Will you buy your forever home in retirement? In my experience, most retiring Baby Boomers do think they are buying their forever home. But, how long do they live in that home?
Let’s look at some examples
If you believe you’re buying your forever home, does that place undue stress on you? Or, does it justify getting everything you want – “this is the last home I am ever buying, so I want it to be perfect!” After spending many hours with retirees, looking at houses, I understand why so many bought new construction. They could pick everything themselves.
Lucky Lucy loves her forever home
I’m thinking of several couples I had the privilege of working with relocating in retirement. One thing they all had in common – they were realistic and practical. Lucy is one client that knew what she wanted and having a realistic budget helped us help her. She was determined not to overspend, and fortunately, we found a great home in a wonderful retirement community for her. Finding the right community that feels like a perfect fit contributes to longevity in that first retirement home.
The Moores are on their second forever home
The Moores are a very analytical couple. They knew what they wanted and didn’t need any help choosing a retirement home. They decided on a builder and a community based on a “feature, function, benefit” type analysis and selected many options and upgrades to suit their lifestyle. Unfortunately, they realized that the location didn’t work for them once they moved in.
When we work with our buyer clients, we always caution them against overspending the neighborhood. The Moores, on their own, did just that. When they did decide to sell, they took quite a hit. We saw this also happen with people that had retired to the Carolinas when they wanted to move back to the Mid-Atlantic area. Selling can be costly.
The Moores enlisted our help when they purchased their second forever home. This time, their taste matches the neighborhood, and the location better fits their lifestyle. So far, they are happy and plan to live in this home as long as their health allows.
The Peters are now on their third forever home
The Peters’ first forever home near the beach was a beauty after Mrs. Peters completely gutted and redid the kitchen. She renovated the entire home and did an awesome job. The setting was beautiful, but the community didn’t offer enough activity and social life. They then had a house built in a new active adult community without selling their first retirement home. It was difficult to sell during the real estate market crash of 2008.
Once again, Mrs. Peters designed the new kitchen herself and made all the selections for a beautiful two-story house, one of the larger homes in the community. Life was good until her daughter had their first granddaughter! They lived a few hours away, which was too far to be a part of her life. The real estate market had improved enough to sell both homes near the beach and move closer to their growing family.
They have now lived in their current forever home for more than five years. Will it be their last?
Statistically, no one is buying their forever home
Is it just a marketing message? Builders advertise “forever homes” to newly retired couples and entice them with upgrades and options designed to match their retirement dreams. But, statistically, you will buy and sell three houses in retirement.