Buying a Home Part II: Finish in a Starter Home

It was very popular in the last decade to trade up with houses and keep getting bigger and better. This sort of thinking was never for me. I always bought real estate that I could imagine being in for the rest of my life. I bought my first apartment with that goal and if I hadn't married, I would probably still be there. My mother has made a lot of money in real estate by swapping. She buys a house and a few years later she sells and buys something comparable for less money. She trades down. She has done this a couple of times and it has worked out pretty well for her. I don't think I will be doing that sort of thing. My only other real estate purchase will be a house for retirement. It won't be a downsize in space: it will be a downsize in maintenance costs. I want something with lower property taxes and heating costs. I know I won't be able to afford those things in the future. But essentially the next place will be as big as a stater home or as big as the home I own right now. Also if you only have one kid then a two bedroom starter home is enough. You can always spend the savings of not having a big house on other thing like travel.