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"The more side roads you stop to explore, the less likely that life will pass you by." ~Robert Brault
Today's Community Reviews
June 8, 2023
Heritage Pines, Cary, North Carolina
Cary is a prosperous city in North Carolina's Research Triangle and is the setting for Heritage Pines, a cozy 55+ community with single family homes, town homes, a clubhouse, walking trails, a swimming pool, a spa, tennis courts and more.
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Providence Point, Issaquah, Washington
Issaquah is nestled in the Cascade foothills in northwestern Washington and is the site of Providence Point, a leafy, settled 55+ condo/town home/duplex community. Amenities include a town hall, a coffee house, a garden, tennis courts and a putting green. Residents gather for art sales, book sales, happy hours and more.
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La Casa del Sol, Davenport, Florida
In central Florida, Davenport is home to La Casa del Sol, a casual, cozy 55+ rental cottage community tucked beneath tall trees next to a lake. Amenities include a putting green and a clubhouse. Activities are many, and major theme parks are just down the road.
Ironwood, Casa Grande, Arizona
Casa Grande is in southern Arizona and is the setting for Ironwood Village, a gated 55+ duplex community with single level homes, Mediterranean architecture, a clubhouse, a resort style swimming pool, a croquet lawn and more.
Swansgate, Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville is a shopping and dining hub in northwestern South Carolina and is the setting for Swansgate, a cozy, gated 55+ community with patio homes and condominiums. The grounds are wooded and dappled with streams, mature trees, a pond and a gazebo. Amenities include a clubhouse, a swimming pool, walking paths and more.
West Neck Villages, Virginia Beach, Virginia
Virginia Beach is in southeastern Virginia and is the site of West Neck Villages, an attractive 55+ community with single family homes and condominiums clustered in villages around a golf course. Activities include outdoor concerts, exercise classes, wine tastings and more.
Pretty Naples is on the southwestern Florida coast and is the location of Vineyards, a large, gated community popular with baby boomers and empty nesters. It has 40 neighborhoods, single family homes, attached homes, a 70,000 square foot clubhouse, golf courses, swimming pools, eateries, planned events and more.
Tigard is outside of Portland in northwestern Oregon and is the location of Summerfield, a pretty 55+ community with single family homes, town homes, condos, an executive golf course, a clubhouse, many planned events and more.
Oaks at Wildwood, Georgetown, Texas
An inviting city outside of Austin in the pretty Texas Hill Country, Georgetown is the setting for Oaks at Wildwood, an cozy 55+ community with stone/brick condominiums, a well-appointed clubhouse, a heated swimming pool, a book club, a wine club, a sense of privacy and more.
Lake Griffin Harbor, Leesburg, Florida
In Florida's Lake Country, Leesburg is the site of Lake Griffin Harbor, a lakeside 55+ manufactured community with a marina, a swimming pool, a conservation area, planned events and more. Pets are welcome.
Selbyville is in southeastern Delaware and is the setting for Bayside, a lovely resort community overlooking a bay. Homes feature coastal architecture, and amenities include a golf course, swimming pools, a waterfront area and much more. Oceanfront beaches are four miles away.
Four Seasons at Gold Hill, Fort Mill, South Carolina
Outside of 13,000-acre Lake Wylie in northern South Carolina, Fort Mill is the site of Four Seasons at Gold Hill, an inviting 55+ community with single family homes, town homes, a nice clubhouse, a swimming pool, a garden, tennis courts, a putting green, a bounty of activities 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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