Your housing cost in retirement

[NW-Bound]

So that's out goings of $11600 and I get rent of $14400 from the 1st floor apartment. Some of the outgoings are tax deductible and I get to depreciate stuff too.

Sounds like a winner. I would be way ahead if I could live in my home for free.

 

[Major Tom]

What a great attitude you have! You are so adventuresome and calm about all this. I'd be twitching out if I was in your situation. What about health insurance if you hit the road? Or your cats if you don't? What about your girl friend? What if he dies tomorrow? What if he lives to be 110? As you can tell, I like my ever-so-predictable life these days.

I don't have answers to all of those questions W2R, but have asked myself all of them (and more) and find the potential for change quite exciting. I'm not about to give up this apartment, as the rent is so well below market for the area, but would quite welcome the forced change if it were to change hands and the new owner knock it down to build another income property (which could well happen). I'm a big stick-in-the-mud and love my routines but truth be told, I get far too attached to them sometimes. I doubt that I would take to the road in an RV if I still had this place but if I were forced out, I'd welcome the opportunity to open a new chapter of my life and be the protagonist of the new, exciting story, "Tom On The Road With 3 Cats"

If I hit the road, I may keep a permanent base, and address, at an RV park - or will maintain a mailing address and domicile in CA, or another western state. That should work for the purposes of health insurance. I qualify for Medicaid under the ACA Medicaid expansion, so would keep a domicile in a state that opted for the Medicaid expansion. I know many people here are more concerned with fashioning their finances in order to avoid falling into Medicaid territory, but I have been very happy with the care I have received.

If I don't hit the road, I'll find an apartment that takes cats. Dogs are tougher, but many apartments take kitties. Finding one that will take 3 may be a bit harder but I'll do what it takes - and my eldest is 13 now, so she may have crossed the rainbow bridge by the time any change happens in my life. I love my feline companions so much that I will do whatever it takes to keep them with me.

The "what about my girlfriend" question is a trickier one. You may have noticed that I refer to her as my SO rather than my girlfriend. I may just be kidding myself, as I am very attached to her, but we are quite far apart in terms of where we are in our lives, and in our approaches to finances, so I have been cautious about aligning my plans too much with hers. If I move into an RV, she is open to the idea of me coming to pick her up at weekends and getting out of town for a break. She absolutely adores my kitties, so as long as we get to see each other fairly regularly, and she gets to hang out with the cats, I think that will go a long way to allowing us both to follow our individual desired paths in life, while still being able to maintain our friendship.

I just turned 52 (Happy Birthday to me!) so hopefully have many active years ahead. I'll most likely want more certainty by the time I hit 65 but for the time being, rather enjoy the prospect of future change. I get my feelings (illusions?) of stability from my 2.05% WR, the promise of SS in the future, and my relatively minimal material wants. Basic physical comforts are important to me, but the rest is gravy, as they say.

 

[kcowan]

Our lake house deck has to be refinished every three years or so to the tune of about $20,000. 2500 square feet all cedar.

We have a 1350 sq.ft. patio that is waterproof membrane to protect water leakage below. We have patched it annually and kept the water in its place but finally had it completely redone last year. Definitely not a task to be done lightly.

 

[W2R]

Major Tom, first of all, Happy Birthday! It sounds like you have come up with some great ideas on how to deal with this possible change. Good idea to check into Medicaid expansion for any future domicile. We don't have it here in Louisiana, and from what I understand that causes huge problems if one's income is slightly too high for Medicaid. I don't know what Medicaid would think of a mailing address that you actually don't live at, though I suspect you have looked into that already.

I should have called her your SO instead of your girl friend - - at first I called her your girlfriend but for the reasons you cite I then separated the words into "girl friend", thinking, a friend who is female. It wasn't clear, though. I think you and she have a nice arrangement. There is no need to mingle finances (Frank and I don't either), and maintaining your own individual lives while still enjoying one another's company to the desired extent.

And if you can find an apartment that will take 3 kitties, so much the better! I ha ven't ever tried to find one with a pet. Even if your dear sweet kitty passes on, you may find another one day so a 3 kitty place might be a good idea.

I don't have answers to all of those questions W2R, but have asked myself all of them (and more) and find the potential for change quite exciting. I'm not about to give up this apartment, as the rent is so well below market for the area, but would quite welcome the forced change if it were to change hands and the new owner knock it down to build another income property (which could well happen). I'm a big stick-in-the-mud and love my routines but truth be told, I get far too attached to them sometimes. I doubt that I would take to the road in an RV if I still had this place but if I were forced out, I'd welcome the opportunity to open a new chapter of my life and be the protagonist of the new, exciting story, "Tom On The Road With 3 Cats"

If I hit the road, I may keep a permanent base, and address, at an RV park - or will maintain a mailing address and domicile in CA, or another western state. That should work for the purposes of health insurance. I qualify for Medicaid under the ACA Medicaid expansion, so would keep a domicile in a state that opted for the Medicaid expansion. I know many people here are more concerned with fashioning their finances in order to avoid falling into Medicaid territory, but I have been very happy with the care I have received.

If I don't hit the road, I'll find an apartment that takes cats. Dogs are tougher, but many apartments take kitties. Finding one that will take 3 may be a bit harder but I'll do what it takes - and my eldest is 13 now, so she may have crossed the rainbow bridge by the time any change happens in my life. I love my feline companions so much that I will do whatever it takes to keep them with me.

The "what about my girlfriend" question is a trickier one. You may have noticed that I refer to her as my SO rather than my girlfriend. I may just be kidding myself, as I am very attached to her, but we are quite far apart in terms of where we are in our lives, and in our approaches to finances, so I have been cautious about aligning my plans too much with hers. If I move into an RV, she is open to the idea of me coming to pick her up at weekends and getting out of town for a break. She absolutely adores my kitties, so as long as we get to see each other fairly regularly, and she gets to hang out with the cats, I think that will go a long way to allowing us both to follow our individual desired paths in life, while still being able to maintain our friendship.

I just turned 52 (Happy Birthday to me!) so hopefully have many active years ahead. I'll most likely want more certainty by the time I hit 65 but for the time being, rather enjoy the prospect of future change. I get my feelings (illusions?) of stability from my 2.05% WR, the promise of SS in the future, and my relatively minimal material wants. Basic physical comforts are important to me, but the rest is gravy, as they say.

 

[nun]

Sounds like a winner. I would be way ahead if I could live in my home for free.

Yes, it's been a good thing over the years and the $1200 monthly rent check is great. However, maintenance costs are higher than just owning a single family home. Case in point I just replaced both oil furnaces with gas ones and the cost was $10k.

 

[Bamaman]

+1 It's pricey here in the Chicago suburbs. My RE taxes alone, on a very modest six room ranch, exceed what many say their total housing costs are........ Sigh.....

But DW (and I to a lesser extent) are anchored to grand kids, kids, extended family, friends and the entertainment and cultural attractions. I wouldn't mind moving to a location with top notch natural beauty and superb outdoor recreational opportunities, especially fishing and paddling. And with those attractions not just "nearby." For example, if we moved someplace to enjoy easy access to great fishing, I'd want to live on the water not just with easy access from a nearby location.

IOW, the only places we'd be interested in moving to might also be expensive places to live. So, here we are!

There are many, many places that would fill your bill--especially in the south. We have a 6 mile water view, and our sunsets are absolutely incredible. Our lake is 50' to 100' deep and is one of the best smallmouth and catfish lakes in the country. Pickwick Lake is 6 miles away, and Wheeler Lake is 10 miles upstream--both premier fisheries.

Alabama property taxes are ridiculously cheap, with $350K house taxes @ $1000 per year--half that if it's your main residence. Disabled people have no property taxes.

Lakefront property is expensive by our standards, but cheap to most people. Decent houses can be bought for $350K. Our average house is 5000 square feet with a concrete boathouse, and they run $550K or so.

I'm fortunate to have two Robert Trent Jones championship golf courses on my street--8050 yards from the back tees. There's another RTJ golf course at the local yacht club across the lake. This is golf heaven and part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

When I used to travel to Chicago and Racine on business I was appalled at the cost of houses--and especially the cost of property taxes. Our whole cost of housing is less than just property taxes in Wisconsin. I was always afraid of getting transferred to "home office" to lose our high standard of living.

It's nice living in a medium size city that's 2 hours from 3 large cities. And virtually every large city in the south has one or more large lakes within 1/2 hour--and relatively low costs of living.

 

[Mulligan]

There are many, many places that would fill your bill--especially in the south. We have a 6 mile water view, and our sunsets are absolutely incredible. Our lake is 50' to 100' deep and is one of the best smallmouth and catfish lakes in the country. Pickwick Lake is 6 miles away, and Wheeler Lake is 10 miles upstream--both premier fisheries.

Alabama property taxes are ridiculously cheap, with $350K house taxes @ $1000 per year--half that if it's your main residence. Disabled people have no property taxes.

Lakefront property is expensive by our standards, but cheap to most people. Decent houses can be bought for $350K. Our average house is 5000 square feet with a concrete boathouse, and they run $550K or so.

I'm fortunate to have two Robert Trent Jones championship golf courses on my street--8050 yards from the back tees. There's another RTJ golf course at the local yacht club across the lake. This is golf heaven and part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.

When I used to travel to Chicago and Racine on business I was appalled at the cost of houses--and especially the cost of property taxes. Our whole cost of housing is less than just property taxes in Wisconsin. I was always afraid of getting transferred to "home office" to lose our high standard of living.

It's nice living in a medium size city that's 2 hours from 3 large cities. And virtually every large city in the south has one or more large lakes within 1/2 hour--and relatively low costs of living.

Sounds like a great place to live. But if I was forced to hit from the back tees it would be a deal killer. Hitting the green accurately from 140 is difficult enough for me, let alone having to pull out the 3 wood on second shots to the green.


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[Dog]

We average about $950 month on our Whidbey Island home including insurance, utilities and property taxes. I'm not sure about maintenance costs as we aren't there 100% of time until next spring when DH retires. (I spend about 75% of my time there).
The square footage is smaller, house more energy efficient than primary home, but this house has more property and is on the Puget Sound, so we expect a bit more maintenance.
I expect we could tighten costs up a bit if need be.


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[brett]

Where we live it is now cheaper to rent. We sold with the intention of buying a condo or something smaller. Our RE market has turned sour so there is absolutely no point in buying.

More to the point, it is less expensive for us to rent our condo that it would be to own it when our return on our home equity is factored into the equation. The savings actually cover off about a month of extra travel per year.

It was difficult to rent at first after so many years of owning. There is a strong emotional tie to owning when that is what your parent, your peers have always done. Not so much now though since we look at it from a strictly financial perspective. We will probably buy again but only when we see the market bottoming out AND when it makes financial sense. Renting gives us far more freedom to rent and go plus it removes the risk of an unexpected home repair or condo assessment. Nor do we have the risk of being stuck with a large 'stranded' asset.

 

[RobLJ]

We sold the Texas house and Colorado cabin and semi-retired to Reno about 6 months ago, using the proceeds from the sales to buy the Reno home.
We have a note of about 44000, so the cost for now with utilities and taxes is about $900. That will get cut almost in half either in 15 years or in a couple years if we just pay off the note.