Thoughts on real estate??

[razz]

Pinkytoe, do you recall the powerful reasons that you moved to Colorado? I know that you would like to be closer to the grandkids but they soon grow up and move on with their lives. Your daughter is busy with her life and commitments.

Texas may be your wish now but all the reasons for your original move still exist. Has the Covid confirmed your wish to move back to Texas or are you glad that you are in Colorado for this time? Will you need to build a new circle of friends and activities in any new location in Texas? Or are you simply someone who just loves Texas better at whatever effort is necessary?

Just asking as I had to make some serious decisions after DH's passing about moving closer to the kids but chose to stay where I had lived for a number of years. I now know that my kids (2 of them with spouses with one DGS) have full active lives that don't need me as part of it. We talk regularly and visit several times a year in normal circumstances. I am grateful that I made the choice that I did.

[Tybee]

We just closed on selling the pandemic property we bought at auction in May that turned out to be too much of an undertaking for us. We had no desire to tear down and existing house and put up a manufactured house, which is what four "experts" all told us to do. Because of the pandemic, we never could see the property, even after we owned it. I think the guy who is buying it is going to fix it up, and it is bittersweet, as that is what we wanted to do, but we couldn't get it together to do at a distance, and we could not find any contractors willing to work on the house. We wish him well; it is a lovely lot and a nice area, and prices have skyrocketed there since the pandemic. We, of course, have lost money on it. But we are out.

It was nightmarish from start to finish, with everyone, from registry of deeds on down to electricians, closing agents, govt. agencies, to Fed Ex, all affected by lockdowns and closures.

So we lost money and time and a summer to work on a property. It turned out to be extremely stressful, but at least it is over and we can move on.

[catherine]

We just closed on selling the pandemic property we bought at auction in May that turned out to be too much of an undertaking for us. We had no desire to tear down and existing house and put up a manufactured house, which is what four "experts" all told us to do. Because of the pandemic, we never could see the property, even after we owned it. I think the guy who is buying it is going to fix it up, and it is bittersweet, as that is what we wanted to do, but we couldn't get it together to do at a distance, and we could not find any contractors willing to work on the house. We wish him well; it is a lovely lot and a nice area, and prices have skyrocketed there since the pandemic. We, of course, have lost money on it. But we are out.

It was nightmarish from start to finish, with everyone, from registry of deeds on down to electricians, closing agents, govt. agencies, to Fed Ex, all affected by lockdowns and closures.

So we lost money and time and a summer to work on a property. It turned out to be extremely stressful, but at least it is over and we can move on.

So glad to hear it's behind you! Welcome to the lose-money-in-real-estate-club . Although in your case and with your experience, I'm sure you'll rebound very well.

[Tybee]

So glad to hear it's behind you! Welcome to the lose-money-in-real-estate-club . Although in your case and with your experience, I'm sure you'll rebound very well.

Haha. I'm not too sure about that. This is the fourth house we have bought sight unseen and the only one that turned out to be a dud. For us, anyway. I still think the guy is going to redo it and have a wonderful place. oh well.

[razz]

Sorry to hear of that roller coaster experience, Tybee. Buying a property without stress sometimes seems a miracle.

[iris lilies]

I am a long-time member of that lose-money- in-real estate club, and I am Ok with that.

in 2008 we bought two little Victorian houses on one parcel for $42,000. We did major renovation work on them, only the exterior,. New roof, siding and Tuckpointing, new windows. They look decent from the outside but they were shells on the inside. We actually hired some of that work done, good for us! So we had $100,000 in verifiable outlay plus DH put in hundreds of hours of labor.


We sold it recently for $88,000. And that is perfectly OK because that property was our little farmette the city. It had acreage with it and was next-door to a huge city lot where I farmed Iris. It was my weekend getaway during my working years. I did not want to have one of those country places where you pack up The dogs and food on Friday evening to drive 2 hours to the country place,mget up Saturday morning and spend half a day mowing and tidying the land, and then rush home Sunday evening. That is not the lifestyle I wanted. So my little farmette in the city was literally a five minute drive away and we were there several times a week. We were so land rich that we rented some to our friend who grew potatoes there. She paid us in potatoes!

We had fun with that property, we improved the structures according to the historic code because we worked with our city’s cultural resources office, and we provided fabulous iris garden views in the spring for passersby and neighbors. We had fun with it and it and did good works at the same time. As for the financial loss – anhhh, it’s only money And we didn’t buy it for the purpose of being an investment property.

We had a similar experience with a tiny house I bought in 2004. Fixed up the exterior, left the interior barely habitable. But that one I loved —I love that house. It’s one of those tiny little Victorian cottages that is romantic. But DH never liked that house and so we sold it —for a loss of course!—but I did get in several years of good iris and lilies growing there.

[Teacher Terry]

Tybee, glad you sold it.

[Tybee]

Tybee, glad you sold it.

Yeah, like Razz said, a rollercoaster.

IL, thank you for welcoming me to the club.

[pinkytoe]

I retired to Colorado because I had always wanted to. It was where my parents and grand-parents were from and all my visits to the mountains stayed in my heart. DH was tied to his parents (Momma's boy) or we would have done it years before. It has been an adventure but now there is such a stirring to be closer to family. Perhaps it is the virus. I guess like all decisions that remain cloudy and stubbornly difficult to achieve, it either just isn't time yet or is not meant to be.