Alternative housing ideas
 

I'm curious if anyone on this forum lives unconventionally. I sold a set of seats to a guy who lives on his boat 3-4 months out of the year. Talked to someone at a car show who owns a triplex and lives in one of the units.

Also, I'm curious about different areas in the U.S. Lived in Southern CA my entire life. Most of CA is expensive, the top of the country has a rough winter, the south is swampy, etc. Interested to hear where people live outside of the major areas that are commonly talked about.

My dad always brags about where lives -- Yerington NV. However, he grew up in cold Canada severely cold in winter. I grew up in Yerington, lived in humid hot Dallas for 4 years. With the global climate changes, Yerington is a good bet! I think really whatever you want weather wise, it's going to be HOT!

Now is the question... do you have a 911 to take with you to this HOT destination?

At one time I had 4 rental houses. One house was on 1 lot with a spare lot next door. On the spare lot I built a 4 car garage that had its own electrical, water etc. I was a bachelor and would live in whatever house wasn't rented. I never had to move my cars, tools etc. and could work in my garage whenever I felt appropriate, not nights Sundays and Holidays. I ended up selling all my houses, kept the garage and built a house with full basement as I was getting older and renters can be frustrating. After I built my new house, I sold the garage as it was inconvenient to my new one.

I highly recommend the detached garage, especially if it on a adjacent lot. Make sure it is secure and fully self-sustained. Design the garage with the idea that it might turned into a house. My old garage was turned into a house and is worth $609.00 on our city's tax page.

Brilliant. I've searched for a properties with two homes on one lot for years. I've seen a few decent properties but nothing that was really what I wanted. I do think what you did is genius. A detached garage can be expanded to a larger garage or turned into a home. Very cool.

Yerington, NV..I'll check this area out! Thank you!

I have considered a small condo or duplex near the beach in CA because we have family and friends in the area, car community is great, good weather..and then finding a cheap house on some land in another state where I can have a small house and a large shop. That's kind of my dream. Anyone on this forum done something similar?

Not yet. I have 5 acres in Costa Rica that I’m going to build on and retire to in about ten years. Then I’ll sell my little farm, and buy a condo somewhere that I can come back to and host vacations for and with my then grown kids.

how did the OP know we'd eat this up?

Covid has changed everything and has especially caused people to reevaluate where they live and why. Zoom and working from home are the new normal. I'd love to see the statistics showing the number of relocations or real estate sales in the last 2-3 years versus pre-pandemic.

Even retired, we reevaluated our living situation and sold a property that we would never even consider selling, EVER, just 3 years ago. Now we are seriously considering selling another one we've owned for over 40 years. Never say never.

Still, location is always the key word. While multiple homes are a great way to dodge the weather, make sure you choose your locations and structures very carefully. Just like buying an old 911, you cannot do enough research into buying real estate. Hell, before I bought a condo in FLA I had developed spreadsheets outlining pricing, square footage, comps, taxes, time on market, bedrooms etc. Of course, I was in the RE business at one time.

So many of our friends have made stupid real estate purchases its commonplace. They let their emotions drive their decisions or relent to a one sided want from their spouse. Some have sold everything to move to Shangri-La only to discover they hate it long term and can't afford to move back. Happens all the time.

Be careful. Do your homework. Don't follow the masses.
Whatever you buy, make sure it has a great location.

genius!

lol saw that one coming

sound advice. Location is everything. The best locations are always the most expensive areas..it's tough to get everything you want, especially when you have a budget. Location is number one, though. Because I've lived in a hot desert my entire life, I just couldn't take it anymore. Everything is in storage, and the search is on..also waiting out the market to see if a correction happens. In a perfect world I'd end up with some property in an area that has good weather. Top of my list is good land and a small house where I can build a shop and add on to the house eventually. Trying to talk my wife into buying a boat and living on it for a year lol..it's not going to be easy but I think I'm making progress. Hoping to give my family a fun experience while we wait to buy another place.

Used boats will be cheap as long as you don't need to finance. The market for boats always tanks when money gets expensive and people can't afford the slips and maintenance.

Interesting. I figure paying cash for a boat, and paying monthly fees for a slip could be worth it since the location is so good. I don't know anything about boats..but I'm sure I can learn quick. I remember doing some numbers and figuring it would be around $1500-$2000 a month to have a slip, maintenance, etc. Does that sound right?

I don’t know. If you are serious I can get you in touch with my BIL in San Diego. He’s a boat captain and runs a business sailing, motoring and taking care of peoples boats.

I moved from the Bay Area of CA to Twain Harte up above Sonra in the foothills of gold country. real estate is pretty reasonable, it's the wildfire insurance that will kill ya. Lot of people I know from the bay are going to Oregon. I considered that but wanted to be out of the city and less than a 1/2 day's drive from my folks in No. Monterey County.

As someone from the Bay Area, who moved to the Colorado front range, Oregon will be my next locale. I want to get back closer to the ocean, but am not ready to be mountain free yet. The Willamette seems like a good fit. That’s the 3 year plan, to sell this farmlette and get another cheaper one there, with less fire risk.

We have a home, 2 level, big complex yard, 1,200 sq. ft. shop. I love it but we are both getting older. Will stay as long as we reasonably can. I own a 6 unit historic apt. building 5 minutes from the house but in a nicer neighborhood. I've contemplated moving there as we age and converting 2 units into an owners unit. It would be smaller, new inside, no yard, a few blocks from the best park in the City...... I'm not sure I want to live in the same building with my tenants so will explore that more over the next few years.

Ok thanks. I've got a lot more research to do before I'm serious. Appreciate that.

Juanbenae- Had to google search your location earlier. I hadn't heard of it. That's a nice area and I've seen prices are more reasonable. I did Sonora pass last year on targa Ca. Really pretty.

Matt- I think I listened to too many crime podcasts when we road tripped Oregon a few years ago. That place gives me the creeps haha. Beautiful though.