New Concepts Aplenty for “Green” Retirement Houses

Baby boomers looking to retire in a very “green” way often end up being frustrated. The main reason is that most active adult communities are anything but environmentally friendly - they are located far from community centers so they require lots of driving, they don’t always use the most energy-efficient materials and systems, and they usually ignore alternative energy sources and low carbon footprints. The alternative for those truly dedicated to the movement is to strike out on their own, which though might be fun, can also be expensive and prone to trial and error.

The Wall Street Journal published an eye-opening article earlier this year on the “Green House of the Future“. The Journal asked 4 leading architects to come up with a home design that was environmentally friendly - and possible. The results were amazing:
- A house like a tree. The “bark” of the building contained photosynthetic layer that captures sunlight. The home had a lot of other cool features as well.
- So why not a house like a lizard. Cook + Fox came up with a home that turns “dark in the bright sun to insulate the house”, and clearer on dark days to help warm the house.
- The Incredible Edible House. The concept from Rios Clementi Hale Studios featured a home with edible crops like chickpeas on the outside. The food being grown not only helps feed the occupants, it provides insulation. Windmills and water capture are other features of the home.
- A “breeze chimney“. The home from Mouzon Design has many typical energy generating features such as solar panels, but it also has an old architectural tool, the breeze chimney to help heat and cool the home.

Recycled Green Homes in Phoenix
Green Street Development in Phoenix is winning kudos for their LEEDS certified remodelings in downtown Phoenix. The concept is sound, why not turn former tract homes either in town or near public transportation lines into zero energy consuming homes. While the firm is pitching the project towards young urban professionals, in our opinion they are missing half of the boat - retiring baby boomers who not only want to downsize but be near the urban action too. Listen in to the PBS podcast, it’s most interesting.

What are the Best States for Retirement?

If there was ever a subjective question, “what is the best state for retirement” must certainly rank right up there. After all it is a very personal question, almost as personal as your preference in mates or sports teams. To try to avoid too much controversy we shall answer the question in terms of what you, our Topretirements visitors, seem to prefer when it comes to retirement states.

For most people the best state to retire question is easy - some 80% or more retire in the state where they live now. But for those folks who are thinking about moving on down the road in later life, the reasons why some states are better for retirement than others generally boil down to:

- Climate. If you are looking to escape the cold winters of the northeast or Midwest, the Sunbelt might be appealing
- Cost of living. The coasts of the U.S. tend to be a lot more costly than the inland states. You can usually sell your expensive house in the Boston suburbs, move to a nicer one in the Carolinas or Tennessee, and still end up with money in the bank
- Tax-friendly. Although this shouldn’t be your only reason for moving to a new state for retirement, there are cost savings in states with low property taxes and no income or sales taxes. In addition, many states treat retiree income such as pensions and social security payments more favorably than other states (see links at end of article for more on these tax-friendly states)

- Lifestyle opportunities. Different states provide different lifestyle opportunities. From exciting cities to college towns to better and different recreational opportunities, some states can offer a superior lifestyle than the one you might have. For example, if hiking or skiing is your thing, moving to a western mountain state might be your personal answer to the question.

- Friends or family. The opportunity to be near children, grandchildren, and friends often trumps other reasons for moving anywhere. And it’s a good reason!

Our List of the Best States for Retirement
Based on visits to the popular retirement guides at Topretirements.com, these are the most popular states to retire (in order). Follow the links to see the state guides:

1. Florida. Florida is blessed with the warmest winters in the U.S. and no income tax. There is property tax protection as well. Our visitors visit the Florida state retirement guide twice as often as they do #5 California’s.
2. North Carolina. A smart choice for a milder year round climate. Great variety in terrain – from the ocean to the mountains
3. Tennessee. One of the lower cost states for retirement with great mountain scenery
4. South Carolina. Warm winters and wonderful towns like Beaufort, Hilton Head, and Clemson. Generally lower cost than up north. This was our guide to the Low Country.
5. California. People from the east tend to forget how big and varied this state is. From the ocean to the deserts, from the mountains to the Central Valley, there is sure to be something for everyone.
6. Arizona. Warmer winters and less humidity in summer. The state is loaded with active adult and 55+ communities
7. Texas. Lower cost of living in friendly towns. Texas has the most active program of Certified Retirement Communities of any state.
8. Colorado. Features many newer livable cities with expansive public parks and bike trails. The mountains and recreation they provide are a big part of the allure.
9. Oregon. Good year round climate and perfect for outdoors minded people. Our guide to southern Oregon towns.
10. Delaware A low tax state with coastal communities and fast-growing towns and developments on the Delmarva Peninsula.
11. Washington. Live in an exciting big city or a smaller college town. The mountains are always nearby, and there is a very long coastline.
12. Georgia. Lower cost, warmer winters. Great variety with towns on the coast and inland too.
13. New Mexico. One of the most under-rated states for retirement. Most of the state is at altitude so it never gets too hot. Don’t miss the guide we wrote recently on New Mexico retirement towns.
14. Virginia. For people who don’t want to move too far from the northeast Virginia might be a good choice. Pick from a long list of interesting historical towns and others near the water.
15. Kentucky. This growing state has a lot going for it when it comes to retirement. It has some of the lowest costs of living in the U.S. Many college towns, plenty of mountains, friendly people.

Links:
Most tax-friendly States for Retirement
Worst States for Retirement

Last Minute Holiday Gift Ideas for Baby Boomers

Just in case you are as desperate as we often get at this time of year, here are some very different, last-minute gift suggestions that might be “age-appropriate” for the baby boomers on your gift list:

“How Not to Act Old:185 Ways to Pass for Phat, Sick, Hot, Dope, Awesome, or at Least Not Totally Lame“. By Pamela Redmond Satran. This very funny book gets rave reviews at Amazon. (recommended by our friend Linda).

- Roku HD player. You might ask yourself, what the heck is a Roku HD player (and why would I want one)! Trust us on this one, if you subscribe to Netflix or rent movies, you must have this device, which lets you watch online movies and TV shows on your TV (not just your computer). It works a lot more simply than you would guess. The device connects to your internet cable or your wireless system. From there you can play Netflix, Amazon, or other movies on your TV set, using simple on-screen controls. Read the reviews to find out more - we love it!

- The Beatles remastered albums. Everyone is raving about the quality of the remastered albums which use the original British recordings. We include here a link to the boxed set, from there you can order some of the single albums.

- “By Families, For Families: Guide to Assisted Living“. This isn’t your typical holiday gift topic, but it still makes a great present for a friend who is dealing with an aging parent. Assisted living author and expert Ryan Malone shares with you the secrets only revealed by someone who has made assisted living a positive and rewarding experience for his mother and family.

- Pajamagrams. Very amusing and cute pajamas for sale online. The pj’s arrive in a clever carrying case.

- “100 Best Retirement Towns” from Topretirements. Give someone you love the inside story on the 100 best places to retire at Topretirements. Order the print version before 12/20/09 and get Free priority mail shipping!

Here is the link to the Topretirements store at Amazon.com, which has many more ideas.
Happy holidays!

Disclaimer: While we believe all of these gift ideas are very good products, we need to mention that for some of these products Topretirements will receive a commission from any sales.

Most Affordable College Towns for Retirement - Sun Belt

College towns make great retirement towns for a lot of reasons. Above all they are interesting places to live with plenty of cultural opportunities, adult education, and athletic events. The shopping, infrastructure… even the day-to-day ambiance is a lot more fun. The young people in the community provide an antidote to a steady diet of older people.

This article will explore some of our favorite college towns with 3 selection criteria:
- they had to be affordable (median homes below the national median of $190,600)
- located in the sunbelt (which Wikipedia puts on a line south of mid-California through Texas to South Carolina)
- and the college ambiance must be significant (more than just having a college present in the town).

One good thing about building a list of affordable towns in the sun belt is that real estate costs tend to be lower there. In a future article we will explore college towns in non-sun belt climes, where it might be harder,but not impossible, to find bargains that are also best places to retire.

Here is our list of the best and most affordable college towns in the Sunbelt:
Athens Georgia. Go Bulldawgs! The University of Georgia has helped to create an unusually liberal community with a thriving artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual scene.
Clemson South Carolina. Clemson University and its 17,000 students have a major impact. The university is the cultural center of the city. On game days the 80,000 stadium fills the town with excitement.
- Gainesville, FL. Here in central Florida the University of Florida puts a unique stamp on this town. From restaurants to the downtown campus to the Shanks Hospital, Gainesville is a special place.
- Las Cruces, NM. This town is frequently selected as a best place to retire, and one of the reasons is that it is home to 23,000 students of New Mexico State University.
-Hattiesburg, MS. There are 2 universities in Hattiesburg, the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey. Hattiesburg makes the “best places to retire” lists because it is a college town and has lovely historic districts.
-Oxford, MS. If you love literature and music you will like Oxford as a retirement town. There’s the state university (”Ole Miss”). It was also William Faulkner’s adopted home town, and some of his books draw upon local scenes. The popular legal thriller author, John Grisham, has a home here too.
- Tallahassee, FL. Tallahassee is home to the state capitol as well as two universities (Florida State University and Florida A & M).
- Mesa, AZ. This college town (Arizona State University, East and Mesa Community College) is located near the amazing Superstition Mountains, and just close enough to Phoenix.
- Lakeland, FL. Frank Lloyd Wright’s “A Child of the Sun” project for Florida Southern College is the largest one-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in the world.
- Asheville NC. Asheville, in addition to being the # 1 best place to retire at Topretirements, has the UNC-Asheville campus and its Center for Creative Retirement.
- Austin,TX. The University of Texas is a cultural engine for Austin, but the local art world is as active as anywhere in the country with many museums, galleries, even open air art markets.

Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the Comments section below if you have a favorite and affordable college town in the Sunbelt.

What Visitors Want at Topretirements

December 13, 2009. Thanks to everyone who took the time from their busy day to fill out the Topretirements member satisfaction survey last week. We received hundreds of comments and suggestions from our visitors. What we learned is that we serve a very diverse group of people with an interesting range of opinions and desires. Some of the comments were contradictory (particularly about regions to focus on), a few suggestions are easy to fix while others are more difficult, but all of the comments were thought provoking. We enjoyed reading them. Thanks, this input will help us build a better Topretirements.

Overview. First, a brief overview of what the survey found out about you and about Topretirements in general:
- 93% are satisfied or better with the site
- 44% are “very likely” to recommend Topretirements to a friend
- Our most highly rated features are the site’s organization, the city reviews, and the state retirement guides
- 80% come to Topretirements because they are looking for a future best place to retire
- Although both of our enewsletters were rated highly, visitors appear slightly happier with the Wednesday newsletter (City reviews) than Friday’s (Active adult communities)
- 43% visit the site daily or several times a week
- Our visitors are an affluent group – 80% of those who specified their income level have household income of $50k or more.

To Work on: Here are some of the items our visitors brought up that we intend to work on or consider in the coming weeks and months:
- More and richer information about the weather, costs, HOA fees, cultural opportunities, intangibles, political, and educational aspects of the communities
- Be able to see the community on the map (this change will actually be made in the next few days)
- Provide less expensive community options to choose from
- More Retirement Ranger flexibility
- Better search capability
- HOA and other fees for living in a community should be provided for the total picture
- More property rentals
- More outsider opinions (and also fewer insider opinions!)
- Get more reader involvement (Comment: “It would help if more people out there would participate in forum discussions or ratings of the various aspects of towns/cities”.)
- Be more critical in our reviews of communities
- Add more reviews of 55+ communities
- Think about the frequency of the newsletter. Should we only send the Friday newsletter to the people who specifically request it (some people object to getting 2 emails a week)?
- And many, many more comments too numerous to list.

And finally, our absolute favorite comments!
- “Yes, expand this site to National TV… Seem like retirement items you present would make for an interesting TV show. It would be at least as good as all the real estate programs they have now.”
- “How can one criticize a website that constantly asks for input from its users?”

Winners. We chose 3 winners from the respondents who will receive a free copy of “101 Best Outdoor Towns”. Congratulations, your books are in the mail.

What do you think? Do you have more opinions about what works and doesn’t work at Topretirements? Use the Comments section below to fill us in.

National Geo’s Take on Best Places to Retire

Nothing gets us quite as pumped up as finding another interesting spin on a “Best Places to Retire” list. This week we were pleased to discover National Geographic Magazine’s list of “Best adventure towns. While it is not new (it’s from 2007) or exactly aimed at retirees , it is a fun list. Here is our take on their selections - you can read the full article and list at “Where to Live and Play, 31 Adventure Towns“. The magazine also has a “Best 50 Adventure Towns” article, which has some different selections.

National Geographic split their list of 31 towns into 5 categories, which is kind of a nifty way to do it. The categories are Outdoor Towns, Beach Towns, Cultural Places, Small Towns, and Adventure Cities. Sixteen of their towns are already profiled at Topretirements, usually chosen for the same reasons.

Some of their top choices, like Boise, ID and Durango, CO are obvious and well-deserved. The “Cultural Hubs” choices on the National Geo list tend to be college towns such as Ann Arbor, Austin (TX), and Knoxville. Their “Adventure Cities” are some of the ones we like at Topretirements (like both Portlands [OR and ME], and Spokane, WA). The magazine also unexpectedly chose Pittsburgh and Washington, D.C.) in this category. The most interesting choices on their list are in the “Small Towns” category; of the 5 listed the only one we had heard of was Port Townsend, WA). The “Beach Town” and “Outdoor Mecca” choices are definitely worth reading about too - places like Bishop, CA and Cordova, AK.

A while back we reviewed Sara Tuff and Greg Melville’s book on the same subject- “101 Best Outdoor Towns“. What is especially interesting is how little crossover there is between that book and National Geographic’s list.

For Further Reference:
Best Outdoor Towns at Topretirements
More Adventurous Retirements

What You Need to Know about Your New Homeowners Association

This is the 2nd of a 3 part series of articles about homeowners associations, the organizations that have an outsized influence on your life in a condo, 55+, or active adult community. The first article, “Meet the New Boss, Your HOA”, talked about many of the problems to be of aware of concerning Home Owners Associations. Part 3 focuses on “What You Need to Know When the HOA Takes Over from the Developer“. In this article we were fortunate to gain an in-depth interview with Joe West, CEO of Community Associations Network, who provided his insight on the basics everyone should know before they commit to living in any community governed by an HOA. Joe’s organization, which is found at Communityassociations.net, is the largest free website of information for condo and HOAs. The third article in the series will cover the important points to consider when the day-to-day management of the community passes from the developer to the HOA, which typically happens once all or most of the units have been sold.

TR: What’s the first thing we should know about Home Owners Associations?
Joe: The first thing that you need to know is what the association is responsible for and what you, the owner are responsible for. Sometimes the terminology can be confusing. In a condominium association, generally the association takes care of everything from the perimeter walls out, including roofs, siding, roads, lawns, etc. In a Homeowner or Property Owner association, the association generally takes care of the common areas, which may include roads, gates, amenities and so on. They usually don’t take care of the home or structure, itself. However, this will vary from association to association and from state to state. In some states, the media and owners often refer to both types as “HOA’S”, even though it may actually be in a condo. This is why it’s so important to read and understand the documents, sometimes called “CC&R’s” (Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions) or Master Deeds & Bylaws. The generic term “Community Association” covers all of the forms of associations where membership in the association is mandatory. Unfortunately, laws governing the nation’s estimated 270,000 residential and commercial HOAs are confusing and sometimes non-existent. States like California and Florida have extensive laws governing them, but many other states have just a condominium law or a poorly written, often amended HOA law. As we shall see, the absence of clear legal guidance can be a problem.

TR: Joe, what is your number 1 piece of advice for anyone buying into a development with an HOA?
Joe: That one’s easy - Don’t fall in love with the house before you check out the association. You have to be comfortable with a few important things: the rules that you will have to follow, the people governing the organization, and its finances.

TR: Could you give us an example of why that’s important?
Joe: Sure. Especially today, because of the economy, there are some community associations where a 1/3 or more of the owners are not paying association dues. What that means is that at least in the short term, the remaining residents will have to make up for that by paying higher fees and special assessment s. The people who live in condos generally understand that the building has to be maintained and that there will be expenses required to keep it running. But in HOAs, particularly those with predominately single family homes, the new residents don’t realize the scope of the infrastructure that has to be maintained – roads, landscaping, recreational facilities, etc. That requires money, but the benefits aren’t always visible. Similarly new residents are usually not prepared for the amount of HOA control they are now under. After years of living in the suburbs where their home is their castle, many become upset when they realize that exterior colors, fences, decorations, and improvements will be tightly controlled in their new community. One of the key areas that is often overlooked when someone is moving into the association is, how does the board govern? The basic rule of associations’ is that good boards make good associations – bad boards make problems. Make sure you read the minutes of board meetings before you move in (at least a year back) and once you live there, pay attention to what’s going on and who you elect.

TR: To be better prepared, what steps should a new buyer take before entering into a contract to buy a home with a Home Owners Association?
Joe: The first step is to gather the information to help you assess the HOA. Unfortunately that’s not always easy. In many states, the HOA is often prohibited from providing a new buyer with information directly. So anything you get will have to come from the seller. You should ask for the HOA master deed and by-laws (governing documents), recent minutes, and financial statements at a minimum. While some states, like Virginia, have strong disclosure rules protecting buyers, many other states have no rules at all, even though disclosure is in everyone’s best interest.

Secondly, you either have to read and understand these documents yourself, or hire a lawyer, financial planner, or accountant to review them for you.

Third, if the seller unreasonably delays getting you the documents, or won’t provide the information you asked for, be prepared to walk away. There is probably a reason why they won’t, a reason you want to stay away from. At a minimum you can get some of this information by going to the local office where deeds are recorded and ask to see the restrictions and covenants that are attached to the property. Unfortunately, the minutes and financials (last audited financial statement, current year-to-date financial statement and current budget) will probably have to come from the seller.

TR: What kind of problems are you seeing in HOAs and condo associations these days?
Joe: First, let me say that the vast majority of these associations are well-run. They take care of problems and they maintain their properties. The problems we see among community associations usually come when they are not proactive, instead reacting only after an issue has arisen. There are many problems that can occur in a community, because you are dealing with people and their “castles”, but most of them can be avoided with planning and oversight. More problems are coming up all the time, and associations need to be ready for them. Since the advent of the Internet, a issue in Florida can and will become an issue in New Hampshire at lightning speed. A recent case in Chicago, where a Jewish couple’s mezuzah was prohibited on the exterior condo doorframe (a common area), is a good example. That case led to a discrimination suit because Christmas wreaths were allowed on doors. Thanks to the Internet, it quickly became an issue for communities across the country. Pro-active solution: What can or can’t be placed on a common area needs to be thought out in advance and take into consideration our multi-cultural, multi-religious society.

Another big problem is not being pro-active financially, which means planning ahead and establishing reserve funds. Condo associations generally understand the need to plan for and adequately fund reserves, but often HOA’s ignore or underfund them. If the board never gets around to setting up a reserve for their maintenance or replacement, a big assessment will come out of the blue some day and cause much heartache.

Lastly, lack of transparency is a frequent HOA board problem. Meeting minutes should be quickly and prominently posted. Members of the community have a right to know what is going on and have the ability to provide some type of input. Associations should have newsletters and a web site to provide solid information on a timely and continuing basis.

TR: Thanks Joe, we appreciate your advice.

For Further Reference:
CommunityAssociationsNetwork is the largest free website for information for condo and HOAs. This site has more than 4000 helpful links, newsfeeds that link to breaking news affecting HOAs from 30-40 legal blogs, and a very helpful newsletter. Joe is working feverishly on a new version of the site for release later this year, although we think he already has a very good one!

Part 1: Meet the New Boss, Your HOA

Feedback Needed! What do you think? Be sure to add your feedback in the Comments section below.