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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Aging in Place: 3 More Ways to “Future-Proof” Your Home
“Aging in Place” is a phrase associated with older Americans who wish to stay in their homes for as long as they’re able to. Yet not many have developed a plan for how. Until now… Last week, we covered the first 3 steps to Aging in Place: Weighing the finances, maintaining social connections, and identifying the […]
7 Key Mistakes People Make When Retiring Abroad
Retirement abroad is enticing to more and more Americans, but many of them make key mistakes that spoil their plans for a foreign retirement haven. The Social Security Administration reports it sends benefits to more than half a million U.S. retirees living overseas. The number increased substantially over the last 10 years. But it significantly […]
The Widely Misunderstood Tax Rules for Home Sales
The tax rules for selling a personal residence seem to generate more widespread misunderstanding than most other parts of the tax code. The rules themselves are fairly simple as tax code provisions go. One problem seems to be that many people looking to sell homes don’t realize that the rules were overhauled in 1997. Another […]
Downsizing vs. Aging In Place
This article does a good job of explaining the issues and the dilemma faced by many older Americans as they decide where to live the rest of their lives. It uses anecdotes to show how many people’s plans are thwarted by some practical realities. Carrying mortgage debt may offer one explanation as to why many […]
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Nursing Homes Could Be Hitting Hard Times
A lot of long-term care has shifted to home care and assisted living facilities, taking business away from traditional nursing homes. The nursing homes are starting to feel some financial pain. This article describes how a Massachusetts nursing home is in such serious financial trouble that it stopped paying premiums for employees’ health care, though […]
Making the Best Use of Home Equity in Retirement Income
The residence usually is one of the most valuable assets retirees own. It also is one of the worst-managed assets. Few people realize the home can be used to increase retirement cash flow or know how to do so efficiently. In the past issues of Retirement Watch, we’ve gone over reverse mortgages and issues related […]
When To Paydown A Mortgage
Retirement Watch readers should already know how to analyze the issue, but this article is a good presentation of the issues and how to decide on the best use of your money. The key question to ask when weighing mortgage paydown is what you’d do with that money instead. Can you earn a higher return […]
A Case For Paying Off Your Mortgage
This article makes the case that people spend too much money on their mortgages, especially people who live in high-cost areas. It argues that the best way to save for retirement is to first pay off the mortgage and avoid paying all that interest for 30 years. A 15-year mortgage is much better in the […]
