Category: Retirement Real Estate
March 14, 2014 -- President Obama is set to sign a new bill passed by the Senate and House that rolls back planned flood insurance increases. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) welcomed the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, saying: "Flood insurance legislation will provide much-needed certainty to home owners and financial stability for the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).
Home builders believe the reform will provide an important boost to home building and remodeling. People who own homes affected by the 2012 Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act are relieved that they will not have to face huge premium spikes and impacts on
more...
Published on March 14, 2014
Comments 12
Category: Retirement Real Estate
February 26, 2014 -- What used to be described as the "beleaguered" housing market has entered a new phase these days. This week it received more great news. But, if that is good for you as a potential buyer in the retirement housing market is another question.
First, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller price index housing prices in the 4th quarter of 2013 rose 11.3% compared with a year earlier. Home prices haven't recovered everything they gave back from 2008 -2011, but they are getting closer in most markets.
Second, the Commerce Department reported that sales of single family homes surged in January. They rose 9.6% from the previous month, reaching their highest level since July 2008. Economists were
more...
Published on February 28, 2014
Comments 2
Category: Retirement Real Estate
January 15, 2014 -- This really good question was posted in the Topretirements Forum by Margielyn. We thought it so interesting that we have re-posted it here so people can Comment about it more easily
"It is usually the best idea to sell a home before buying a new one. This is for financial reasons: we won't have two mortgages and we would know the price house we can afford since we will use the proceeds from the sale of our current house to buy the new one. The problem... where do we live reasonably until we find our new home? What do we do with our furniture? Move it twice, once to a storage facility and then to our new home? How will we know what furniture to
more...
Published on January 15, 2014
Comments 47
Category: Retirement Real Estate
Updated August 25, 2015 (originally published December 10, 2013) -- The horrible Arctic weather the northern half of the USA experienced in the last 2 winters had at least one major effect - it made a lot more people interested in finding a snowbird rental for the winter! This article will give you suggestions on how to narrow your choices on where to live, give some tips on how to go about finding a winter rental, and provide a list of reader-suggested snowbird destinations from earlier this year. Note that the reader Comments made to both this article and the related ones in the "Further Reading" section are at least as helpful as those in the article itself!
Keys to Success
The keys to success in finding a good snowbird rental are quite simple: get started early, and explore plenty of avenues. Hoping to luck into something is not very likely.
Many Advantages
We think there are many advantages to
more...
Published on December 10, 2013
Comments 122
Category: Retirement Real Estate
November 10, 2013 — Several members have requested a new thread be started on the subject of low income retirement. So we will start it for you with the original request (below): Note to group – if you want to start a new discussion thread the best way to do…
more...
Published on November 10, 2013
Comments 183
Category: Retirement Real Estate
October 21, 2013 -- In the depths of the 2008 real estate meltdown many developers decided to turn their new condos into rental units, rather than take a bath on prices and unsold inventory. That strategy, for those who could afford to wait, seems to worked out rather well. If you have held off selling your home until now, the return to a stronger market could be beneficial to you too, particularly if you are not planning on replacing it.
The Wall St. Journal recently reported in "Condos Going Back Up for Sale" that many luxury rental units in places like California and Florida are now coming on the market as condos. While the pace of conversions from rental apartments to condos is a fraction of the torrent that came in pre-bust years, the rate is the highest it's been since 2008. In 2012, 2,080 apartments were converted to condos from rentals, compared to 152,206 conversions in 2005.
The trend in condo conversion confirms
more...
Published on October 21, 2013
Comments 5
Category: Retirement Real Estate
July 9, 2013 -- We continue our series of reader suggested articles with today's installment on renting in retirement. First we will explore the pros and cons of buying vs. renting, then we'll share some tips and techniques for find your best place to retire rental. We hope you enjoy the article, and look forward to your Comments below.
We Americans seem to have been collectively brainwashed when it comes to the belief that home ownership is a cardinal virtue. For sure, owning your home can make a lot of sense. But the truth is, renting a home, particularly for the winter, is often a much better idea for many people's situations. We buy houses in Seattle and flip them on a monthly basis - so we're kind of experts in the field. Let's start off with some tips from us by comparing some of the advantages
more...
Published on July 8, 2013
Comments 77
Category: Retirement Real Estate
May 14, 2013 -- Here you are in a strange, not yet "rediscovered" town. You can see there are some obvious problems. But look - here's a pleasant street lined with stately Victorian, Queen Anne, and Georgian homes. Some are proudly restored, and others are in various stages of rejuvenation. You keep walking through the old downtown, past quirky shops and nice looking restaurants. By the time you reach the waterfront with its bobbing sailboats and beautiful views, you can feel your attitudes changing.
We're willing to bet we're not the only folks visiting a possible retirement town who've been surprised to find themselves going from "no way" to "maybe" and perhaps all the way to "why not". First we are skeptical - there's no way we could retire here... too many negatives... empty storefronts on main street... pockets of poverty and crime. But then as the place grows on us and we see baby boomers proudly planting flowers in their beautiful front yards we start to ask - could this become a great retirement spot?
Just this week
more...
Published on May 14, 2013
Comments 24
Category: Retirement Real Estate
April 24 -- Oh what a contrast from 4-5 years ago. In the dark days of real estate reporting in 2008 and 2009 there was a steady drumbeat of foreclosures, short sales, record home inventory backlogs, and falling prices. There were no buyers, it seemed, and although there weren't many sellers, it wasn't from lack of trying.
Something to (Grouse) About
Fast forward to the March sales report from National Association of Realtors (NAR) that came out this week. Sales are up 10.3% above the year ago month, and the median price of a home, $184,300, increased 11.8% over
more...
Published on April 23, 2013
Comments 80
Category: Retirement Real Estate
March 19, 2013 -- The nation's builders think they know what you want as a home buyer, or at least they are trying to understand. A new study conducted by the National Association of Home Buyer's Economics and Housing Policy Group found that buyer's preferences are changing (Note: the study was conducted among people of all ages, not just retirement age).
What do home buyers really want?
-- Energy efficiency. Buyers are interested in features like energy-star rated appliances and windows, and an energy-star rating
more...
Published on March 19, 2013
Comments 31
