I read an article that the average person moves 11.7 times in their lifetime. This is a list of our real estate experiences, and does not take into account living in rentals. We did renovations and/or upgrades in EVERY home we have owned, even the new construction, which helped increase their value for resale. Every home we owned has appreciated in value over time; some more than others.
- My 1st home purchase was contract for deed in SW Minnesota in the late 1980’s. I sold it quickly, in a slow market, after I was offered a job relocation. Eventually I relocated from the Midwest to the Portland, OR metro area.
- Portland, OR. My 2nd home was a 1911 bungalow I bought via a VA home loan in Portland, OR for $35K. This home is on a 4,356 SF lot and is only 911 SF with an oversized detached 1 car garage. After getting married, my husband and I sold it for $55K to a guy from Minnesota. Investors eventually bought this home years later and totally remodeled it. It sold for $400K in 2021!!
- Our Housing Nightmare. We call our 3rd home our Nightmare on 112th Ave Money Pit which was an owner remodel. We moved into this home before closing on it. BIG MISTAKE!!! Sale fail #1 landed us in small claims court.
- Sale Fail #2. We attempted to buy another home in NE Portland which resulted in sale fail #2.
- Vancouver, WA. Since we couldn’t find a home in the Portland area, we looked across the river in Vancouver, WA. Our 4th home was new construction, located near a high powered electrical lines easement. We paid under $90K for this home. The easement limited the use of some of the land. We landscaped the yard and built a storage shed. We eventually sold the home and moved into an apartment while we looked for our next home. Today, 2024, this home is valued around $400K.
- Sale fail #3. We attempted to buy a new construction home, which resulted in a sale fail due to a lack of trust in the contractor that was going to build it. This particular builder went out of business due to poor workmanship.
- Lost Our Jobs. We moved into a townhouse apartment until we purchased our 5th home which was a country fixer built in 1910. We purchased it via a VA loan with weatherization funding included in the VA loan. The extra money was put in escrow until the improvements were done. We sold this home for sale by owner after both of us lost our jobs (at the same time).
- Cross Country Move. We moved into an apartment until we purchased our 6th home was a long distance move to Wisconsin. During this period in life, my father died, so moving to Wisconsin to be near my mother was a good thing.
- Back to Portland. We lived in a rental house until we bought our 7th home which was built in 1945, and purchased with a VA home loan. We totally remodeled the kitchen in this home. We sold it for sale by owner and moved back to Vancouver, WA after our 8th home was built.
- Choices. Our 8th home was new construction purchased with an FHA loan in a housing development. We were able to choose the lot, the floor plan, layout, upgrades and colors. We were allowed to leave some of the house unfinished. The builder poured the foundation backwards, resulting in the loss of our future corner lot view, so we re-negotiated for a larger, middle lot for the same price. We finished the unfinished space in the home, poured an additional concrete parking space, built a storage shed, and landscaped the yard. We sold it with a Realtor. Today, 2024, this home is valued around $600K.
- Sale Fail #4. Feeling land locked and hating our view, we still wanted more land so we attempted to buy an older, rural home, but had to walk away because the home inspection revealed major foundational issues.
- Before the 2007 RE Crash. The 9th home we purchased was a 3300 SF new construction home, that was located next to a huge green space. We purchased this home prior to the real estate crash of 2007, with one of those 80/20 interest only loans. This home was our first home located in a HOA. I became the HOA Treasurer of the small, owner managed HOA. (We now avoid HOA’s.) We did major landscaping to the yard, added AC and gutters; and created a 300+ SF walk in storage space in its huge crawl space.
- What about a condo? We pulled equity from our 9th home to buy a condo as a rental in Wood Village, OR. This condo was a foreclosure and came with undisclosed Condo Association issues of a financial nature. We did upgrades to the inside this condo. Shortly after buying the condo, the person over the association’s books announced she was quitting and would give the books to who ever wanted them. I stepped in to take them, as a way to protect our investment. This is when I learned about the issues. I worked to bring fellow condo owners together to correct the situation, resulting in a positive cash flow. We sold the condo for sale by owner.
- HOA Issues. My husband started a contracting business. A new HOA board member targeted us for parking our business trailer in our driveway. This was part of our livelihood, so we pushed hard to find a new home.
- Sale Fail #5. Not liking being under an HOA we attempted to buy a rural home in Amboy, WA. We got cold feet due to the remote location of this home.
- After the 2007 RE Crash. It was a miracle we sold home #9 for sale by owner, without taking a loss, after the real estate market crash of 2007, with the risky, interest only loan we had, plus an equity loan!!! We had to find a new house fast! (Today, 2024, that home is valued over $800K.)
- Just say no to HOAs! Our 10th home purchase was in Battle Ground, WA which was right after the big real estate crash. It wasn’t on land, but it was located next to green spaces on 2 sides and didn’t have an HOA! We got it for a good price (pre-foreclosure) via a VA loan, and it was vacant. We landscaped the yard and built a storage shed. This home eventually became a rental property for us. This was when I got my Realtor license.
- Our Dream Property! Still longing to own land, we purchased home #11, a (post market crash) foreclosure on 5.3 acres via an FHA loan. We kept home #10 as a rental. The foreclosure home and property needed work. We did a lot of remodeling, both inside and outside. We built 2 storage sheds and built a huge deck in the backyard. After fixing up the home, we refinanced to eliminate the mortgage insurance.
- Job relocation to Central Arizona! Good bye rain, HELLO sunshine! We loved our rural house #11 on 5.3 acres, but life can change quickly. I had started working as a Realty Specialist for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs and I was offered a (self move) job transfer. (Our daughter, son in law and grandkids moved to AZ.) We listed our house for sale with a Realtor. (Today, 2024, this home is valued at over $800K.)
- 2 VA Loans at Once. We lived in our RV until house #11 closed. It sold fast. We purchased a 2nd home via a VA loan, home #12, while holding onto home #10 as a rental in Battle Ground, WA which was also a VA loan.
- VA Loan Issues? After closing on home #12 we were informed there was an issue with our VA financing, so the lender requested we refinance the home to correct it. (At first they didn’t tell us the details, only that they were going to offer us a refinance.) I reached out to VA to find out what went wrong with our loan. Technically, our loan was legal and binding, despite the fact it was done incorrectly from a VA standpoint. We didn’t have to refinance our home. They needed us to so they could sell our loan! We agreed to refinance our VA loan at the lender’s expense to correct the issue for them, because the loan not meeting VA’s requirements was not our fault. (And yes, you can have 2 homes at one time, purchased with VA loans as long as you qualify and stay within the VA eligibility limits.) The lender paid for all the cost of the VA refinance, we kept our interest rate, our payment did not go up, and we paid no money out of pocket. In fact, we got some money back! We remodeled the kitchen and pantry area of this home and added a hot tub outside. We bought an RZR so we could enjoy all the ATV trails.
- Selling our rental in Battle Ground. We purchased a 2nd property lot for cash next to home #12, with the proceeds from selling our Battle Ground rental house. After 2 bad renters caused damage to the home, and traveling roundtrip to WA from AZ to fix the home and decided it was time to sell. It sold quickly. We built a 16X12 storage shed with a front porch and stored our RV on the 2nd property lot.
- Promotion & Job Relocation – again! This time we were moving to the HOT Phoenix metro area. We lived in our RV again, with 1 air conditioner, until we bought a tiny home (#13) in a 55+ Resort Park. I took out a loan against my 401K for this purchase. At this point we decided to keep home #12.
- Tiny Living. Living in a resort park was fun; however, having a home we didn’t live in full time became burdensome, so we eventually sold house #12 with a Realtor, and put all our stuff in storage. (The home was not located in a good rental market area to keep it as a rental.) This home received multiple offers.
- We sold the 2nd lot next to house #12 for sale by owner, to the couple that bought house #12.
- Resort Living. Despite the fun of living in a resort park with 4 swimming pools, and events; I longed for a regular sized home again. The AC unit went out in our tiny home 2 times, so we replaced it, painted the exterior, staged it, (furnished) and sold the tiny home after we closed on a new construction home #14 via a VA loan.
- Palm Trees & Sunsets. Home #14 was new construction located in the SW Phoenix metro area on 1 acre of open, desert land. We did a lot of landscaping to this home, including patio pavers, palm trees, fruit trees, irrigation, a storage shed, a hot tub, and drilling pipe fencing with a solar powered, remote controlled gate. We bought a new RV with 2 air conditioners!
- As retirement neared, we decided we didn’t want to stay in the hot desert. Our hearts love recreational country, so we bought a 2nd “vacation” home (#15) in higher elevation, rural AZ with a traditional loan, fixed 3% interest, until I could retire in 2020. We were going to downsize, but ended up with another large home next to a green space.
- Retirement. We listed with a Realtor and sold the SW Phoenix metro area #14 home, right before I retired, making house #15 our primary home. The desert home sold before it hit the market! Once again, we lived in our RV until I retired. Home #15 has been a major fixer upper. We completed so many upgrades to the home, we were able to get the mortgage insurance removed early rather than waiting for the home to appreciate on its own. Because of the size of the home, we turned one room into an Airbnb guest room.
The end? Probably not, but for now we are determined to settle in for the long term, especially now that my mother lives with us. So until life changes, we remain…
