@coralbrook – without knowing your local laws OR your amount of land, I find myself wondering if you might want to built an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) or two on your lot. You could then move into one and rent the house (with maintenance costs covered by the rent) until such time as you are absolutely certain you want to sell. Here in Portland, that situation is relatively common.
My D wants me to build a granny flat over my garage and live there while vacation renting the main house. First…I cannot imagine anyone wanting to rent my house for vacation while the owner ‘hovers over the back yard pool area’. And second…I have never lived with stairs. Have always lived in a single level home. This is where the lazy part comes in. I just cannot see myself dragging stuff up and down steep stairs. I’d probably starve so I wouldn’t have to go to the grocery store:)
I think it would be doable in current building codes, however there is a new neighborhood movement trying to ban short term rentals at non owner occupied properties. They are OK with airbnb types where owner is renting out a room and lives there. But there are a lot of parking and partying/noise issues in the vacation rentals that are becoming prevalent in the coastal, but residential, area.
I think the better thing to do would be rent the house out for summer and fall months and I get to go somewhere fun. But then you look around the house and realize the amount of de cluttering, upgrading and clean out required and I just collapse thinking about it!
And yes… I was hoping to use the real estate to fund my lavish retirement around the world (in my dreams!!). But D wants to create an artist’s compound. I don’t think so!!! I guess we all had pipe dreams with no money to back them up at that age:). I try hard not to laugh out loud
@coralbrook Do you have sizable acreage where you could build a single story dwelling more privately than living over the garage?
I agree with you. I personally would be loathe to rent a vacation property where the own is literally on top me.
No, not enough land for a separate home and it wouldn’t be allowed with our zoning. I think I would need minimum 20,000 sq ft and I have 18,000 sq ft. I know that sounds ridiculously small in other parts of the country but it’s huge for ocean front property in San Diego.
@coralbrook a lot of zoning ordinances don’t allow for “granny flats” over garages-check before you build.
Everyone I know who has rented out their property has said it’s more trouble than it’s worth.
Both kids love this house and the neighborhood, but understand that keeping the house once D2 goes to college (next year) makes no sense. Younger D has vowed to buy her own house in the neighborhood someday-maybe this one! I tell her to think long and hard about cleaning 5k square feet and five toilets, and go for one of the smaller storybook cottages instead (which we almost did and I now wish we had). I like that D2 has such good memories here that she wants to create her own someday.
We’re looking at downsizing from 5k square feet to 600 square feet on a sailing catamaran. Hey, no furniture! This will not be a retirement home-it’s a hair on fire we’re 50 but not fogies home for a few years.
Once we return to dry land when sailing a boat becomes too much work, it’ll probably be something in the Villages where we can have drunken golf cart races with the other septuagenarians.
My parents sailed off into the sunset at 65 and were gone 4 years. My H and I definitely had plans to sail the Caribbean in early retirement also. I’m jealous that is in your plans.
But life took a different turn and I’m trying to figure out whether I want to remodel and stick it out or start planning my downsize strategy.
I just downsized after my only left for college. I went from 3,800+ sq ft (2 stories) to 2,200 sq ft (1 story). I highly recommend a single story.
I cannot imagine living in a one story house. When I am not able to go up the stairs, please nail my coffin lid shut. 
I’m with you Bunsen. I think stairs keep you younger longer.
My 14 yo poodle fell down our stairs a few months ago and dislocated her hip, so I’m no longer a fan of stairs. My husband’s grandfather also fell down stairs, hit his head, and died, and my grandmother fell down stairs, broke her hip, went to the hospital, got an infection, and died.
The poodle has made a full recovery, but I do carry her down the stairs now because it was really horribly painful for her, and it cost me about a grand in vet fees.
So, yeah, not a fan of stairs for people who have vision or mobility issues-which will be all of us someday.
Stairs are a mixed bag. Have plenty of them now and like them most of the time. The year I broke my foot and spent months non-weight bearing post 2 surgeries, the bouncing up and down got old fast…Gave me a glimpse of how hard it could become with time.
Definitely plan to downsize at some point; don’t know by how much. Mostly want to get out of a “car only” suburb to be closer to things, have more of a walking lifestyle and less yard. And perhaps be nearer the ocean. Even with a substantial decline in square footage, it will not be a cost saving move in this area.
If you already have knee issues (and even youngsters get those), stairs speed up the aging process/debilitation.
Staying fit is what keeps you healthy, and you don’t require stairs for that.
I haven’t lived in a one story house since I left home at 18, but I’d love to.
I’ve only lived in a one story home and have been happy and fit. Our neighborhood is mostly smaller one story homes. My sisters and one brother have two story homes as did my SisIL and BIL. H grew up in a house that was 66 steps from street to front door. That’s a lot of steps but fabulous view! Our house has one step from the house down to the street. I missed my footing one morning and broke my fibula by rolling my ankle. It was no fun hobbling around our level home while recovering! Made me glad we live in such a level home.
For us, the one-story home is not just about stairs but space. 2,000 sq. ft. on one floor is much roomier than 3,000 sq. ft. split on two and, where we live, many one-story homes have 12-foot ceilings. That 2,000 (or less) x 12 space feels cavernous compared to the colonials we lived in back east. We use that height, too. Years ago, DH built an amazing loft in our son’s room, and drapes hung at ten feet make a room look grand. I suspect, though, that the height may be somewhat functional as we live in the desert so proper air circulation is important; heat rises to the ceiling and our stone or tiled floors stay cooler.
I’ve just begin having some knee issues. I’ve begun to wear my Crocs all the time in the house to protect my knees from the impact of the hard floors. I agree with @Nrdsb4 (#112).
Wow–12 foot ceilings do sound quite grand and adding a loft would certainly create even more space. One issue with such high ceilings could be if you ever need to clean or even paint them. That would require significant scaffolding.
Ha, @HImom. Over the 15 years we had those ceilings, I painted every room, some more than once, using just a single 10-foot ladder. I think my knees are getting their revenge on me for that.
Are ceilings are 7’6" or so. It’s fine for us and is home.
10 feet floor 1, 8-15 feet floor 2, and 7-8 basement. The 15 footers are challenging because woodwork around skylights needs to be taped for painting, but we are getting a scaffold for that. Much safer than using a ladder. 12 feet - I would have just used a drywaller’s bench and a long roller.
@coralbrook when we get ready to,sell this house…a price will be set…and our kids will get rights of first refusal before we list with an agent. We will not hold the mortgage for them. They would have to get their own mortgage.
Could your daughter afford to buy your home? I seriously doubt it. My guess is she wants YOU to keep it…because she knows it’s the only way she could live there!
We love our kids dearly…but when it’s time to sell…the house will be sold…either to them or someone else. We will need the money to fund whatever we move to next. And that is that.