Charlotte Market information

Plan ahead

Having  seen people move to a state and buy a retirement home, and they find they are bored and miserable and find they have made a mistake. They sell the home, sometimes at a loss. Why do they move again? There are a number of reasons. In the first decade of retirement, people travel a lot if they are healthy. We think we are invincible to our bodies aging, but that's something people usually underestimate. As we age our bodies slow down and we can’t do what we were once capable of doing, and if we forget about that in the selection of our new home by not recognizing these things, there will be regrets.

Selecting a location is important Some people may think their dream is to go out in the country and get space, perhaps an acre or several, and find it is too far out and they get lonely. The larger the property, the more maintenance will be required as we age, and the less time for recreation or doing other things. Is it close to medical care? Are there hospitals and specialists within a half hour, or will you have to drive two hours? Is it close to airports? Is it close to the climate they are used to? Is it a nice neighborhood? And all of the other things that might be important in your retired life as far as location being near the things you wanted to be close to.

Make sure your home is built for aging in place. A large home with lots of stairs may not be a good fit as you get older. Is it a place that you will live in for the rest of your life – 36-inch (atleast 32) doorways for wheelchair access, a walk-in shower, and other amenities helpful to aging. Looking for a home in Arizona or in the other retirement areas, the homes with stairs cost significantly lower. But in the end, nobody wants stairs. If you buy a multilevel home you may end up selling it again or having to do expensive upgrades or re configuring the home to accommodate a bedroom downstairs, and other things that may make life easier for older people, when you need more age-friendly features. By considering a ranch-style home or a house that has a master bedroom and bathroom on the main floor, it makes it easier to accommodate life in the later years, even though it is more expensive initially.

Don't tie up all your cash in a house. Financial planners generally recommend against paying for a retirement home with cash. If possible using enough cash for a large down payment, then taking out a mortgage on the property, if you can. With today’s mortgage rates so low, it may be better if you keep your cash than dump it all into a home. If you put your cash in a home, you may not get it back out to use it. While many people want to enter retirement with no debt and no mortgage, sinking all of your cash into a new house means you can't use the money for other purposes. As long as people can still get a relatively low rate on a mortgage, you would be better off taking out a mortgage and putting down something."

Consider long-term housing costs. When you buy a retirement home, you need to determine if you can continue to afford the housing costs throughout retirement. Do not overburden yourself with a mortgage that would exhaust your resources. If you live into your 90s, you need to make sure you will still be able to afford that monthly payment.

In addition to your mortgage payment, you will probably have other monthly expenses. Remember to factor in real estate taxes, and other maintenance and future expenses.

You should also have an emergency fund because life happens, whether the roof starts leaking or the furnace breaks down. Have adequate money for unexpected and ongoing maintenance on your home or vehicle

Also, be prepared to manage costs as a widow or widower. When one spouse passes away, you will go from having two Social Security payments coming in to only one. If the spouse who keeps up with maintenance passes away first, you might need to hire someone to help around the house.