When we fled the wildfire smoke and came back to Madison, we were impressed yet again with how much our old neighborhood felt like home. So when a neighbor texted us about potentially selling his 1 bedroom cabin, it sparked a flurry of discussion. We eventually decided to move forward with the purchase.
I will always go back to Mayo Clinic in Florida for my medical care. We’ve looked at real estate in Jacksonville and St. Augustine several times. But we’re not quite ready to make that purchase yet, despite that the pros & cons led us to purchase this cabin up north. The cabin won’t be our primary residence. Just someplace near family and friends to stop a few times each year.
Pros:
- In order to keep traveling most of the year, we need a bit of a break now & then
- This cabin is in the exact neighborhood we want.
- If we don’t act, we’ll never get it again. Houses don’t come up for sale much in this area, especially small ones.
- The house is in good shape for its age.
- While we travel, we have lots of friends and family around who can check on it if needed.
- If I develop symptoms, this house wouldn’t be too much for Rich to take care of without my help.
- It diversifies our investment portfolio a little bit.
- The price was reasonable, the seller is a friend, and the whole thing came together smoothly.
Cons:
- It might hold us back from travel. I feel very strongly that I want to continue traveling right now while I still can.
So…we’re homeowners again!
The seller is staying in it for a bit longer and we’re seeing bids from contractors for some repairs/upgrades, so we’re not exactly “in it”yet. We ordered some furniture, because we own none, but the pieces have a bit of a lead time anyway. Pending contractor timing, we’ll hopefully get out camping around Wisconsin next week again. The “bare bones” house should come together around mid November if everything works out.