Focus
Full time employment: Posting here.
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2009
- Messages
- 640
What have you found to be the best housing choice after retirement? We're in a detached house now and feeling the weight of the maintenance costs.
Here are some initial pluses and minuses, as I see them, to get the discussion started...
Detached house: Full control, but full responsibility. You can control the timing of some home maintenance (such as a new roof and exterior painting), but the financial hit can throw off the annual retirement budget, particularly with unexpected items (furnace replacement). If you don't like yard work, that can be a substantial additional expense.
Townhome: You lose some control. You share a wall or two, which might lead to too much closeness with your neighbors. There are a lot of stairs, which may not be suitable for later years. With row houses, you share the decision on when to replace the roof or paint the house, but there's no yard to deal with.
Condo: You share responsibility, but lose most control. No yard. Usually single level, so no stairs. Shared walls/ceiling/floor might be an issue. The monthly maintenance fee might seem like something you can plan a budget around, but if there's an added special assessment fee, you have to take the hit and have no control (other than a vote on the board) on the timing. Balancing the wants of all the residents can be extremely frustrating.
Your take?
Here are some initial pluses and minuses, as I see them, to get the discussion started...
Detached house: Full control, but full responsibility. You can control the timing of some home maintenance (such as a new roof and exterior painting), but the financial hit can throw off the annual retirement budget, particularly with unexpected items (furnace replacement). If you don't like yard work, that can be a substantial additional expense.
Townhome: You lose some control. You share a wall or two, which might lead to too much closeness with your neighbors. There are a lot of stairs, which may not be suitable for later years. With row houses, you share the decision on when to replace the roof or paint the house, but there's no yard to deal with.
Condo: You share responsibility, but lose most control. No yard. Usually single level, so no stairs. Shared walls/ceiling/floor might be an issue. The monthly maintenance fee might seem like something you can plan a budget around, but if there's an added special assessment fee, you have to take the hit and have no control (other than a vote on the board) on the timing. Balancing the wants of all the residents can be extremely frustrating.
Your take?