Home Equity & Senior Housing
Bob Carlson’s ideas and strategies for managing home equity and choice of housing to maintain a budget
Found 127 Articles.
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Tip-Toeing Into the Second Home Market
The signs are we’re in or nearing a good time to look at a vacation home or a property in a vacation area. I don’t think we’re entering a new real estate boom, so don’t expect buying now will set you up for big capital gains in a few years. I’ve been saying that residential […]
Attacking Reverse Mortgages
For many years in Retirement Watch I’ve presented a balanced view of reverse mortgages. These are tools for seniors to draw down their home equity without having to move from their homes or make payments during their lifetimes. I’ve maintained they are good tools in some situations and detailed those situations. The new Consumer Financial […]
New Look in and Uses of Reverse Mortgages
Many retirees in coming years will need to use at least part of their home equity to fund retirement expenses. They should consider reverse mortgages, and they’ll find some recent changes make reverse mortgages more attractive. But some other changes also limit their use and impose more work and restrictions on homeowners. In the last […]
Worst State for Retirement
It’s easy to find guides to the best places to retire. There are numerous books and articles. But it’s not so easy to find a list of places you shouldn’t retire to. Of course, you could pick up the latest Census report and see which areas are losing population. But the web site TopRetirements.com put […]
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Managing Changes in Reverse Mortgages
The reverse mortgage market was roiled over the summer. But there’s no reason for panic. Those who already have reverse mortgages won’t be affected, and those who want them in the future should have adequate options, perhaps more options than before. There are more changes on the way, however, and these will affect those who […]
Where Not to Retire
Few people realize that taxes are one of the largest expenses in most retirement budgets. It’s not only the federal income tax you should be concerned about but the full range of state, local, and federal taxes. The state and local taxes vary considerably. Also, some areas give tax breaks to the silver set, while […]
Examining Continuing Care Centers
A few years ago the rage in silver years’ housing was the continuing care community (CCC). Sales were soaring, and new projects were planned or popping up. As with other forms of real estate, the financial crisis damaged the finances of many CCCs and also reduced demand by dragging down the finances of many of […]
Benefiting from the New Reverse Mortgages
Reverse mortgages received several changes in the last six months or so. The changes make the mortgages more attractive in general and, unlike in the past, they can make some sense for relatively short-term cash needs. In a reverse mortgage, the homeowner with little or no mortgage on his home receives a loan. The loan […]
