Sell her home and rent?

[HBH]

My sister is 62 and is retiring next month.

She's single with no children.

I'm suggesting that it might be a good idea to sell her (mortgage free) home and rent, perhaps in a retirement community, or perhaps in an apartment or condo near where she currently lives.

My thoughts for doing this are:

1. Top (or close to) the housing market (Pasadena, CA).

2. No maintence (lawn, heating, plumbing, AC, taxes, etc.)

3. In general, simplification of life.

Has there been any discussion of the pro's and con's on this?

HBH

 

[youbet]

How does your sister feel about it? Does she hate yard work with a passion? Or does she have an award winning rose garden she loves to spend time maintaining? Etc.

A home is more than an investment.

 

[tryan]

I'm suggesting that it might be a good idea to sell her (mortgage free) home

If she hasn't thought of this herself ... it's a terrible idea.

Retiring is enough "change" for a long time. Her home should be the center piece of her retirement - at least initially.

 

[astromeria]

Is your sister having trouble staying on top of home managment tasks like maintenance & repairs updating insurance, paying property taxes, doing yard work or having it done? If not, and if she's proud of her home and enjoys living in it, knows and likes her neighbors and feels a part of her community, why change things? Does she need the money? Is there something else she;d like to do with the money, like travel for a few years? Even if she needs more $$, could she rent out a room instead of moving? Here's a data point: my monthly expenses in ym home are about $600 for insurance, prop taxes, yard work, and maintenance--no way could I rent an apartment I'd like in my town for that little.

My mother is 80 and bought her current house at 78. She is very detail-oriented and punctual, always proactive and on top of things, keeping up with everything from bills to preventive maintenance. Her home & yard look like a showplace every day, and having grown up working poor, she's mighty proud of it. She llikes her social life here, too. I wouldn't dream of encouraging her to sell her home, RE market top or not, unless she was actually running out of money or developed dementia or something.

 

[HBH]

Thanks for all of your replies.

You're all right and I'm wrong, so I'll butt out.

For ME, renting would be ideal, but for her, she'll have to decide.

In fact, my wife and I just downsized from a house to a condo for many of the reasons I presented, ie less maintenance effort, simplified living, etc. Since we weren't into the yard or gardening, it was an easier decision.

HBH