Downsizing & Simplifying Discussion Thread

[bdhsfz6]

This topic has been discussed here both directly and indirectly in many posts over the years. Time marches on though and the economic climate has changed considerably, so I thought it time to revisit the subject. For me, it's a thread to vent my frustrations, share thoughts, and hopefully pick up some ideas.

Many rural landowners here, including my wife and I, are getting to the age where the homestead and acreage are getting difficult to maintain. In many cases, family has moved on leaving mom & pop in a large house on acreage they no longer need. Costs are rising and, without family support or help from friends, paying someone to do the mowing, plowing, grading, road maintenance, home repair, (the list is endless), is becoming less and less practical.

My wife and I are in our mid 70's, in reasonably good health and have no close family nearby. We live on 25 acres in a 3000 sq ft, 2 story house on a one and a half mile private road. Our closest neighbors are in the same situation and we have been pooling our resources to get the necessities done. Between the two families, we have enough equipment to take care of the heavy work, but you can't do everything with machines.

We love our property and the area where we live, so the thought of moving is distressing. One of the things we're considering is sub dividing the property and building a smaller house. The idea of selling the home we built together over the last 40 years to someone else, and driving past it every day, is very disheartening. Selling everything and moving on is a possibility but we do still have family & friends in adjacent counties.

I realize everyone is different, but I'm curious what others in this situation are planning. What are your thoughts?

 

[tradosaurus]

I live on 45 acres. My wife and I are almost 60.
Most of our property is trees so very little maintenance except for dragging out a fallen tree here or there.
USDA has a program to help timber owners thin their property (~$400/acre) so we are trying for this program.
I wouldn't think of sub dividing our land just because of the chance of getting a bad neighbor.
Could you plant trees on most of your land? Your state may have a program to help pay for most if not all the labor.

 

[HawkinsHollow]

Wow! That seems like a very tough decision to make, but an extremely necessary one. A decision that is best made while you still have the capabilities to get the most benefit for your future out of that decision. Too many older folks are forced into a decision by declining health or finances. I honestly don't have much to offer you to help your decision but I know some people here will chime in and share their thoughts on the topic. I will be following along because it is never too soon to prepare for the future. Best of luck!

 

[bdhsfz6]

I live on 45 acres. My wife and I are almost 60.
Most of our property is trees so very little maintenance except for dragging out a fallen tree here or there.
USDA has a program to help timber owners thin their property (~$400/acre) so we are trying for this program.
I wouldn't think of sub dividing our land just because of the chance of getting a bad neighbor.
Could you plant trees on most of your land? Your state may have a program to help pay for most if not all the labor.

Yeah, there is always the possibility of a bad neighbor when subdividing. I think everyone has had to deal with one at some point.

Some of the acreage is wooded and we have planted trees in places. We've let a couple of the fields go fallow to reduce the mowing time. A neighbor across the valley used to hay it but he is long gone.

 

[ponytug]

@bdhsfz6 I think it is a very individual decision, and rarely easy in my experience. No property is zero maintenance.

One thing a few friends have done is to either make an apartment, or second home on the property, and swap some rent for property maintenance work. That's less permanent than subdividing to a bad neighbor, and allows one to evict the person if things don't work out. However, that may not work if your local area has a declining population, with little demand for housing.

I've seen folks move when they had fewer health issues, and the ability to make new friends in their chosen new location. That seems to generally work out better than those who move to a new place when they are too frail to do much, but I would not like to generalize that too much.

To have survived long enough to have the problem is a success in my book. Congratulations!

All the best,

Peter

 

[ruffdog]

Most of my close neighbors are older than us so I am seeing the difficulties they have. I help them with tree cutting, wood splitting, mowing, baling hay, equipment repair, etc but I must take care of my stuff too. YES, I have pondered the idea of living in town or a much smaller plot. Sure, I can handle all the work now but what if my health declines? I think it is definitely a choice of preparing for your life in later years.

 

[Gem99ultra]

This topic has been discussed here both directly and indirectly in many posts over the years. Time marches on though and the economic climate has changed considerably, so I thought it time to revisit the subject. For me, it's a thread to vent my frustrations, share thoughts, and hopefully pick up some ideas.

Many rural landowners here, including my wife and I, are getting to the age where the homestead and acreage are getting difficult to maintain. In many cases, family has moved on leaving mom & pop in a large house on acreage they no longer need. Costs are rising and, without family support or help from friends, paying someone to do the mowing, plowing, grading, road maintenance, home repair, (the list is endless), is becoming less and less practical.

My wife and I are in our mid 70's, in reasonably good health and have no close family nearby. We live on 25 acres in a 3000 sq ft, 2 story house on a one and a half mile private road. Our closest neighbors are in the same situation and we have been pooling our resources to get the necessities done. Between the two families, we have enough equipment to take care of the heavy work, but you can't do everything with machines.

We love our property and the area where we live, so the thought of moving is distressing. One of the things we're considering is sub dividing the property and building a smaller house. The idea of selling the home we built together over the last 40 years to someone else, and driving past it every day, is very disheartening. Selling everything and moving on is a possibility but we do still have family & friends in adjacent counties.

I realize everyone is different, but I'm curious what others in this situation are planning. What are your thoughts?

Same problem here except I only have 13 acres of trees to keep up with. Being in my mid-80's, keeping the fallen trees and branches cleaned up has become more than I can handle alone. And hired help around here is non-existent.
I'll be watching your thread, hoping for some good answers. Meanwhile, I'm just doing what I can and watching the work pile up.

 

[oosik]

The wife and I left Alaska in 1982 and moved onto our 80 acres that year. We had our mile long gravel driveway built and constructed our cedar home that same year. Our house is by PanAbode. Construction is just like building a Lincoln log toy house. Only difference - the outside walls are double - with four inches of foil backed urethane insulation between the two walls. The walls have an R60 rating - the roof has an R80 rating.

I retired in '82 at the age of 40. Since that time - 42 years ago - my major project has been - doing whatever is required to make living here as easy/simple as possible.

From the outset - we owned the property, free and clear. Same with the house. So......a whole lot of our money went into the tractor and whatever implements might be necessary.

One thing turned out to be a miserable failure. Trying to get fruit trees to grow here. The damned pocket gophers. They just kept on eating the tree roots and killing the young trees. Too late - we learned about gopher mesh surrounds. Oh, well - we got all our fruit from a farming community - north of Spokane - Green Bluff.

I do all the required maintenance on everything out here. However - over the years I've given up on a couple. I no longer pump my septic tank and I no longer change oil on my pickup. I do the tractor maintenance - it's easy to crawl under.

It's just too easy to let the pro's do the septic tank and change the oil on the pickup. Besides - I find it rather difficult to crawl under the pickup.

So.....Brownie and I sit out here - watching the seasons change - going on adventure trips when we feel like it. Life can be good when you are prepared.

 

[scootr]

My wife's aunt has 30 acres she has lived on for 50+ yrs. Used to be a big horse ranch. Now she's in her late 80s with Parkinson's. Her mate died a few yrs ago.
She has a friend who moved in with her, a gal in her early 70s who does the cooking and cleaning and keeps a couple of horses.
And she found a single mom who started out weed eating the fence lines and now lives in the caretakers home. She runs the tractors and the errands. Takes Auntie to town when needed. She's a hard worker and she's available when needed. Seems to be working out.

 

[California]

re rural retirement:

Grandparents bought this apple orchard with a small simple farmhouse as their retirement home. Back then (1950) contracting the orchard to be operated by a neighbor who has a larger orchard, covered all costs plus a modest income. Grandpa was a mining engineer, I'm sure he had the equivalent of a spreadsheet with all the income/expense details forecast before he ever committed to buy the place.

Grandpa, and then Dad, planted and watered replacement apple trees as their only farming tasks with the contractor responsible for everything else. I do a little more, I bought a tractor to tow a watering trailer in place of Dad's 'miles' of garden hoses, then a 3-point backhoe for it to pull stumps, so replacement trees could be planted. I also maintain the nearly half mile easement in from the county road. As I get older I will likely hire more of the hands-on tasks.

Dad and now I, use the place as a simple second home. Before the recent California fires and huge insurance cost increase, the orchard contract more or less covered all costs.

Dad moved here for his final few years after his second wife died. He fixed up the guest cabin for a caregiver. Then rented to a nursing student who made dinner for him a few times a week, then took more care of him as he aged and she advanced in her education. He loved this simple place and enjoyed his final years here.