OT: Considering downsizing could this be a Midlife Crisis

Sorry so long.

Okay guys I am looking for opinions here I currently live in a pretty large place the family home is on  almost 4 acres in town and it is 3900 square foot with 6 bedrooms and 3 baths. I have a pool, Jacuzzi, sauna and a Lake out back with 376 foot of frontage. A Mother In Law Suite on the other side of the pool 2 bed 1 bath 1000 sq ft. We have a 2 car attached garage and a detached 4 car/ workshop.

 Since I have had my surgery I have started noticing things in my life that just don't matter anymore and I am considering selling out and moving to the country near where I come from. I have just found a 2500 sq ft Modular on 10 acres in the boonies it is a foreclosure and I can pick it up for around $99,500. I just got my Fair Market Appraisal back and they have valued my current home at $412,000 I was blown away I owe $31,423 on it so there is a good bit of equity there. The kids are growing up and don't seem to have any interest in the pool or lake any more and after next summer I will only have 2 still at home.

 So I was wondering if I could get some opinions here from some of you people who are much wiser in matters such as this. If anyone is wondering the house was not always that size i have done lots of work here. When I bought it in 1992 for $78,000 it was a 2 bed 1 bath no pool jacuzzi or sauna no MIL suite and you could not even see there was a lake back there all of the work that has been done here with the exception of the pool I have done my self but all of a sudden none of it makes since anymore.

 Since I have retired I have discovered I do not like any of my neighbors and I have started doing everything that the Homeowners Association hand book says not to do. I am not part of the Assoc. I was here before all of the rest of them and the next time that whinny voiced little ******* tells me my grass needs cutting I think I will drag him along behind the Dixie Chopper while I mow the grass. It just seems to me that over the last several years we had gotten into the routine of keeping up with the "Joneses" so to speak. I have just today sold my Dump Trucks all 3 of them and the Bull Dozer, Back Hoe, Bobcat Loader, and the truck to haul them with all of it gone. I am happy to sit on my not much longer fat ass and do just what I feel like doing at that moment.

 Have any of you guys gone through stuff like this since surgery and if so what did you do I think I might need some advice here. I am to the point of loading the 4 Wheeler and all the camping gear into the Pick-up and going to explore Montana for a year or maybe 3. Come on guy's let me here your thoughts.

 I realize I have not been around much lately and I apologize for that there are a couple of folks from this board that know the cir****tances and all I will say is that I was mugged and severely beaten a week after surgery by 4 guys in Central Fl and up until yesterday I had a cast on my hand so all my typing was 1 handed quite slow that way. All of my incisions were burst open and the Band was knocked loose I had to endure surgery again to put it back in place. The infection is gone and the staples are out I feel pretty good with the exception of all the strange thoughts of revenge. All 4 have been arrested and are facing a Charge of Aggravated Battery with the intent to do great Bodily Harm, Reckless Endangerment, and Theft for taking my watch and jewelery. There is a lot more that I can not tell you but that is the jest of it.

 Thanks for all of the support it is greatly appreciated. Dan

I hope you don't mind me weighing in on this since I'm not a guy, lol.  I look at what you have and am awed. I guess from the prespective of someone who has never had any stability and moved around their entire life what you have seems like paradise. I have always wanted a pool, not to mention a sauna and jacuzzi. I would do anything to have what you have. Anyway, I think you should wait untill you are closer to your goal weight before you make any decisions. This is a big period of change in your life and moving isn't going to make it any easier to deal with your new body. You might even want to talk to a therapist about this sudden urge to get rid of everything, it seems like a weird coping mechinism. Plus, swimming laps is one of the best exercizes there is and you would be giving that up. (Sorry, I am a pool junkie. I want one so bad I cannot even tell you! Get in there and enjoy it!)  Anyway that is my take on it, I hope you dont mind :)

Ha ha ha..... you don't need therapy, you just need the wind in your hair   Is there a missus Dan?  If so, what does she think?  You ain't doing nothing if she's not on board for it.... How big is the MIL?  Is it big enough for your kids to live in while you rent out the remainder of the house?  Problem is, if you downsize and bolt you are not going to be able to come back to what you have now (EQUITY). If it was me, I'd get a small RV and rig some hookups on your property (out of site of the Nazi HOA).  I'd plant the kids in the MIL and rent the rest out.  You'd always have a place to come back to and live in your RV between adventures.  You wouldn't lose the house, and your kids would have somewhere to stay until they move out. In fact, downsizing their living quarters to the MIL might just give them some incentive to look for their own place Therapy, my ass.......

Hi Dan,

I wouldn't do anything too big until you're at least one year out. Too many big changes in too short a time. Rest, recouperate, exercise, let things settle down, then think about the big changes after you reach your goal weight.

Just basing this on intuition and yon our previous posts.

Best Wishes,

Dave

DO NOT SELL  DO NOT SELL  There will NEVER be more lake front property available, that a huge asset. Plus the 4acres. You know some developer will buy it up and put 57 condos on that land, that would suck. Heres what I would do and I have a similar situation I have been working on over a year.  Re-fi the house take out 150K. Buy the house on the boonies and hire a property management company to rent and manage your current home. In a perfect world you can get some positive cash flow for the property and they will be making you payments for you. You can buy the other place cash and still have money to travel and do repairs.  This gets you what you want but also secures your futures and your kids when you pass. The value will ONLY go up and in 10 years you'll be kicking yourself for selling. If you want to sell eventually maybe sell it to your kids when they get a little older, I am sure one of them might want to get  a  good deal on a house once they start a family.

Hey Dan, if your only reason for selliing is to the feelling of downsizing....just wait.  For a couple of reasons. 1) You are going through all the physical and mental challenges 2) You just changed jobs - another big one. 3) The real estate market is in the dumps in Florida so wait until it goes up again. Hope this helps.... Greg

Follow your (ever-shrinking) gut. Sounds like you have the perfect opportunity to exit the rat race now. Cash out the homestead, load up the quads, and point the Durango West, Cowboy. Time for a fresh start somewhere in God's country.  That's just my MOST humble opinion. Don't ask for rationale, just know that life's short and there is no "perfect time" to follow your dreams- either you do or you don't. Keep us posted. DD  

Hey Dan, I agree with the other guys here. I work at for a large bank here in NC and right now with respect to mortgages and all it really is not a good time. Granted you found a good deal but at the same time you'd be starting over with respect to Equity. If your home is valued at 412K like you said and you only owe 32K DAMN thats a lot of equity especially in FL.. I know that the rates now are like 6.395% starting for a mortgage.  On a non banking note, I am sorry to hear about all the tings you have had to endure. I do hope that things begin to workout for you. I agree totally about the Home Owners. Sadly where i live I am part of one and they are a pain in the A**. I was out of town for 2 weeks and came home to a nasty letter saying my lawn was "in violation" and there wer elike 3 of time. Did they not notice that I was never home? My truck doesnt fit in my garage and the mail was still there......It is some little old lady and husband that run it. I sent a letter back with my flight info and my work information and hotel stuff saying "Sorry I was on business its kind of hard to mow the lawn when your gone"  I personally though would hold off for about a year or two. I know that I am feeling the same way at 11 weeks post opt. I even traded my car just for a new pace and all.....Hope this helps and hang in there and good luck with everything!!! (home owners assocition)

well you have a few options...I like the suggestion, about using some equity to purchase the modular home property..that way it is your , totally paid for. Assuming you could do some mortaging that makes the new note, not too much more than you are paying now. This gives you 2 places to hang your hat. IF you decide you like the 2nd place better, over time...you can sell the big house...if not,,,you can make a profit, on the modular site. speaking for me personally..as a Realtor...lake front property is always in demand..and always pricey...I live on a little 500 acre lake, and feel blessed, every morning to be here..dont know if I could go back to not having the boat in the back your lake...I dont even want to think of it..hey..I think I will go outside, and catch a bass...bye for now. Ken it hard to not do what your gut says to do...I will say a prayer, that you come to an easy for you decision/