Anonymous
Post 01/31/2026 16:55     Subject: If you have a high(ish) budget/income but no desire to maintain a large home
Anonymous wrote:My neighbor who lived on two acres pool in Potomac downsized to a larger sf house in retirement

He bought the 7,000 sf house on my block in an estate sale. It is only 1/2 acre. Flat plot. No pool, house is large takes up a decent amount of plot, big driverway and circular driveway in front so less lawn. He had if fully renovated top to bottom before move in. My block has gas lines, sewer lines, water etc. He claimed it was the land that was killing him maint wise and all the little projects.

His new house, four sided brick, slate roof all redone inside is now zero repairs next 2025 year, smaller plot he just has landscaper. He did all work before he moved in.

Lucky guy bought Fall 2019 Did not move in to Fall 2020 and by time home old sold in January 2021 he got a big price due to Covid boom. That is luck. But he claims it is not size. It is a house with a plot easy to take care of and a house like his all Brick, new vinyl windows, slate roof that require zero exterior upkeep is what makes it easy. .



A single person does not need 7,000 sqft. And things to break and need repair all the time, although he probably won’t notice much until an emergency. Needing 7000 sqft of space or acres so neighbors don’t ever see is so odd. I understand if you love nature and want to be surrounded by nature, but otherwise I don’t get it; it’s just wasteful.
Anonymous
Post 01/30/2026 13:04     Subject: If you have a high(ish) budget/income but no desire to maintain a large home
My elderly parents just have a lot more staff/contracts now for house stuff and they’re doing okay. It still takes up some brain space to manage it all.
Anonymous
Post 01/29/2026 21:41     Subject: If you have a high(ish) budget/income but no desire to maintain a large home
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Some of the newer town homes have elevators but will set you back est $1.3m min


Elevators break no one to fix them


And may require periodic inspections. Also some concern about pets and an in-home elevator.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 22:16     Subject: If you have a high(ish) budget/income but no desire to maintain a large home
We gut a cape cod in Bethesda and added on. 2,800 square feet of well used space.
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 22:13     Subject: If you have a high(ish) budget/income but no desire to maintain a large home
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We have 2 houses and the maintenance of 2 is a lot to manage as we get closer to retirement. Our beach house is bigger and tends to be the gathering place for family so we aren't getting rid of that one. We are leaning to a 2 BR condo or elevator TH here. Because we split our time between 2 places i'd like one of them to be super low maintenance so we can leave it for 3-4 months without worrying about it.


Exact same here. What I want is a 3-4 bedroom condo (or just rental apartment) in a high end building with lots of amenities in DC. I don’t know if this exists. Haven’t looked yet as we are still 2-3 years from wanting to sell our DC house.


Save some money: downtown silver spring
Anonymous
Post 01/28/2026 22:11     Subject: If you have a high(ish) budget/income but no desire to maintain a large home
There are some other low crime, walkable areas in PG county to check out now that you don’t need a school system. Some parts of Greenbelt, college park and west hyattsville, and others where houses are a quarter of the cost