In June I closed on the sale of my 12 year old McMansion. It was a 6 BR, 5 BA, 3.5 car, 5400 sq ft house on a lake.
NEVER EVER AGAIN!
While I needed a larger house for my family of 7 (plus a dog), my immaturity and self-centered attitude got me into a home that absolutely owned me for 9 years.
We are currently living in a 3 BR, 2 BA 1,250 sq ft apartment while we wait for the right home to buy in our new location. By going through this experience, we’re going to FULLY appreciate all that a 2100 ft rambler offers. And when the time comes for me to once again spend big (relatively speaking) money on real estate, the value will be in the acreage the modest home sits on. And I’ll have 70%+ of the cash to pay for it.
I’m rambling. Back to work -
I would just love to spend my retirement going to place to place courtesy of AirBnB and spending months at a time in various places.
Very few people actually “need” a house like that. It’s a want not a need. When houses were appreciating steadily and somewhat reliably, it wasn’t necessarily a bad bet if you had the income. Now, it’s a boat anchor waiting to happen, just an economic setback away, whether personally or in the economy at large, in my opinion. I’ve seriously considered selling my modest 1600 sf ranch for something cheaper, now that they’re actually selling and the price has stabilized to pre-crash levels. The economy is not healthy, no matter what they say.