Downsizing & Simplifying Discussion Thread

[paulsharvey]

So, the part of the point I was trying to make; it seems like often older folks will do things that just don't make money sense. If you're in your 70s; don't pay the extra 10% or 15% for 40 year shingles; trust me, 25 year shingles will be fine. Mom just had a lifetime metal roof put on.... why? She was looking at getting Solar installed, with a 15 year pay back... that's piss poor money; you'll never reach break even. She was thinking about getting a hybrid car to save on gas... she drives like 50-100 miles per week. Dont buy the 70,000 mile tires, when 40,000 mile tires are cheaper. No need to have the outside of the home painted with that special ceramic Rhino or whatever 30 year paint; plain old cheap Sherwin Williams exterior latex is gonna last longer than you need it too.

That probably comes across as insensitive, and it probably is; but it's true. Now isn't the time to replace cast iron DWV pipes, unless there is an actually leak, or copper, or buy a more efficient water heater to replace a working, less efficient one. Those nice E glass, super efficient windows, nope, ect

 

[2manyrocks]

Reminds me of an old comedy routine that recommended to save money by skipping the middlemen. So skip the hospital and the funeral home and just go straight to the cemetery.

 

[California]

.... Now isn't the time to replace cast iron DWV pipes, unless there is an actually leak, or copper, or buy a more efficient water heater to replace a working, less efficient one. Those nice E glass, super efficient windows, nope, ect

Yeah but ... the need to run new water mains from the well out to the house, garden, storage tank' became obvious when I had geysers appearing out of the ground in diverse places. Another example of what Dad meant when he advised 'just bulldoze and start over when I'm gone'. I'm holding even with the deficiencies here but will never get the place up to where it could pass a code inspection.

 

[paulsharvey]

So, there is a difference between repairs (needed), deferred maintenance, preventative maintenance, upgrades, ect.

I would not do any upgrades, and anything that can realistically be deferred, I would put off; but that's not the same as not doing needed maintenance and needed repairs.

 

[2manyrocks]

In some places, the land is so valuable that the new owners will bulldoze what's already there just to get the land to build what they want. Sort of shocking to see some nicer homes bulldozed, too.

 

[bdhsfz6]

Here's a tip for those looking to downsize:

While trying to clear out the barns of un used items, I discovered Facebook Marketplace. I'm sure this is old news for many here, but my experience so far has been amazing.

For example, I listed my 10K dump trailer at 3PM. It sold and I had cash in hand by 6PM the same day! Yes, there are safety concerns when selling online. Too many to list here, but I've done my homework and so far have had no issues with selling over a dozen items.

I used to use eBay, but the shipping costs are prohibitive, especially for heavy items, and eBay also takes their cut. The local market is also limited in rural locations. It seems everyone is on Facebook these days and the ads get viewed far more often than eBay. The best part is, there are no fees.

The alternative is to hire an auctioneer and have an estate sale. I dread doing that though, since you get pennies on the dollar after the commissions are deducted.

Another option is to sell "as is" and let the buyer deal with everything. You can take quite a hit on the selling price though.

Hopefully, that is years away. In the mean time, whittling away at the stuff on Facebook seems to be working, and netting a few $$ in the process.

 

[ultrarunner]

I've never been on Face Book.

Craigslist has worked for me.

 

[JasperFrank]

My Grand Father had a habit of buying distressed property's. As a Country Doctor he had first knowledge and familiarity with his patients and situations. I still question his ethics, as his typical method was to offer a lump sum to the widows, for house AND contents. It was the contents part that was the issue for me, as being near free labor to him, to sort things out, and prep the house as a rental. The lazy relatives, always showed up saying this or that, was a promised item to them. Sorry, we bought the entire content that was on site. This would become arguments, often. After seven years of doing this, we had to have a conversation that this wasn't what I want to do with my life, clearing out other peoples' stuff. I'm going to stay on the West Coast and become a computer programmer. Which I did, and made a life that I could own as mine with less contention. When the Grand Father and his wife died, and then soon after, suddenly my Dad died, the bank assigned as Executors/Admin declined to handle the Estate. I guess legally, they can do that. Being an Idiot filled with a sense of responsibility, I took on that Admin role, and in horror, learned that all these contents from the places he bought, the thing I had walked away from; the grandfather had kept doing, and had been stored and not dealt with by my Dad, or other local brothers at all. Not one household, but several, and these storage places were filled up with all I could see as junk. It took six years of coastal flights, back to lawyers, to clean it up. The contention with the brothers, caused us to become estranged, as I'm legally directed to put things in to a common fund to be the, too be, distributed Estate and get best value.
Don't have an Estate. Give it away slowly, tax free, and sell all your stuff off, before these end of life decisions.

 

[California]

I've never been on Face Book.

Craigslist has worked for me.

I've used Craigslist successfully, both sell and buy.

But there seems to be a high proportion of loons on there.

All the offers I got over several months for a used tractor, were odd.

First 'swap a treasured bicycle'.

Then, swap a batch of aluminum siding.

Then some guy I blocked after he kept sending the same lowball offer, again and again.

Finally someone local bought it for a fair price.

Is Marketplace that bad?

 

[2manyrocks]

IDK, but with Marketplace having at least some identification of parties, I think it helps somewhat.