My husband and I were open-minded to change when it came to what we needed and wanted in home in retirement. The home we raised our children in was not suitable for aging in place long-term.

We were both healthy and fit and only in our late 50s. We loved our family home and assumed we should have decades before we needed to make a change. Still, we decided not to wait. We knew selling our family home and moving was going to be costly and emotionally and physically exhausting. Every year that went by would only make this worse. We decided to pull off the proverbial Band-Aid. We hoped the payoff would be that, after the transition, we could settle into our retirement without big changes looming over our heads. We were lucky and not everyone can find something that fits their needs. We were able to find a condominium community close to our children, my sister, and our friends that fit our possible future needs. It was a bit of a unicorn. It had elevators, handicapped friendly doors and bathrooms, with all living on one level. All of the units had a spare bedroom for guests or future grandchildren. Most had a den or hobby space and even a private 1 car garage. The garage was very important to us as I will need a DIY space. The only issue, for me, was the kitchen layout and how dated many of the units were. We knew we were looking at a long list of to-dos to prepare our 28-year old house to sell, including some renovation, and a significant renovation to the condo after that. It was daunting.

Yes, we were motivated by the sadder aspects of aging; but, equally, we were excited by the promise of a lifestyle owning a condominium might offer. Less maintenance and the freedom to lock the door and go away without all the worries of leaving a single family home unattended. We had bought a second home about 30 minutes from a beach about 2 years before retiring. Our plan was to bounce back and forth between our family and friends and the beach until we could no longer do that. At that point, we will likely make the condominium our only home.

This blog will go into how we prepared our family home for listing over 9 months and the details of sales process. We really thought through this process almost like our house was a flip. Our home got 47 showings in 4 days, 7 written offers and sold for >5% over list setting a new record for our neighborhood. We hope our experience might help folks trying to sell their house, as we found that process to be very daunting.

The blog will also go into the details of the almost 6-month, extensive renovation to the condominium we bought after the sale of our house. Renovating a condominium is much more difficult, risky and stressful than a single family home. It was a real nail-biter for us. Now that the work is done without incident, we can say it was totally worth it! The kitchen is the kitchen of my dreams.

Nearly 2 years after both of us retired, we are finally “down-sized” to two less expensive (and admittedly less valuable) homes. Our house 30 minutes from the beach and the condominium near our family and friends. Both homes are decluttered, uniquely functional, and will serve us and our family for decades to come.

I plan to blog on how we ended up with a second home 2 years prior to retiring and how owning two properties works out logistically and financially (or not) for us in retirement.