As I wrote on the retirement thread, dh and I are considering selling our Florida home and relocating back to the flyover state from which we came. It’s dh’s home state where he still has family and where we raised ds.
We have found something we really like with a desirable price point, but the primary bedroom is up (there are NO bedrooms downstairs). Dh is 61, and I am 60. We are currently fit, able-bodied people.
Laundry is also up if that matters.
EDIT! I should have put this info in originally. This is a townhome. No remodeling. No yard, so no ADU possible in the future. 1/2 but not full bath downstairs
My mom will be 86 next month and her bedroom is up a steep set of stairs (they are actually a bit steep for me!) There is no main floor bedroom in her house. She thinks it it is good for her to go up and down the stairs.
Is there a full bath on the main level and a den or any room for that matter that could be used in a pinch for a bedroom? Can you afford to do an addition/remodeling if needed?
After experiences with my family, I would not. (I am only mid 40s, fwiw.)
My mom (72) has lived with us for the past decade and she has had 2 surgeries over that time that have been difficult to manage recovery with at our house with her 2nd floor bedroom. Also as she has gotten older it is definitely harder for her to manage the stairs. She does, but I wonder for how much longer she’ll be able to. She has fallen on the stairs a few times, and very often drops things on them to keep from falling.
My MIL (a few years older than my mom, maybe 75?) has a house with a ground floor bedroom. Without it she would have had to move out of her house within the past year or two as she has declined. She is very happy she is able to stay in her own home with some support.
My grandparents all had ranch style houses and were all able to stay in their homes until they passed (mid 70s and early 90s), and were very happy they were able to.
I will not buy a two story house when we finally downsize and move. We are very healthy people now, but who knows what things might be like in another decade. I want everything in my home easy to access and clean.
I think it depends on whether or not you want this to be your “final” home. If not, go ahead buy it and enjoy. When the steps become an issue - either sell or build on a master suite on the first floor.
Many of us lived in our “raising the kids” house for a long time (for me it was 35 years). I have no plan to live in my retirement house (which is actually an apartment) for anywhere near that amount of time (even if my husband and I are both still alive and kicking in 35 years.)
You can retire in stages - think of this as the first stage if this is the house that will make you happy, now and for the next few years.
I want to add. The first downsize move is the most painful. So much stuff to get rid of. It was a lot of work when we cleared out a big family home. If we decide to move now, it would be so easy (a 2 bedroom apartment). So although you may be older, I expect if you had to move again it would be easier.
No real, “separate,” rooms downstairs - it’s open-concept
I have reached the point in my life where I don’t see any home as necessarily a, “final,” home until I am dead - lol. Even if we were to buy a one level home, I can’t envision our staying there forever.
I appreciate all you are giving me to think about already!
In addition to the remodeling questions raised by @88jm19 and @momofboiler1, I’ll add: is there space in the back yard to add a small one story guest house (and could you afford that if needed or desired)?
Our house has bedrooms upstairs, but we recently built a one-bedroom ADU in our back yard for my husband’s parents (they are in their 80s). It allows us to take care of them, and we also feel it might be a good place for us to live when we are older. We could rent out the front house, or one of our kids or another family member could live in it.
We went from 3,500 sq ft to 935 sq ft. We then upsized to around 1,600. This is actually slightly bigger, but with the same number of rooms. I am no longer a, “stuff,” person at all (except for clothing. I will never be minimalistic when it comes to clothing )
I have seen a handful of people forced from their homes because the stairs had become too dangerous, so I would not, UNLESS their was a space to add an elevator at some point. Then i would.
It’s only great exercise IF you are able to go up and down stairs. We have some friends now and the main reason they are moving is that one of them has mobility issues and is having trouble going up and down stairs.
If we move, the master bedroom and laundry, and a full bath will be on the main first floor level. Guest rooms and a bath will be upstairs for when we have our kids come home.
So…short answer is…I would not buy a place with the master upstairs.
Right now that maybe true, but that can change fast, it has for several members of my family.
If you want to keep the habit of going up and down stairs, then buying a house with upstairs and downstairs bedrooms, and sleeping in an upstairs one seems like a solution. That way you have a back up plan.
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