Your Retirement House
The majority of people living in homes in America above the Mason Dixon line and in the Midwest had few choices in selecting their current homes. And not just a limited number of homes that met their needs at the time, but few if any purchased a new home where they had the opportunity to select their homesite, floor plan, flooring, cabinets, countertops, appliances, paint colors and so on.
All that might change now though if you are serious about retiring and moving south or west. For many homeowners, the mere thought of choosing all the above is sometimes enough to work an extra job so that you can one day sit down with an Architect and Interior Designer and create the home you have always dreamed of.
If you do retire and plan to move, there are really three different options to consider when looking for your Dream Home. Traditionally, there is the option of looking at resales, and today that is perhaps a viable option with so many distressed homes on the market. Another is selecting a home from a limited number of floor plans offered in a particular community and having it built, or buying one of the existing models. Lastly, you might choose to purchase your own homesite and hire a home designer and builder to create your Dream Home from scratch.
Resales
If you are again in a bit of a hurry or really cannot even contemplate having a home built for you, looking at the current inventory of resale homes is a strong option
The prices of resale homes have certainly come more into line over the past three years and there are many good values in just about every demographic market
The largest single drawback to selecting a resale home is that it is not your Dream Home, but rather someone else’s.
Customizing a Home
Many of you have visited a community that has 4-5 model homes that you select from
You choose the floor plan you wish and then select all the finishing work such as flooring, cabinets, interior/exterior paint colors, shutter colors, countertops, etc.
Changing the floor plan is usually not an option unless the change is minor or, already an approved upgrade
An analogy would be Mr. Potato Head. The potato stays the same but, you can add on lips, eyes, arms, etc. In this case, you can add on a screened porch, sun room, extra garage and so on but, the home pretty much stays the same
Custom Dream Home
The first step is to find the area you like, then the community and then a homesite where you can picture yourself enjoying a healthy and fun retirement
Once you own your homesite (aka lot), you need to select a Home Designer or Architect that can help bring together your dreams.
With your new home design, you interview several local builders and have them bid on the construction of your Dream Home
Once you select your builder, sit back and watch your dreams come together!!