How to Find a Retirement Home for under $50,000

I am a new subscriber of Top retirement.com and I already learned a lot about retirement which it surely help for my plan to retire soon. Thank you,

Our friends owned/lived in a manufactured home for about a year, but the array of annoyances became too much and they sold it and moved to a townhouse which they enjoyed.
If you've never experienced a heavy rainstorm while inside a manufactured home then you definitely need to hold off on signing the bottom line to buy one because you'll probably be very disappointed--the noise is deafening with the rain drops pounding on the metal roof.

Denny, metal roofs went out decades ago!

Not all metal roofs are noisy, much to our surprise as well. The cabin we are renting now, while we shop for our retirement dream, has a metal roof and we have experienced a variety of weather. We haven't heard any rain on the roof, but we do hear the wind on the vinal vertical siding.

Seek and ye shall find! Maybe you can find a house-sitting deal too good to be believed. Maybe someone will like you and offer you a low -rent deal so good it is incredible. Keep looking, keep asking , and keep offering. You can get better than market rates if you keep looking and asking and being very nice to people.

I am a retired teacher who was "put out to pasture" too soon-to make room for cheaper hires; my pension is a joke, and my SS (retired earlier than 66, is below subsistence level.. I live in the Mid-West, in a small house (under 800ft) that i have finally paid off. Of course,, now tat I have sunk all my money in it, everything seems to be falling apart! When I bought it-1999-it was listed at 32K, but by now I probably paid over 45 K with the high mortgage, and twice refi.

However, I STILL do not think tat a trailer/mobile home is a "deal" at over 50 K !! And NO, I could have never afforded your "average" home for 200 K+, at my meager teacher salary anyway!
Having lived in "tornado-alley" for over 20 years, I am not about to "invest" in a "tornado magnet", overpriced piece of junk !!
Laramie, WY is beautiful-although last time I visited I caught the mother of all storms while driving through the mountains, and I felt lucky to reach town in one piece, sooo...off it went from my list!
I am still looking, but, for now, I see no financial reason to move, much as I would love to!!

THAT..sorry for the typo!

Mariana, I am thinking about northern Texas (Denton, etc.) are they affected by Tornado Alley weather?

Just remember that in most mobile home cpmmunities you rent the land. I've seen plenty in FL where rent is $550-650 a month. Sounds reasonable until you start to figure: 600 a month is $7200 a year. Do I want to pay that in rent, or would I rather pay a mortgage in that amount in a regularr home, or at least a mobile home where I own the land?

All things being equal; your home is worth a lot more if it comes with land. I figured it out once anx on properties we looked at the mobile home wuth land, though more expensive to start, became a better deal after 4-5 years.

Of course, you get services with the rent such as taxes, mowing and water. If that's important to you, renting the land may be the way to go.

There are also some older 55+ retirement communities where you can find a deal, if you hunt. My parent ended up in the huge Top of the World community in Clearwater, for example, where you can still find a 1 BR apartment style home for under $50K, and 2 BR-2Bath ones in that $65K-$100K range. I'm not sure what the current HOA fees are, but it included a huge pool, golf, and other amenities. My parent was very happy there. Very weird entrance drive with odd kitzy sculptures and the buildings are cutely named after countries with small architectural details reminiscent of those countries, but it still seems like a deal to me.

After nearly 8 months we finally sold our Connecticut House. We are traveling to the Fort Myers area of Florida to find a place to live or rent. Any suggestions? Any communities where you can find a $50,000 house that is not a 55+?

We already made two trips to the Grand Strand (South Carolina) and the wife refuses to move there.

Thanks for your help.

You can email me at batwing333@yahoo.com

MarkG - we also looked at the Grand Strand, SC - why is/was ur wife so opposed to it?

1. I like the sound of rain on a metal roof. Florida has lots of rain; the Souhtwest, little.
2. Any home that is part of an incorporated association (co-op, condo, mobile home, RV park, homeowners, land lease...) will have fees and or assessments for which you accepted responsibility when you closed the real estate transaction. Read the documents: the fees can easily exceed $500 a month, depending on amenities, taxes, utilities.
For example: are the athletic facilities - golf course, tennis/pickleball courts, pools - financed by users or by everyone? Is cable TV included? (usually, yes). Do due diligence.
3. Florida and Texas (mentioned above) have no state income tax (good), but high insurance costs (hurricanes; tornadoes) and real estate taxes. Again, check out the total financial picture. If state income taxes, is social security taxed? out-of-state pensions, public and/or private?
4. Think about health provider and Medicare Advantage Plans. If you have employer retiree secondary coverage, does the plan extend to your dream locale? Nearest VA hospital?
And so on.

@markG: I don't think you're going to find a house for $50,000 in the Fort Myers area that you'd be willing to live in. Good luck. Maybe something in Leheigh Acres, but again, $50,000 is really low.

A house, maybe not. But a condo, probably not too much trouble to find. Ft. Myers median home price in late 2014 was just over $100,00.

I found condos and a few houses a little over $50K in the Ft. Myers area recently when I was looking there. I still have not decided where I will move.

These $50,000 and under communities are of great interest to me, and I've been looking into them for a few days. I certainly don't like the idea of a lot/land lease, though! In retirement I want my housing to be paid up, and a land lease is like a small mortgage or a rental fee.

Robert,

My wife did not see any community that she would want to live in. She said there were no neighborhoods plus I think there was some culture shock.

I am now trying to convince her that maybe the Charleston would be a good choice again we have been there twice for short visits. Thinking of the towns of Ladson, Summerville and Goose Creek. I have a friend that lives in West Ashley but neither of us liked the area.

Finding the ideal place.

One way to find out what an area is like is to read the local paper on line and watch the local news on line. A lot of TV stations stream their local news,

WMBF in Myrtle Beach streams along with WINK in Ft Myers.

Having once lived in Ft Meyers = IMO to Stay away from Leheigh Acres.

Having looked now (for over a year) at different areas such as Del, ( N.E)TN, NC, SC, GA and finally FL. We have decided to move back to Central Fl. As Seniors on a limited budget TAXES are a major concern and really are the determining factor in our move out of Pa. For us its really not a matter so much as where we want to move its really determined where we can afford to live our the rest of our lives. Unless I hit the lottery it looks like Fl is where we will wind up once our home here in Pa is sold - hopefully soon. Worse financial mistake I ever made was moving back to Pa for mostly "family" reasons and the fact that I did not DO MY PROPER HOMEWORK. My unsolicited advice to all who read this site BE SURE TO INVESTIGATE ALL AVENUES BEFORE MOVING TO ANOTHER STATE - unless finances are of no concern in ur selection. Buon Fortuna, Robert

There are many mobile home parks in Florida. However, there has been much in the newspaper lately regarding the sale of these parks. As the economy improved the land has become way too valuable and developers have been swooping in to buy and redevelop. This is particularly true if the park is on the water. So be very careful before you consider moving to a park. The law here is such that if a developer can buy up a certain percentage of a condo or trailer park development, they can essentially force the rest of the people out.

Lynn, thanks for the info on MH parks. Although they are not on my radar right now, I will know to be especially careful if I re-evaluate. FL is one of the few states where I am aware of nice MH parks. I am sure there are some other states, but nothing that I saw in my travels.

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/developers-moving-in-on-florida-mobile-home-parks/2222856 this recent article from the Tampa Bay Times might get some interest here. Seems they are getting rid of many of the cheaper living opportunities

I'm a big believer in the saying "You get what you pay for". I believe these 50k places generally fit that adage. Good for you if you can find one and be satisfied.

I am so glad I found this. I've been looking for a retirement home for my dad, and it's a lot harder than I would have thought. The biggest thing he's concerned about is the price. Finding something for under $50,000 would be amazing. I really appreciate the list of places you shared. I'll have to take a closer look at some of those!

I cannot find 55+ active communities within 50 miles of Phikadelphia PA except for old trailers in old parks under $50,000.00.
I was excited to think I could live in a decent community in New Jersey, Delaware or areas surrounding Philadelphia with a low crime rate. I want to live where you need a car and looking to move October, 2015.
Any ideas or suggestions?

That's really neat to have it broken down for you what it would save you to move into a cheaper home. Would a lot of these condos be single story apartments? That would be a lot easier for my grandparents to live with. Stairs get harder to navigate when you're older.

This article intrigued me! I went to Tulia and put in a maximum price of 50K. I put in different cities across America. It is possible to find a condo, cottage, small home/trailer under 50K. Some of them were specified for 55+ communities. I would suggest Buyer Beware, as a lot of them were considered fixer uppers, and TLC. This could cost you more in the long run.

It might be worth looking into factory built mobile homes. They will work with you and there are homes styles to fit every budget. I get a news letter from one place quite often and the sales are good. Plus, you can add upgrades to certain homes at a higher expense. They offer all sizes from single wide to double wide. Maybe even larger. They offer a package for you to fly to one of their factories to tour it to see how the homes are built. I don't know much about it but I imagine if you buy a home your expenses would be reimbursed. They might be able to help find locations to buy and build on too. I would prefer to buy a piece of land. A septic system and well would be needed if no city sewer or city water was in the area. Also, from what I have heard, you only pay real estate taxes on these homes if you put them on a permanent foundation. A non permanent installation makes the home considered a 'vehicle' and you would only pay vehicle taxes which would go down each year due to the value going down as cars do. That is also another thing to discuss with the Mobile Home Factory people. The homes I have seen (on the computer only) are quite beautiful. Some have pantries, laundry rooms, fireplaces, garden tubs, kitchen islands. They are not the 'trailers' of yesteryear.

Any ideas about affordable places to live along the area of the Washington DC metro lines? Love the Smithsonian museums and the DC area but am limited to my social security benefits for my little dog and me. Would appreciate recommendations/suggestions. Thanks!

Karen, I personally do not know of any inexpensive places. I would suggest that you also look for places along the VRE. It goes a bit further out, but the places tend to be less expensive. Fredericksburg may be an option. since there is a university there you may fins something less expensive in housing, but not necessarily in the think of college activities. You will likely be car dependent. http://www.vre.org/service/systmmp.htm You may also do the same for the metro http://dctransitguide.com/m/Metro/

At least you can then explore some of the areas close to the stops. in general VA will be less expensive than MD.

That's a good idea to calculate your retirement budget. My parents are thinking about where they want to live after my dad retires. I wonder if they would like one of those cheaper housing options. It wouldn't hurt to suggest it to them. Having a close community would probably appeal to them.

I didn't know that you could find a retirement home for this price. We're trying to find one for my parents but haven't had much luck. These are some things that we'll keep in mind now!

What kind of housing do you get for $50K?

A good way to see what's on the market in the $50,000 price range is at realtor.com. Put in the zip code of the area you're interested in and set the price range for $40-60,000. There are several other criteria you can set, too. For example, put in Zip Code 33484 (a retirement area in Delray Beach, FL) and set the criteria to condos. You'll find a number of condos in the $35-75,000 range with 1-2 bedrooms and 1-2 baths, some in communities with many amenities and activities. Hope this helps.

Here's a into a NewYork Times article from a couple of years ago about inexpensive Florida condos. Pretty interesting.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/us/at-florida-condos-too-young-to-retire-but-not-to-grab-a-deal.html

Does anyone have comments on Sequin Washington for summer home & possible year round?

Any comments about Fayetteville, AR? A friend says it's really reasonable and very pretty. An concerned it's sort of'isolated?'