March 28..........
This is the date that Joe and I closed on the sale of our brand new townhouse and we became home owners with a mortgage!
I was still in Nursing School.......
Fast forward 40 years.......
Yes, it has been 40 years since we sat on the floor in our Living Room with a bottle of wine celebrating home ownership!!
And here we are....... still here, in this house....
We plan and God laughs........
This is just some of what we have done..........
Replaced the flooring and carpeting down stairs 4 times
Replaced the Kitchen counter tops.....
Replaced the front and back doors 2 times
Gone through at least 6 hot water heaters.......
3 stoves
2 toilets in 2 bathrooms.......
3 fold down attic stairs........
I have gardened, painted and wall papered........
Once AGAIN, we are looking at replacing the windows in our house as my "new" windows are 31 years old!!!!!
In 10 years, when we are in our 70's, we will be needing another new roof!!
So as we head into our retirement years, I find that I am frequently wondering how much longer we can stay in our house from a financial and physical point of view......
There....
I said it......
I am tired of constantly having to maintain a house, replace appliances and pay taxes.........
As the major bread winner, the responsibility always seem to rest on my shoulders......
Or that is at least how it feels......
At this age, I am not so sure that being a homeowner is a good thing........
In future posts, I will be exploring more about this subject ..........
Home Ownership in Retirement Years.......
In the next 10 years, Joe and I are going to have to decide if we will sink even more money into this house or if we will MOVE on.....
So I hope you will be back to visit again soon when I start to explore this subject.......
As for today, we will celebrate owning our home for 40 years!!!
Thanks to those who took the time out of their busy day to spend a little bit of time with me!!
If you do not have a blog, PLEASE give me some way to reply to your comment, maybe by including your email in your comment. If I can not find a way to reach you, I will reply on the post where you commented so please check back......
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Hi Debbie,
ReplyDeleteSelling is such a big decision! Two years ago my hubby and I decided it was time to put our home on the market. I was experiencing too many health issues and climbing stairs to do a wash or watch TV in the family room began to take its toll on me. I thought everything on one floor would be easier for me to maintain so we talked about selling and renting. Then more health issues popped up and set me back to the point where I couldn't do much of anything including getting the house ready for sale. Now that I'm doing better, we're not so sure we want to move. We have two years left on our mortgage. Hubby retired at the end of December. I still can't do much in the way of packing and getting the house ready so we will be here at least another year. We will take another look at it then. We replaced our roof a year ago but there are other things that need to be done and Hubby is not handy. Everything will have to be done by a plumber, painter, etc; you get the picture. So we will see what the future holds. Decisions, decisions! Great posting! Have a lovely Easter weekend with your family, Debbie. Hugs...Sandi
40 years wow! That is awesome Deb. We were married 40 years in September. We married in Sept 1977. I am curious to read what you come up with on rent/own. I know lots of folks that as they got closer to retirement decided to sell their home of many years and buy a small home in a gated community where lawn care and that sort of thing was not an issue. Girl, I couldn't walk up those stairs! It would wear me out. That must be how you stay so active. Looking forward to reading about your thoughts. Hugs and blessings and Happy Easter.
ReplyDeleteCindy
Wow 40 years of marriage. Terry and I are going to celebrate 39 this September. I love that you stayed in your town home and have never felt like you needed to move on from this home. That is pretty awesome. Have a great rest of the week and wonderful weekend and fun day on Easter.
ReplyDeleteHugs,
Kris
Congratulations on Your important anniversary!! Wonderful that You stayed in Your town home.
ReplyDeleteHugs
Congratulations on 40 years and all of your accomplishments. I have been thinking that it's time to move to a smaller yard and home. The bi level we live in with the steps all day long going up and down will be even harder in a few years I imagine. You do have a lot of steps and keeping the outdoor steps clean of ice and snow and then possibly falling is a worry. You both have done wonderful things in your home and always decorated nice. Have a Wonderful Easter time, Betsy
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to decide what the best retirement plan is. We will celebrate our 40th in October and retired almost 3 years ago. We sold our home in NY and bought 2 homes! We bought one home 2 doors away from our daughter in NC and one in a 55 and over community in FL. We bought 2 ranch type homes and right now we are getting plans made to have a ramp leading to the door of our FL home. We don't quite need it yet but we know the day is coming. We considered buying a condo but I guess after owning a home for so long we got used to it and I figure my husband can use some exercise so lawn mowing is an easy way to get it! Good luck in your decision making. Like you said, God knows what that plans is and will lead you to it when the time comes!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Debbie! That's a big milestone!
ReplyDeletecongrats on your 40 year anniversary of living in your home, wow you sure have replaced a lot of things. Good luck on making the decisions on what to do in your future
ReplyDelete40 years, Debbie! WOW! Good for you...you have certainly beat the average for length of time for someone to stay in the home. I think the natural average if five years.
ReplyDeleteI love that you have done so many updates over the years and have pictures to show the changes...and I LOVE the wedding picture.
I hope you have a wonderful, blessed Easter. xo Diana
Wow 40 years is a long time but then if you love your home and it meets your needs why move. Then on the other hand repairs can be expensive and as we age it is harder to go up and down the stairs. I will be following this series as I am retired and I just don't know if I want to deal with the upkeep either.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your major investment anniversary!
ReplyDeleteWe also lived in our home for 35 years. But, when we retired four years ago (I laughingly refer to it as 'retirement' because I no longer make the trek to the university to teach every day - but I still put in 5-8 hours a day in the studio!LOL) we made the decision: no more home upkeep!
We sold our home (luckily, we bought wisely in an up-and-coming neighborhood which has become a bit of "the" in-place to live in New Haven now) and rented a very nice large townhouse style apartment to live out our years. Unless we win the multi-million dollar lottery, in which case, we'll move to Paris LOL.
I must say, it's SO VERY VERY NICE to simply pick up the phone and say "such-and-such needs repair" - and voila! it's fixed by somebody else - and PAID FOR by somebody else. LOL.
It was a tough decision at the time - but it was definitely the right one for us and we don't regret it for a moment.
Debbie,
ReplyDeleteI had a two story when we first got married and knew that when we got our next house, it had to be a ranch. Best decision we ever made. It is a big decision but so glad we did it. Even when we bought our second home, it had to be a ranch. We still own and have kicked around the idea of renting, but have not gotten to that far yet.
Looking forward to seeing what you decide.
Hugs,
Bev
This is a fascination question. Firstly you chose well 40 years ago that's amazing that you have your own place that you could change as you have liked, you can make all the decisions on. I have just moved into a new rental (with a big does of Renters Regret) if I owned this place I would have a lot of fun updating it, but I guess in retirement, you don't really want the hassle! It will be tough to move out though after all those years though I expect.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with exploring this idea further :)
Wren x
Congratulations! What a great story. Yes, God laughs, doesn't he? I'm sure when the time comes you will know just what to do:) Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm. xo Kathleen
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I think that you have to do what is best for you. Our home is paid for, but quite large. The garden has a rock wall all along the back and one side. I am constantly climbing up and down it. I have already decided that we will sell and downsize in about 10 years. When I reach the point that I can't maintain it like I like then I'm ready to give up lots of my treasures and settle for a simpler life. I know that we will never rent. Just something I can't wrap my mind around. Seems like a waste of money, but for some; it works. I say go with your gut girl! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
ReplyDeletehugs,
Jann
Debbie, I am your newest follower! I found you through Katie's linky party. Congratulations on being in your home for 40 years. I am vey interested in what the consensus will be on buying or renting. My husband and I recently moved to NC from NJ 3 years ago. We lived in NJ for 20+ years but originally from CA. We did buy a house in NC. We are in our late 50's. I am hoping that we don't have to move for a long time. I'm not sure if we would buy another house.
ReplyDelete40 years is a long time. So many memories, laughter and tears captured inside your home Debbie. So congrats on that, but I understand where you're coming from. Owning a home is a huge responsibility and those stairs are a pain in the butt when knees and backs aren't what they used to be. It's not an easy decision to make but I'm sure you'll do what's best. Sending lots and love as always
ReplyDeleteDebbie I understand what you are going through. My dad has also lived in the same house for over 40 years and it should be time for him to make a change but now he is too old and you know what they say about getting older and not wanting change? Well he doesn't even want to change the placement of the furniture let alone make a living change. It is very good that you are addressing these issues now while you have the ability and desire to implement them.
ReplyDeleteWith our kids grown and on their own, we came to this conclusion two years ago - got the house updated and sold and are happy renters now. We recently moved into our 2nd apt and we were SO HAPPY at how easily it was accomplished to get to a neighborhood more convenient to his job and with amenities we discovered we really wanted based on our 'experiment' with the first place. If we need to relocate do to aging parents needing help, or a changed job requiring adjustments, we are mobile and can move to deal with the change. Meanwhile, we're not locked into caring for a larger space than we need, held hostage by the requirements of caring for a yard and we no longer live in dread over what expensive thing will break or wear out next and send all our plans into disarray - we can budget for travel now and be able to go on several small trips a year. I don't think we've missed that house one minute since it was sold, as much as it was home for us for years. I laugh everytime I see him chuckle as he watches someone *else* mowing the grass outside our window - he's reclaimed his free time and is much happier for it.
ReplyDeleteLovely post Debbie. Congrats on 40 years together. I hate it when you own your own home and something expensive breaks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at Creative Mondays :)
Congratulations on 40 years in the same house. We'll have been here 25 this summer. It's hard to believe. We think of selling but our market is so hot that there is nothing to buy. I'm looking forward to your posts about renting or owning. Thanks for linking to Keep In Touch.
ReplyDeleteI'm semi-retired now; only working one day a week in home health. My husband, Paul is retiring on July 31st and we have made the decision to put our home up for sale. We are ready for a change and our plan right now is to buy a 5th wheel and live in it and do some traveling until we know where we want to settle. There are definite advantages to renting and it's something I would consider, but I'm concerned that rent would be more than a house payment. I'm sure that varies by where you live. Congratulations on 40 years together! Thank you for linking up to Party in Your PJ's. I'm looking forward to following your posts to see what you do!
ReplyDeleteHi Debbie, just wanted to let you know that I've featured your lovely story on this week's Party in Your PJ's!
ReplyDelete