Retirement / Barndominiums / Texas / Taxes

[Vegas Teacher]

Howdy All:

So my wife and I are planning 10 in the future but we start everything early. Anyway I will be able to retire in 12 years I think. The school system bought years and months for me but I don't know what the exact is. I think I will be able to retire at 57 years of age, not bad I hope to have 10 to 15 good years after that.

Anyway we live in Las Vegas now, and it is nice because we do not pay a state income tax. Over the next 10 years Vegas real-estate is predicted to gain 5% each year on average, and hopefully no bubble this time, but just nice slow increases. We are building our business base. Most people know we are building the Raiders Stadium on the south end of the strip across from Mandalay Bay at I-15 and Russell, we have had good success with the expansion Hockey team, the Golden Knights and we have a WMBA and an MBA team coming to town. We lost out on Amazon and Google but Oh well we couldn't hit the "Perfecta"  but we didn't do to bad. Both Basketball teams will need stadiums built each stadium will take 3 to 5 years. We hope to see more industry coming. There are more homes being built, inventory is shrinking for homes on the market, builders are coming back and property values are rising once again, I just hope we don't see a replay of 2003 - 2008 that was bad. 

Well what does that have to do with anything? The wife and I are looking to sell our house and our rental property at the end of our work days. We are looking for other states that have no income tax and are "Snowbird" friendly and R.V. / Semi / Travel trailer friendly on taxes and insurance. I am originally from the Midwest and I want land again in my life. I live in a 2500 square foot house that was built on a postage stamp of about an 1/8 of a acre, it is a travesty. So Texas is looking like a good state for taxes, and price of acreage, I know it will go up but near the two highest recommended cities to live in, from the internet, Lubbock and Abilene farmland is only 1000.00 per acre. Then I was looking at farmland ads and one of the adds says "Barndominiums" are acceptable. I had no idea what that meant. What is a Bardominium?

My next step was to get on line and look up Barndominium. It is a pole barn with an apartment in it. I then look up a company that builds them and find out they seem to be cheap to build. Here is what is really neat, You can design them any way you want to. So I thought O.K. I will call them and try to come up with a design that is so difficult it will be a million dollars and they will laugh at me or hang up on me. I asked them if I could get a design where I could pull my 780 in one end and out the other with doors tall enough for a full size semi. I asked if they could design or contract to have 30 amp and 50 amp service put in the building and if my door could be on a motor. After speaking to the architect, he asked if I would give him a couple of hours and my email address / phone number. 2 hours later I got an email that had a quote / estimate for a building that had a place to park both inside 30 feet for the semi and 55 feet for the trailer - Just a little extra space for both so they could be pulled in and unhooked if we wanted to. They also designed living quarters to the side and above like a loft set up. Kitchen & living quarters upstairs, bedrooms bathrooms downstairs. Just shy of $50,000.00 If you know what housing costs in Las Vegas you would understand why this excited me.

The question I am wondering is, is has anybody else out there looked at this? What is the assembly cost? Does anybody else live around Abilene or Lubbock and like or dislike the area? I know this is a ways off, no doubt 10 years is a decade to plan but as teachers my wife and I are both long term planners by trade. I planned and did research for 4 years before I bought the 780 and I still have a million questions on a good day. I have a lot of irons in the fire right now, but exiting the workforce and going smoothly into retirement is one of them. It is not going to catch me off guard.

Later,

Cory O -  Vegas Teacher

[Chalkie]

Barndominiums are actually pretty common around a lot of Texas. We are thinking along the same lines as you. 

A couple of personal observations about the area you are looking at is 1) in the summer both of those areas get very hot, and 2) can be pretty cold in winter. Being from Las Vegas the heat may not bother you but for us from Colorado it does. We hunkered down one year in Lubbock on the way to visit family in Austin due to an ice storm that left 1/2" of ice on the truck. 

We are looking around in the south and east of Texas and find that the coastal areas can be pretty nice although admittedly land prices are going to be higher.

[sandsys]

I have seen barndominiums around Rainbow's End and Rainbow Plantation. I think there are also communities of these near Tyler, Texas, and down in the Rio Grande area. It is not unusual for people who can not  travel full time for one reason or another to move into these. Some still live in their motorhome inside their structure with just support facilities along side while others have a complete housing unit inside their structure so they move out of the RV while there. Just like all types of RVing there are all types of barn living.  Google Texas barndominium and you will even find building companies that specialize if these types of structures.

Linda Sand

[Kirk W]

21 hours ago, Vegas Teacher said:

The question I am wondering is, is has anybody else out there looked at this?

I live in a community that is mostly made up of what you are asking about. Our home is in a 50' by 50' steel, engineered building with no interior supports. It has a full hookup RV site on one side and a  2 bedroom apartment in the other, so I do have some idea of what you are asking about. We didn't build ours but are second owners but have observed several other newer homes being constructed. 

                     

21 hours ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Just shy of $50,000.00 If you know what housing costs in Las Vegas you would understand why this excited me.

That would fall way short of what the ones here are costing to construct if it includes completed living quarters. To build something similar to what we live in would cost at least $100k and probably a little bit more, plus the cost of the land you put it on. The building alone without any finished interior rooms would probably cost you near what your estimate was and I doubt that your quote is at all valid. 

 

21 hours ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Does anybody else live around Abilene or Lubbock and like or dislike the area? I

I have never lived in either of those communities, but would not choose to do so and suggest that you at least visit the areas to be sure that you know what each has to offer before making your plans. Abilene is an interesting and historic town but both of those towns are pretty isolated from many of the things that most retired people are seeking. 

[whj469]

I will chime in, Lubbock or Abilene wouldn't be a place that I would want to live. There is no accounting for taste or what one wants in a place to live. I wouldn't think that weather or terrain  would bring anyone to those areas? Much to hot or to cold. Ugly flat dessert.

I have a small ranch in SE Texas but spend summers in the UP of MI and some of the winter in FL. There is generally good reason(s) that homes and/or land that appear cheap are where people don't want to live.

[Vegas Teacher]

18 hours ago, sandsys said:

I have seen barndominiums around Rainbow's End and Rainbow Plantation. I think there are also communities of these near Tyler, Texas, and down in the Rio Grande area. It is not unusual for people who can not  travel full time for one reason or another to move into these. Some still live in their motorhome inside their structure with just support facilities along side while others have a complete housing unit inside their structure so they move out of the RV while there. Just like all types of RVing there are all types of barn living.  Google Texas barndominium and you will even find building companies that specialize if these types of structures.

Linda Sand

Thanks for your advice, this is a long ways off but I want to be ready for when it comes. I am going to visit the areas I mentioned and look at places others suggest. I know some are on this forum and others are on the HDT forum it is so nice to get as many opinions as possible that is how we learn and become well rounded. Where is Rainbow's end? Sounds like a great place to live?

 

[Vegas Teacher]

44 minutes ago, whj469 said:

I will chime in, Lubbock or Abilene wouldn't be a place that I would want to live. There is no accounting for taste or what one wants in a place to live. I wouldn't think that weather or terrain  would bring anyone to those areas? Much to hot or to cold. Ugly flat dessert.

I have a small ranch in SE Texas but spend summers in the UP of MI and some of the winter in FL. There is generally good reason(s) that homes and/or land that appear cheap are where people don't want to live.

I also go to Michigan every summer, our honey moon was in the U.P. and I have driven highway 2 into the U.P. from Wisconsin, I have been to lake in the clouds and camped on the lake shore of Lake Superior. Sault Ste Marie was the place of our Honey moon. My wife is from Big Rapids, over the past 15 years I have been all over the state. Tell me about your Ranch. Also tell me more about Lubbock, all I did was an internet search to begin my research, any suggestions for reasonable land prices and good places to live. I am from S.E. Kansas I have vacationed in Dallas, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Laredo. I know I want to aviod Laredo, I was there last in 1987, but have heard some pretty scary things have happened there since.

Thanks for your help and advice, it is nice to get well rounded opinions from several different sources and having the ability to reach many groups of people on the forum. 

 

[Second Chance]

23 minutes ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Thanks for your advice, this is a long ways off but I want to be ready for when it comes. I am going to visit the areas I mentioned and look at places others suggest. I know some are on this forum and others are on the HDT forum it is so nice to get as many opinions as possible that is how we learn and become well rounded. Where is Rainbow's end? Sounds like a great place to live?

 

Rainbow's End is the Escapees' "home base" in Livingston on US 59 between Lufkin and Houston in east central Texas. As a community, it wouldn't be first on the list for my wife and me, but the Escapees organization has some great services and support to offer there. You might have to visit Livingston to get a feel for it. I'll echo the other opinions on Lubbock and Abilene.

Almost any place you choose will have pros and cons. We look at culture (my wife really likes college towns), access to specialty health care as we age, at least a regional (if not international) airport within an hour, taxes,  the costs of owning vehicles, seasonal weather issues (including "tornado alley" - i.e. Lubbock - flooding, tropical storms, winter storms, etc.). We hope to be good for at least another 10 years on the road and things can change in that time, but right now the mountains in the upstate Carolinas and east Tennessee are looking good to us. The Kiplinger retirement resources on their web site are a good place to start for the finance and tax parts of the equation.

Rob

[VegasFlyer]

If you are planning for when you are an old fart in 2 years, errrrrrr 12 years, you probably don’t want to plan a two story building.  Unless you are going to train your dog to drag you up stairs and roll down in your hoveround.

[Vegas Teacher]

9 minutes ago, VegasFlyer said:

If you are planning for when you are an old fart in 2 years, errrrrrr 12 years, you probably don’t want to plan a two story building.  Unless you are going to train your dog to drag you up stairs and roll down in your hoveround.

Flyer could you build me an elevator or escalator if I gave you free hookups for times when you and the DW come down to visit me. 

V.T.

P.S. I am taking a drive on Wednesday night with Keith to get him out and about. We are leaving here about 2:45 coming over to your neck of the woods and I am going to take him to eat somewhere. Will you be around?

[Jaydrvr]

2 hours ago, whj469 said:

I will chime in, Lubbock or Abilene wouldn't be a place that I would want to live. There is no accounting for taste or what one wants in a place to live. I wouldn't think that weather or terrain  would bring anyone to those areas? Much to hot or to cold. Ugly flat dessert.

I have a small ranch in SE Texas but spend summers in the UP of MI and some of the winter in FL. There is generally good reason(s) that homes and/or land that appear cheap are where people don't want to live.

I happen to LOVE western outback Texas. No, it's not conventional coastal touristy scenic, but there's an undeniable and unique charm, not the least of which is the isolation from teeming hordes of so-called civilization. Tastes are as individual as fingerprints. YMMV Regards, Jay

[sandsys]

5 hours ago, Vegas Teacher said:

Where is Rainbow's end? Sounds like a great place to live?

Rainbow's End is the Escapee's park where headquarters are just outside Livingston, Texas. Which is why you see so many references to Livingston and to Polk County on this forum.

Linda Sand

[Chalkie]

4 hours ago, Jaydrvr said:

I happen to LOVE western outback Texas. No, it's not conventional coastal touristy scenic, but there's an undeniable and unique charm, not the least of which is the isolation from teeming hordes of so-called civilization. Tastes are as individual as fingerprints. YMMV Regards, Jay

I would agree. We have spent a fair amount of time in those areas and they DO have a lot to offer, my only critique was the weather. 

[RV_]

VT,

You initially were talking about a modern post frame building, (MPFB) or wood frame with metal skin. I took a 5 year break from retirement, 2005-2009, to work after I had my post frame workshop built here.  I didn't need the money but after the owner of the company found I wanted extra concrete on the apron to make it a drive, I swapped him and built his website. Then he insisted I write it too and after a month of learning the biz and writing it he offered me a percentage of the company sales if I would take over sales and IT/server/email duties, which he did not have. He did everything himself with 12 crew members and him doing all sales and material layouts and siting. The post frame is referred to by old timers as a pole barn. But modern engineering and pressure treatment make them superior in several ways to steel. Steel buildings are bolted to the top of the slab, not deep in the ground on their own footers like post frame which depending on sidewall height will be from 3 feet in ground for a 10 foot sidewall, to whatever is engineered for two story buildings.

I brought my military and engineering background to them and had all of us join the NFBA (National Frame Builder's Association.)When I left the cost of a steel framed building was roughly twice that of Post Frame. MPFB also has inherent design advantages in severe weather.

You can learn all yoiu need to know on the NFBA website here:

http://www.nfba.org/index.php/whats-post-frame

I strongly recommend doing your initial research on the NFBA website. Lots there to help you make informed decisions on your building.

[Vegas Teacher]

21 hours ago, RV_ said:

VT,

You initially were talking about a modern post frame building, (MPFB) or wood frame with metal skin. I took a 5 year break from retirement, 2005-2009, to work after I had my post frame workshop built here.  I didn't need the money but after the owner of the company found I wanted extra concrete on the apron to make it a drive, I swapped him and built his website. Then he insisted I write it too and after a month of learning the biz and writing it he offered me a percentage of the company sales if I would take over sales and IT/server/email duties, which he did not have. He did everything himself with 12 crew members and him doing all sales and material layouts and siting. The post frame is referred to by old timers as a pole barn. But modern engineering and pressure treatment make them superior in several ways to steel. Steel buildings are bolted to the top of the slab, not deep in the ground on their own footers like post frame which depending on sidewall height will be from 3 feet in ground for a 10 foot sidewall, to whatever is engineered for two story buildings.

I brought my military and engineering background to them and had all of us join the NFBA (National Frame Builder's Association.)When I left the cost of a steel framed building was roughly twice that of Post Frame. MPFB also has inherent design advantages in severe weather.

You can learn all yoiu need to know on the NFBA website here:

http://www.nfba.org/index.php/whats-post-frame

I strongly recommend doing your initial research on the NFBA website. Lots there to help you make informed decisions on your building.

You don't know how much I appreciate this, thanks so much. I haven't went to the website yet but an going after I hit the submit reply button.

[RV_]

You're welcome VT. I have sited, designed, and built through our crews over a thousand modern post frame buildings. I am fully retired and have no financial interest in any construction company and am no longer a member of the NFBA. However, I can attest to the validity that modern post frame structures are stronger than their old predecessors, the Pole Barns of old.

Here is a website of one company that I do not know and am not recommending, but has the short version of Post Frame advantages other than a better price than steel framed buildings.  I agree with each statement:

http://www.pacemakerbuildings.com/blog/post-frame-building-perfect-home/