 15:01     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?


I am trying to prepare for the no-more-stairs time in my life. As to how many years that I think I have -- I have no idea. My doc says I will be at my current health/activity level for 30 years. But how does anyone know if it is 30 years vs. 29 years, 6 months, etc? KWIM?

My intent is to continue working as long as I can. My job is stress free, commute free, and lets me interact with work colleagues and friends. I'm currently covering the cost of my kids' car insurance ($$) and mobile phones, which I will be able to drop eventually.

(I could pay the mortgage off now with my savings, but with the low interest rate, I thought I would be better off keeping my savings in HYSA/CDs/MM with interest rates at 5% and higher.)


This gives you some flexibility now. Don't worry about the earlier poster who said that's a high allocation to cash -- it sounds like you need the security and need it to cash flow some expenses for awhile and it's currently earning enough.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 14:06     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?


I am trying to prepare for the no-more-stairs time in my life. As to how many years that I think I have -- I have no idea. My doc says I will be at my current health/activity level for 30 years. But how does anyone know if it is 30 years vs. 29 years, 6 months, etc? KWIM?

My intent is to continue working as long as I can. My job is stress free, commute free, and lets me interact with work colleagues and friends. I'm currently covering the cost of my kids' car insurance ($$) and mobile phones, which I will be able to drop eventually.

(I could pay the mortgage off now with my savings, but with the low interest rate, I thought I would be better off keeping my savings in HYSA/CDs/MM with interest rates at 5% and higher.)


DP: You sound like you're doing great and I don't think you have to worry so much now if it's more than 5-10 years away (definitely not if it's 29.5!). If you can, hold out on getting your social security checks until you're 70--keep working and spend down assets as needed instead to supplement.

What are your estimated living expenses for retirement if you were to stay in this house? Your 1m will generate about 40k/yr, you should have a good estimate of your social security on mysocialsecurity.gov, and you have an annuity. If that's enough to cover your expected expenses with some cushion, then you could decide on a portion of the 375k to be spent on renovations that make it work for you to live in for the next 5-10 years. At that point you can reassess if you are staying or selling and make a decision on whether to renovate more or sell as-is.

Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 13:58     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:How big is your lot? Inside the Beltway if it's big enough would be a good candidate for a teardown.


33,218 sq ft
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 13:49     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?


I am trying to prepare for the no-more-stairs time in my life. As to how many years that I think I have -- I have no idea. My doc says I will be at my current health/activity level for 30 years. But how does anyone know if it is 30 years vs. 29 years, 6 months, etc? KWIM?

My intent is to continue working as long as I can. My job is stress free, commute free, and lets me interact with work colleagues and friends. I'm currently covering the cost of my kids' car insurance ($$) and mobile phones, which I will be able to drop eventually.

(I could pay the mortgage off now with my savings, but with the low interest rate, I thought I would be better off keeping my savings in HYSA/CDs/MM with interest rates at 5% and higher.)
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 13:48     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:(I posted this in the Midlife Concerns and Eldercare forum and now I am realizing I should have posted here.)

I am single, age 61, and live in what some on the real estate forum would call a $hit$hack -- inside the Beltway, Fairfax County. House is a split-level and I'm concerned about stairs due to a health concern. House needs serious work in bathrooms and basement, plus landscaping.

I have roughly $300K remaining on the mortgage @ 2.7 interest. No other debt.

Two kids -- one college graduate living 500 miles away, and one college student attending an in-state school (college fully funded in 529). No other family so nowhere to "move back to." Have been living in DMV for 30 years so most all of my friends are here. Have three dogs who love to run around in large fenced-in yard. College student plans to move back home after college to save $ for a few years while working in DMV.

I still WAH FT but salary (65K annually) does not fully cover monthly living expenses. Have a $1500 monthly annuity and health insurance is covered (FEHB).

I have $1M in a Vanguard IRA and $375K in HYSA, CDs, and cash.

I am trying to decide what to do next. Due to health concern, I would prefer to be somewhat local to docs in Fairfax County. Would become more important when I am no longer able to drive (15-20 years?). I could sell house as is, but don't have the $$$ to buy something I could afford.

I don't know what to do next - should I fix the house (bathrooms, basement, etc.) or just sell and let someone else deal with it? Not sure what I could get for the house -- maybe 550K as is? (Zillow number is $685K which is way over given house condition.)

Is there someone I could ask (realtor?) to advise me how to proceed?


I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?

It doesn’t sound as if OP can save more because her expenses are exceeding her salary at this point.


Her current job doesn't fully pay her expenses, but she has an annuity and 375k in cash and will be getting social security in a few years. The 375k could be tapped for renovations since she also has 1m in retirement for a single person plus an annuity.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 13:29     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:(I posted this in the Midlife Concerns and Eldercare forum and now I am realizing I should have posted here.)

I am single, age 61, and live in what some on the real estate forum would call a $hit$hack -- inside the Beltway, Fairfax County. House is a split-level and I'm concerned about stairs due to a health concern. House needs serious work in bathrooms and basement, plus landscaping.

I have roughly $300K remaining on the mortgage @ 2.7 interest. No other debt.

Two kids -- one college graduate living 500 miles away, and one college student attending an in-state school (college fully funded in 529). No other family so nowhere to "move back to." Have been living in DMV for 30 years so most all of my friends are here. Have three dogs who love to run around in large fenced-in yard. College student plans to move back home after college to save $ for a few years while working in DMV.

I still WAH FT but salary (65K annually) does not fully cover monthly living expenses. Have a $1500 monthly annuity and health insurance is covered (FEHB).

I have $1M in a Vanguard IRA and $375K in HYSA, CDs, and cash.

I am trying to decide what to do next. Due to health concern, I would prefer to be somewhat local to docs in Fairfax County. Would become more important when I am no longer able to drive (15-20 years?). I could sell house as is, but don't have the $$$ to buy something I could afford.

I don't know what to do next - should I fix the house (bathrooms, basement, etc.) or just sell and let someone else deal with it? Not sure what I could get for the house -- maybe 550K as is? (Zillow number is $685K which is way over given house condition.)

Is there someone I could ask (realtor?) to advise me how to proceed?


I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?

It doesn’t sound as if OP can save more because her expenses are exceeding her salary at this point.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 13:27     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
How big is your lot? Inside the Beltway if it's big enough would be a good candidate for a teardown.

I would only put the bare minimum into making things safe and livable, at least while you can and while your dogs are still alive. A chairlift can help with the stairs.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 12:37     Subject: Re:sell as-is vs renovate
Renovate the house to allow you to age in place. Condos have their own issues with condo fees and capital assessments, and lots of rules. Tell your college student to put some money towards certain expenses when they move back in. They don't have to pay full rent since the reason they are there is to save money, but they could probably put $500 towards the mortgage and they'd have to buy their own groceries.

This is tough to do, but I would re-home one or two of the dogs. Dogs are expensive and difficult to care for if you are experiencing health issues. Focus on yourself and getting yourself comfortable.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 12:34     Subject: Re:sell as-is vs renovate
You could talk to a realtor who specializes in your local area, but don't take their word as gold because a) they want you to sell, and b) they want you to spruce things up in ways that make it easier for them to sell quickly at a higher price. The more you spend on renovations, the more they get in commission and the less work they need to do to find a buyer. But it may be more in your best interest for you to fix up your house just enough to make it more livable for you to live in longer (maybe until your dogs have passed and your adult kid has launched--or maybe indefinitely).
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 12:30     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:(I posted this in the Midlife Concerns and Eldercare forum and now I am realizing I should have posted here.)

I am single, age 61, and live in what some on the real estate forum would call a $hit$hack -- inside the Beltway, Fairfax County. House is a split-level and I'm concerned about stairs due to a health concern. House needs serious work in bathrooms and basement, plus landscaping.

I have roughly $300K remaining on the mortgage @ 2.7 interest. No other debt.

Two kids -- one college graduate living 500 miles away, and one college student attending an in-state school (college fully funded in 529). No other family so nowhere to "move back to." Have been living in DMV for 30 years so most all of my friends are here. Have three dogs who love to run around in large fenced-in yard. College student plans to move back home after college to save $ for a few years while working in DMV.

I still WAH FT but salary (65K annually) does not fully cover monthly living expenses. Have a $1500 monthly annuity and health insurance is covered (FEHB).

I have $1M in a Vanguard IRA and $375K in HYSA, CDs, and cash.

I am trying to decide what to do next. Due to health concern, I would prefer to be somewhat local to docs in Fairfax County. Would become more important when I am no longer able to drive (15-20 years?). I could sell house as is, but don't have the $$$ to buy something I could afford.

I don't know what to do next - should I fix the house (bathrooms, basement, etc.) or just sell and let someone else deal with it? Not sure what I could get for the house -- maybe 550K as is? (Zillow number is $685K which is way over given house condition.)

Is there someone I could ask (realtor?) to advise me how to proceed?


I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?


^^forgot to add another question. Is your dilemma about not being able to recoup money spent on renovations if you have to sell? This is never a guarantee regardless what type of house you have, but you do need to understand your local RE market dynamics to see if homes like yours are more likely to be tear downs vs. bought by families to live there. Less likely to get more money for a renovated home that would be a tear down anyway vs. where there is enough activity of people buying older homes to live there.
Anonymous
Post 09/22/2023 12:26     Subject: sell as-is vs renovate
Anonymous wrote:(I posted this in the Midlife Concerns and Eldercare forum and now I am realizing I should have posted here.)

I am single, age 61, and live in what some on the real estate forum would call a $hit$hack -- inside the Beltway, Fairfax County. House is a split-level and I'm concerned about stairs due to a health concern. House needs serious work in bathrooms and basement, plus landscaping.

I have roughly $300K remaining on the mortgage @ 2.7 interest. No other debt.

Two kids -- one college graduate living 500 miles away, and one college student attending an in-state school (college fully funded in 529). No other family so nowhere to "move back to." Have been living in DMV for 30 years so most all of my friends are here. Have three dogs who love to run around in large fenced-in yard. College student plans to move back home after college to save $ for a few years while working in DMV.

I still WAH FT but salary (65K annually) does not fully cover monthly living expenses. Have a $1500 monthly annuity and health insurance is covered (FEHB).

I have $1M in a Vanguard IRA and $375K in HYSA, CDs, and cash.

I am trying to decide what to do next. Due to health concern, I would prefer to be somewhat local to docs in Fairfax County. Would become more important when I am no longer able to drive (15-20 years?). I could sell house as is, but don't have the $$$ to buy something I could afford.

I don't know what to do next - should I fix the house (bathrooms, basement, etc.) or just sell and let someone else deal with it? Not sure what I could get for the house -- maybe 550K as is? (Zillow number is $685K which is way over given house condition.)

Is there someone I could ask (realtor?) to advise me how to proceed?


I am not fully understanding what the exact issue is here. Are you saying that the house is no longer livable for you as is without renovation? Or is this more of a convenience, QOL issue? Or are you trying to prepare for the situation where you no longer can climb stairs? If this is the latter then how many more years do you think you have? All this matters. Can you afford any renovations now or do you need to wait till you save more?