Hey baby boomers! Retirement isn’t too far down the road.  Even if you aren’t planning on retiring anytime soon, it is never too early to start thinking about the home you’ll retire in.  Where do you want to live when you retire?  As a custom home builder, we have some experience building homes for customers to retire in.  Here are a few tips to consider if you are thinking about building one:

Location

Location is always an important factor in home building, but it becomes particularly important when you are thinking about building the home where you will likely spend the rest of your life.  Do you want to move someplace with great weather all year round or do you want to stay close to family?  More specifically, what activities or amenities are you interested in.  You could build in a quiet area or you could build where there are plenty of restaurants, shops, churches, and golf courses.  First, it is important to choose a geographic region, but then you should decide what type of community you want to be part of.

Minimize Maintenance

If you plan on building a home where you will spend the rest of your life you must accommodate your needs now and in years to come.  You will eventually want a home that doesn’t require you to spend a ton of time maintaining it.  Therefore, consider vinyl, laminate, or tile floors that are easy to clean.  Also, you won’t want to be spending hours  mowing the lawn and doing yard work.  Consider a modest yard with landscaping that doesn’t require rigorous maintenance.  Finally, build your home to last; look into 30-40 year warranties for your roof.  Sacrificing on quality now could cost you significantly more in the future.

Features

Accessibility is a crucial consideration in building a retirement house.  Especially as you age, you will appreciate a one story home that can be easily navigated.  Also, be sure to build a kitchen and bathrooms that are easily accessible.  Next, how many bedrooms and bathrooms do you want?  At least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms will help you accommodate to your guests needs and increase your homes value if you ever decide to sell.  On the other hand, it is important to be practical in terms of space.  You may have a retirement fund that allows you to build a huge home but sticking with home plans with moderate square footages will allow you to indulge in areas that are more important over time.  Other features to consider include heated flooring, outdoor living space, and energy efficient home items.

Compare All Options

Again, this is the dream home where you want to spend the rest of your life.  It is important that you build in such a way that satisfies all your interests and needs.  Once you have determined what you are looking for in your retirement home, meet with more than one builder to determine who is able to custom build your dream home within your budget.  You will want to compare prices and contract terms; it is important to understand that the lowest price isn’t always the best value.  It is a good idea to ask builders with higher bids why their prices are higher.  They might be able to point out some things that the other contracts are leaving out.

Building a home to retire in is a process that should meet all of your needs for years to come.  If you are thinking about building your dream home, please feel free to see what we have to offer by visiting our website at www.callcypresshomes.com.

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