House Swapping

We've been visiting Galveston regularly for about 24 years now, usually renting hotel rooms in the early days, with several home rentals. Then, about ten years ago, we made the plunge buying a beach home down on Galveston Island. Nice lil' 3 bedroom, 'second row' from the beach. It'd had another row or two in front of it before Hurricane Ike brought in it's destructive force. But now, it had a nice view of the ocean and just a few steps from the beach. We did a lot of trips to that home by ourselves .. with friends.. .with family. Celebrated many a Mardi Gras down there. Attended almost a dozen Lone Star Rallys. Hell, a third of our overall time was spent here on the Island, some of those years. Made some great friends, in an awesome neighborhood.

Few years later we decided to pick up another home for a rental property as part of the "retirement plan." We soon found a home double the size of the original one with six bedrooms and beach front .. literally. I was thinking "Ka Ching" for rental income. After closing, we were at Nates celebrating when ... we realized we wanted to make that one ... our destination vacation home. So, in that moment the 3 bedroom became our rental home. It's revenue would pay for the taxes / insurance on both homes, and sometimes some extra cash so that was a win in my book. I figured when we finally retired, we'd rent them both out for future income. Well... things change.

Mississippi Vaca' Home

We decided last year to look for a home on the Mississippi gulf coast near my nephew and his family. It's a quiet, beautiful area and lower cost than Galveston. Additionally, it's literally an hour or two away from a plethora of 'beachy' destination spots along the Gulf Coast. Well, we got a lil' frustrated trying to find anything we liked so were going to build. We drug our feet, trying to locate the 'perfect' lot ...for months and months. Well, about a month ago, we kicked it back into high gear. However, it seemed like every time we found a home, it had an offer on it. So, I began upping the budget and mama' found a beautiful home on a big lot near the beach.

Literal 4 minute walk to the Sandy Beach

We've realized we don't need to be 'on' the beach anymore. Hell, we'll jump in a golf cart or Jeep and make our way over. Anyways, after looking over the specs and pics, I fell in love with it. She fell in love with it. Asked my nephew and his fiancee to check it out and ensure it was a nice as the pics showed and wasn't in a ghetto of sorts. They drove over and lo and behold the owner was there so they did a live video with all of us and we got to ask questions. He'd had it built to his own liking and I was more than impressed; I was 'sold!' The following day we made an offer and it was quickly accepted. I normally would have waited a day or two, but it's a seller's market and knowing the history of the home and speaking with the seller.... no brainer. The inspection would prove my instincts right.

Well, after our new purchase we decided to move forward with an idea that we'd considered for over a year now; sell the three bedroom rental in Galveston. We hired a realtor we'd utilized and almost made a purchase with last year had the seller accepted, and she told us our home would probably sell for an amount that was 187% of the dollar amount than we'd paid for in ten years ago. Almost double! I'm thinking we'll be lucky to get an offer closer to 150% of the original outlay.... best case.. ... but we listed at the higher amount to see how this all played out. I had the time to wait it out. At this price point, we had room to maneuver if necessary. Still, in today's market I felt it was worth every penny and worth a shot, but wouldn't have bet $ on getting it. Three days later we get an offer over the listing price. I thought the market was hot; now I knew it! I'm still in disbelief after dragging my feet to sell it. The last year or so, we've offered it to family and friends at a reasonable low cost, unaware (blissfully ignorant?) of it's actual value (whew... that was close!). Best part is, the house sold covers 85% of the cost of the MS home.... score! I honestly didn't see that coming; thought we'd have to pony up a larger piece. It almost covered it, but one still has to pay the realtor commission and .. a few costs always buried in the closing. I'm assuming the whole capital gains tax issue will work out as well ..... I'll be searching for a pro to help on that one next year no doubt.

So, the future is changing up. I see the Summer of 2021 looking incredible spending a LOT of time with family. Lot of time on the Emerald coast. Lot of new bike Rallies to attend (going to park our Indian Vintage / 'Sugar B' there) down that way. Some extended weekends in Orange Beach, AL... Pensacola, FL .. Panama City FL ... Destin FL .... But, no more views of the ocean rolling in right in front of me as I sip my morning cup of java, which means less issues with the corrosive issues associated with living literally, 'on the beach.'

Good Days Ahead!

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