We closed on our retirement home six weeks ago.

We love the San Francisco Bay area and will not move away even though we could retire today if we moved to Arizona or Florida. That we will not do. The joy of visiting the Napa and Sonoma wineries, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite Valley, Monterey, or “the city” keeps us firmly planted here.

This house has “good bones”, but lacks character. It is very bright and airy with 18 windows on the bottom floor and a small but appealing south facing back yard. With tile throughout it is “indestructible” and perfect for a rental home.

Our plan is to rent this house for a number of years before we retire, then minimally remodel and move in. This will cut our housing and tax burden by 60%.

During the past two weeks I’ve posted the house for rent on a number of websites. There has been a slow but steady trickle of lookie-loos, until last weekend. The home will be rented this weekend to a family of four who really like the house. We like them as well. Their situation is not unusual today; to assure their privacy I will not elaborate. I am taking a bit of a risk, but I think I am a good judge of character. We’ll see….

One heads up: to post a rental on Trulia, you must be registered as a landlord not just a home owner. If you are not registered as a landlord, your posting will quietly disappear.

Retirement Phase 2: completed.

Retirement Phase 3: moving to an electric car and (mostly) getting off gasoline.

Phase 4: actually retiring! That is a few years away, but the plan is in place and partially executed.