Skip to main content

Shoring Up the House

Recently, we've been working on getting our house in shape. And, no, that is NOT a metaphor.

We called in RamJet to drive pilings into the ground, so the foundation could be shored up. Cost: $4200. Not cheap, but necessary. We may bring them back again to do the other sides of the house (which are not in bad shape). We'll see.

We are also going to be bringing in people to repair/improve some windows. After the tornado ripped through Rock Hill, we had several windows broken. There is a deal going on now, and we want to take advantage of it - Buy 1, get 1 free. Plus 36 months to pay, same as cash.

If we had planned better, we would have done this before I retired. But, we put off the decision, and have to manage it now.

If you are in the pre-retirement phase, walk around your house (inside and out), and make notes on things you'd like to change/update. Consider:

  • Gutters/roof
  • Taking down aging trees (unbelievably expensive!)
  • Foundations
  • Driveways/sidewalks
  • Insulation
  • Windows
  • Major appliances - are they reaching the end of their life cycle?
  • Electrical
  • Plumbing
Better to spend the money BEFORE you retire. It's also easier to get those short-term credit deals while employed.

Most major jobs will have a X number of months same as cash option. Figure out what you can afford each month, and set up automatic payments. The savings can be considerable.

It really doesn't matter whether you plan to age in place, or sell and move elsewhere - these repairs/improvements need to be done. Decide which that will be - stay or go - because you'll want to consider which improvements would pay off in increased sale price, if you do chose to sell.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

One Reason to Write

This post sparked mine today. I've been writing (slowly, one anecdote at a time) my memories of my youth, and the stories that I remember being passed down from parents, grandparents, and other long-lived people. I was fortunate - in my mother's family, old age was the default - my grandparents were born in the 19th century, and passed on stories of their youth. My father's family was equally long-lived, but not as talkative (WV vs. Irish-descent). Still, I have an aunt by marriage whose passion is genealogy, and who had compiled a bookshelf of clippings, copies of newspaper stories, and charts of the family, back to pre-Colonial times. If you aren't on Ancestry.com (and, I don't blame you - the price has risen shockingly!), you might want to use a word processing program or app - Google Docs is easy to use, and can be shared with others easily - to write down your memories - personal, or what has been told to you. If you'd rather, set up a videocam, and...
2 comments
Read more

Off the Fence

It's official. I submitted my retirement letter today. Already heard back from Benefits. I do feel relieved. Actually making a decision is less stressful than avoiding making one. I'm going to spend the rest of this week catching up on grades, making notes about what to take and what to pitch, and planning for the transition.
2 comments
Read more

Managing the Paper Onslaught

Almost every day, I find 3-8 solicitations in the mail, that are tied to my age/approaching retirement.  Every one of them is designed to separate me from my money. Medicare ads Hearing aid offers Insurance ads Financial planning ads Mortgage refi offers Retirement property/retirement community flyers I generally junk most.  A few I put into a folder, to be looked at when the need arises.  I wonder what percentage of the senior population acts on these offers. I've divided my mail into groups: Current bills - they go into the slotted dividers, to be acted on/paid when due Information - two types Tax info - in the box to be taken to the accountant after the first of the year Long-term information - put into folders, and file away until needed Junk - toss/shred and toss Personal - my choice By far the biggest group is junk.  I resist the temptation to load up on debt by immediately tearing the credit offers into pieces. The same with re...
Post a Comment
Read more