Dear So and So

[SheFly]

For right now, though, we have no desire to become homeowners again anytime soon. We see all the headaches my folks are having with their home and their vacation cabin -- like crankin's experience, there always seems to be something major needing repaired or replaced. And then there's the yard upkeep. We've done extensive work in my folks' two yards and my DH's folks' yard this year to help them out as they've all gotten nearly too old to keep up with it. At least as long as we have parents still living in homes with yards, we have NO desire for our own. We'd rather be riding our bikes, hiking, sightseeing, or doing pretty much anything else.

Yup - we own three homes (that we do not rent out). I wouldn't have things any other way! Our primary home is a 1950s ranch that we have had quite a lot of work done to, and I love. Our second home in Maine is a 1980s chalet where we have also done a bunch of work (ourselves on that one). We love it so much we have decided that we can't possibly sell it - too much of us in it. And our third is a three season camp in VT built in the 70s. That one needs A LOT of work, but we enjoy that sort of effort.

Funny story. Two years after we bought the house in Maine, we were building a reasonably significant addition. It was to have a cathedral ceiling (14 feet) with a center ridge beam. We were setting the rafters with DH on the ladder and me passing the rafters up to him to set. He set one, decided he didn't like the way it fit, and asked me for another. The next thing I remember, I was sitting on the step of the shed with my hand on my head, which was GUSHING blood. The rafter (a 10x12) had fallen from 14 feet and hit me in the head . It didn't knock me out, but did require 9 staples to close (that is another story). So, that house, literally, is our blood sweat and tears .

Different wants/needs for everyone! I am lucky that despte trying to kill me once, DH and I can do those kinds of projects together (and live to tell about it!).

SheFly

[emily_in_nc]

I think one reason I'm glad for our "no house" lifestyle now is that we built three houses over the years (one a starter home and two custom homes later). We did all of the landscaping on each and a lot of interior work (painting, etc.) We had gardens and worked on the house or yard ALL the time. We have always been frugal and have rarely hired out any work, inside or outside the home. DH doesn't like having workers around, and I could never have a housekeeper for this reason (until we lived in the condo in Belize and housekeepers came with our HOA -- he still didn't like their weekly visits, but I did!)

I think we just really burned out on all that is entailed in being a homeowner. Don't get me wrong; I love not sharing walls or floors with neighbors and the privacy of a house, but there are many tradeoffs. It's kind of a "been there, done that, time for another phase of life" now for us. We are so enjoying having fewer possessions, only one car (but six bikes!) and being able to pick up and go wherever, whenever without being tied to a house and yard.

We love nature and woods and as a result, I can't ever say we'll never buy another home on acreage and make a wonderful place for ourselves (and work ourselves to death, as we have in the past), but I'm beginning to think we're past the ages to do that again, especially since we're no longer working and can finally travel the way we always wanted to.

[Crankin]

SheFly, your story had me laughing with coffee in my mouth. It's really not funny, though. You were lucky! Where in Vermont is the camp?
Emily, my DH is very handy and has done a lot of the electrical/plumbing work in th house, and other smaller jobs. He can fix anything. He remodeled 2 out of the 3.5 baths himself. But, we don't have the tolerance to live in half finished rooms for long periods of time, so the big remodel was contracted out. The kitchen/powder room was 6 wks. and the master bath was 4-5 weeks, with about 2 weeks in between the 2. Up until we lived here, our 2 houses in AZ were brand new, so no real work there, except yard work and painting. Our first house here was about 10 years old and we did a few minor things, like flooring and carpeting, changing cabinet hardware. We couldn't afford anything else. This house was also shoddily built, but it looked OK. The house we bought after that (where we lived before this one) was about a year old when we bought it, and was owned by a single guy who was never home. The neighbors threw a bag of fertilizer on the lawn, to give him a hint (Stepford neighborhood). DH spent tons of time on the landscaping/lawn, and then when we started cycling, we got a lawn service and he only did what he wanted to. We painted, got window shades, finished the basement (not ourselves), and had a rather elaborate screened porch (2 rooms) built, only 2 years before we moved. In retrospect, we've thought about what we would have to be doing if we had stayed there. We definitely would have done a kitchen remodel, though it would not have been as elaborate as this one. The windows were starting to rot, too. The house probably would have been paid off, but it's lost about 150K worth of value, maybe more, since we sold it at the peak in 2005. The house we have now, is estimated to be worth more than we bought it for; not that this matters... but generally people will pay more to live in this town, so I think it will be more helpful in the end, when we are ready to downsize. We've been talking about this more, as there's a lot of buzz in the press about 1) how people my age can't find townhomes in the suburbs, and 2) there's a housing boom in the greater Boston area. People are bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking prices of homes. My son, who has been in his house 1.5 years, has had 2 real estate agents stop by and ask if he would put his house up for sale! This is in an inner suburb, on a busy street, with no garage, up a steep hill!

[SheFly]

Funny now, but not then. I've learned to wear a hard hat on those types of projects now It's still a good story. And we still sit in that room and marvel at the fact that only our two pairs of hands touched anything in the room to build it (including heat and electric - DH is very handy).

Crankin'- the VT camp is near the Kingdom Trails, in Kirby. We are 8.5 miles on scenic dirt roads to East Burke. DH grew up in the area, and his family is all still there.

SheFly

[Crankin]

I love that area. Was there last winter. So sad the Kingdom trails are partly being closed to x country skiers for fat bikes...

[malkin]

Is it part of construction guy training to locate the most recent project completed and then wreck it?

New floor installed Monday.
Wrecked by Drywall guy on Wednesday.
It was fun while it lasted.

[lph]

And we still sit in that room and marvel at the fact that only our two pairs of hands touched anything in the room to build it.

That, actually, thrills me no end. But then, I push papers for a living, and my idea of a really fulfilling and meaningful weekend is chopping wood until my hands don't work any more.

Sorry about your demolition gang, malkin! I'm just waiting for the first person to trash our new flooring, as we tromp all over it in boots carrying heavy machinery.