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"In the recipe for public speaking, the most important ingredient is the shortening." ~Evan Esar
Today's Community Review
November 21, 2022
Creekside at Bethpage, Durham, North Carolina
Located in central North Carolina, not far from Duke University, lovely 55+ Creekside at Bethpage is part of a larger mixed use development. Colorful single family homes and town homes are for sale, and amenities include a swimming pool, tennis courts and a community garden.
More Communities
Kalmia Landing, Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken is in western South Carolina and is the location of Kalmia Landing, a small, homey, lushly landscaped 55+ community with single family homes, condominiums, a clubhouse, tennis courts, a swimming pool, neighborhood get-togethers and more.
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In central Florida, Kissimmee is the site of Solivita, a large Mediterranean-themed 55+ community with single family homes, duplexes, two giant clubhouses, 36 holes of golf, an art center, a dog park, a lifestyle team and more.
PebbleCreek, Goodyear, Arizona
Outside of Phoenix in southern Arizona, Goodyear is the setting for PebbleCreek, a large 55+ community with single family homes and patio homes. Amenities include two lush golf courses, tennis courts, an aquatic center, a Lifelong Learning program and much more.
Village Plaza, Sarasota, Florida
On the southwestern Florida coast, Sarasota is the setting for Village Plaza, a settled 55+ condominium and town home community with mature tropical landscaping, a clubhouse, a swimming pool, an adjacent golf course and nearby sugar white beaches.
Village Plaza, Sarasota, Florida
On the southwestern Florida coast, Sarasota is the setting for Village Plaza, a settled 55+ condominium and town home community with mature tropical landscaping, a clubhouse, a swimming pool, an adjacent golf course and nearby sugar white beaches.
Villas at Five Forks, Williamsburg, Virginia
Charming Williamsburg is in southeastern Virginia and is the site of Villas at Five Forks, an intimate 55+ town home community with a lovely clubhouse and a park-like setting.
Sunflower, Fort Collins, Colorado
At the base of the Rocky Mountains in pretty north central Colorado, thriving Fort Collins is the setting for Sunflower, an attractive 55+ modular home community with a clubhouse, a putting green, pickleball courts, RV storage, event gatherings and more.
Valencia Cay, Port St. Lucie, Florida
On the southeastern Florida coast, Port St. Lucie is the setting for Valencia Cay, a handsome 55+ community with pastel-colored single family homes, a spacious clubhouse, a swimming pool, an event lawn, an activities director and much more.
Lakeside at Tessera on Travis Lake, Lago Vista, Texas
Lago Vista sits along 19,000-acre Lake Travis about 20 minutes outside of Austin in the Texas Hill Country and is a waterfront master planned community with brick single family homes, a beach, a waterfall edge pool, a boat launch and more.
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Retiring with a Mortgage?
Most financial advisors will tell you to pay down your mortgage before you retire. The reason for this is that since your income is most likely to decline during retirement, it makes sense that your monthly expenses also decline.
Yet more retirees are carrying mortgages than ever before. This is because people are buying houses later in life and then refinacing to tap into their equity, which usually extends the lenghth of a loan.
Nearly 50% of people age 65 to 79 have a mortgage, with a median balance of $77,000. Twenty-five percent of people age 80 or better also carry mortgage.
There are two potential downsides to carrying mortgage debt during retirement. One, if you find that you can't make your payments and your home is foreclosed, then you have less time to recover from the loss.
Two, if you have to pull from your retirement accounts to make your mortgage payment, that can leave you short on cash if an emergency arises. And it is not as easy at age 70 to pick up a job to help with mortgage payments as it is at age 35. Retirement account withdrawls can also trigger more taxes.
If you are going to have mortgage payments during retirement and are worried about them stretching you too thin, then you might consider refinancing the debt with a 30 year loan before you retire. Doing so can get your monthly payments down to a manageable level.
You might also consider a reverse mortgage if you have a good amount of equity in your home. This type of loan lets you stay in your home without a monthly payment and lets you tap into your equity, providing you with a lump sum payment or monthly cash payments.
If you are retiring with a mortgage, you are not alone. But not having one or refinancing the debt to lower your payments can make retirement a little easier.
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How to Qualify for a Reverse Mortgage
All borrowers must be at least 62 years old. The older you are, the more funds you can receive from a reverse mortgage.
You must live in your home as your primary residence for the length of the reverse mortgage. You must own your home outright or have at least 50% equity.
You must meet with a HUD-approved reverse mortgage counselor prior to applying for a reverse mortgage to learn exactly how a reverse mortgage works and how much it costs (fees, etc.). The counseling session is to ensure that the borrow completely understands how a reverse mortgage works.
Single family homes, manufactured homes built after 1976, condominiums that are FHA-approved and town homes are all eligible for a reverse mortgage.
You must show the financial ability to meet your loan obligations, including paying property taxes, insurance and HOA fees if applicable. You must also maintain the home.
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Best Mortgage Lenders
Homeowners approaching retirement often have enough equity to sell their current home and buy a less expensive one outright. Some people, though, want to keep the cash from their home sale and finance a new home, while others might need a small or short-term mortgage to cover the gap between their available cash and a home's purchase price. If you do need a mortgage, it is important to choose the right one. Here are three of the best lenders.
Better Mortgage - According to Nerd Wallet, this mortgage company charges no commission fees and has no application, underwriting or origination fees. They also close most loans within 21 days, two times faster than the national average.
Quicken Loans - This mortgage company has a five star rating in the 2019 J.D. Power U.S. Primary Mortgage Origination Satisfaction Study and an A+ rating with the BBB. Quicken Loans has processed more than two million mortgages.
Vylla Loan - This mortgage lender has multiple loan programs for people with less than steller credit and considers alternative credit data, such as bank statements and rent payments.
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