How to Buy a Bigger Home After Retirement and Become a Homesteader

If you’re retired and want somewhere new to call home, consider rewarding yourself for many years of hard work with a bigger home so you can entertain lots of friends and family and get into hobbies like homesteading. The following are some tips on buying a bigger house and getting into homesteading for fun or profit.

Search for Your New Home

Think about some priorities and goals you have for your new property, such as having lots of room or entertaining large groups of guests. You may want to use the property to homestead, which is making your land self-sufficient and growing your own food.

Things to look for during your home search are:

• Price. Have a price range in mind before you begin looking. Start exploring online listings to determine if your target area fits your budget.
• Square footage. If you plan on entertaining guests, you would need spare bedrooms and more bathrooms.
• Home office. How many rooms will you need? And can you turn any into a decent-sized home office?
• Playrooms. If you’re going to have youngsters visiting, you’ll want them to be happy in their play areas.
• Land. If you’re starting a homesteading hobby or plan on subsistence farming, you’ll need plenty of land.
• Homestead laws. Research homestead rules, regulations, and tax benefits.

When you’ve settled on an area, get in touch with a real estate agent to go over the buying process. They’ll be able to tell you about financing options such as a conventional or ARM mortgage and discuss with you the closing costs and timelines. After you’ve found your dream home, make an offer. With help from an agent, close the deal, and move in.

Turn Hobbies Into a Business

If you’re looking for some extra income or just want to keep busy, consider turning homesteading into a business. Do some research before you buy the house so you’ll know about the law and how much land you’ll need. Start with this ZenBusiness guide on starting a company. Then, make a business plan to maximize the chance of success.

Your plan can include:

• Descriptions. Describe your business idea in detail.
• Legalities. Research local and state laws about running a homestead.
• Products or services. List what you’ll be selling. For example, will you be selling produce at a farmer's market?
• Customer acquisition. Write down how you’ll attract your first customers, such as by advertising.
• Business structure. If you’ll be taking on partners, you could form a partnership, LLC, or corporation. Otherwise, you could form a single-member LLC or sole proprietorship.
• Finances. List sources of funding such as savings, banks, or family. Write out some financial projections for revenues and profit.

Buy the Property and Enjoy Your Retirement

Buying a bigger house with lots of land can be rewarding in your retirement years in many ways, such as having lots of guests over any time they want to visit and following your dreams of starting a business as a homesteader.

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