Home Equity & Senior Housing
Bob Carlson’s ideas and strategies for managing home equity and choice of housing to maintain a budget
Found 126 Articles.
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New Use for Reverse Mortgages
Congress snuck a new use of reverse mortgages into the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. Reverse mortgages traditionally are for people who already own homes and want to tap their equity. The new provision, known as HECM for Purchase, lets you use an insured reverse mortgage to buy a home. Here is how […]
Bailout Cash for Your Home
The government is encouraging you to upgrade your home. Undertake the right renovations, and the govern-ment will pay at least part of the cost through tax breaks. Some of the incentives are significant. The incentives are for energy efficient or renewable energy improvements and changes. Some of the incentives are new, and some are expansions […]
When It Pays to be a Landlord
The tight economy and housing markets have made a traditionally difficult question more difficult. When you no longer plan to use a house, should that old residence (or second home) be rented or sold? The question traditionally arises when someone decides to retire to a new area or after years of using two houses decides […]
Reverse Mortgages Coming of Age
Reverse mortgages are booming. The number of reverse mortgages issued is growing at a rapid rate (though the actual number still is fairly small), and mortgage options available are increasing. More options give older homeowners more potential benefits but also increase the potential to make mistakes. The industry’s preferred term for reverse mortgages is Home […]
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The Revolution in Continuing Care Retirement Communities
There is a bit of a revolution taking place in continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs). The revolution will make it easier for people to enter the community of their choice, but it also is making some decisions more difficult. A continuing care retirement community offers the full range of senior living options on one campus […]
Empty Nesters: Move or Remodel?
An as retirement approaches an important issue for empty nesters is what to do with the family home. The homeowners can move to a more suitable home, usually by downsizing into a smaller residence. The other choice is to remodel the home to make it more compatible with the new lifestyle. Often, remodeling was considered […]
Retirement Housing Myths Shattered
Some of the biggest retirement planning mistakes occur because pre-retirees believe common myths and rules of thumb that often are featured in the media. Most of these retirement platitudes do not stand up to basic research or investigation. Retiree housing has been a subject of some of the premier and enduring retirement myths. The media […]
Is It a Good Time to Buy a Second Home
In our Feb. 2002 visit I advised, “If a second home interests you, now is a good time to take a serious looking at buying one.” Those who took my advice have done well. Vacation and second home prices were stagnant then because of the economic downturn but doubled in many areas between 2000 and […]
