I’m about to sell and purchase a new place. Current mortgage is not quite as good, I’m sitting at 3.375% on the remainder of my 30 year term. If rates were 3.25% I’d be all over borrowing 75% - 80%. Granted I have a long horizon…
South Florida, a senior enclave, sees more people ‘unretiring’ due to living costs
- Thread starter Dave Hess
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That guy has some part-time jobs and I’ve watched his videos.
Right, you mentioned that some time ago. Can't wait to heat what you think of it.
That was exactly my parents situation. Their paid for, nice 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home declined in condition for about 5 years prior to my dad's death. In the 4 years my mom continued living there, the house, yard, everything declined more. They were stubborn people regarding advice/assistance. We finally convinced her to move into a senior apartment. Their house sold for WAY under market value due to a leaking roof, structural damage, aging furnace, and other needed work. After about 18 years ownership, it sold for about 20% LESS than they paid for it originally. Not going to share all of the personal details.
Good discussion. Lots of good stuff to learn here. Too bad we don't have any input from people that actually are struggling in retirement.
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People used to retire in Florida because it was cheap and the weather was good. You could buy a modest home in a retirement community easily if you sold your home up North. 2/1 was common, and some builder went so far as to build models in Northern Cities so you could view and order your Florida home ahead of time.
Your neighbors were retirees so everyone helped everyone. A cottage industry of service people catering to the elderly would pop up because there was lots of demand.
But the homes got more and more expensive, the costs to maintain followed, and you likely didn't know your neighbor where you left so why bother here.
Its not too dis-similar to the reason young people can't really afford housing anymore either.
Your neighbors were retirees so everyone helped everyone. A cottage industry of service people catering to the elderly would pop up because there was lots of demand.
But the homes got more and more expensive, the costs to maintain followed, and you likely didn't know your neighbor where you left so why bother here.
Its not too dis-similar to the reason young people can't really afford housing anymore either.
I forgot to mention her condo is like 50 years old and the place had very little maintenance over the years to keep the HOA low(er).
Very typical of condos here in Florida that only cares about the landscaping and trash pick up.
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Ya. This is the biggest squeeze on retirees in S. Florida. It has to be scary to be in your 70's and shopping for a new place to live that's in a safe area.
So I know there was the one that collapsed - so are these repairs warranted or are some just being taken advantage of?
Yeah, if you are going to die soon anyway, preventative maintenance on the condo building is not going to be a high priority.
It's warranted due to the number of high rise condos built in the 1980's. Units in condo projects with significant deferred maintenance are and may be ineligible for financing. Prior to the collapse in Surfside projects were able to fly under the radar. Politically there's a disincentive to increasing the cost of housing in an already expensive place to live so it's easy for HOA's, locals, state politicians to ignore it right up to the point that there's a collapse.
The State of FL passed some new laws after the collapse which requires HOA's have have fully funded reserves for structural issues. This new law caught some homeowners by surprise with steep assessments. Sometimes in the six figure range.
So a condo lifetime structurally is 30 - 40 years? Seems pretty short. Poor maintenance, shotty construction, both maybe?
In Kentucky they do not tax SS either... But on a Federal level it should not be taxed.. At least one running for President says there will be no tax on SS....
It's no different than a house other than scale. Deferred maintenance, especially in a marine environment, becomes more expensive to remediate the longer it's left unattended.
My in-laws are managing with social security $2200 / month x 2 managing to live in Ma (very expensive state). Their home (oceanfront) is paid for and have never driving a vehicle worth more then $5000 nor at least 8 years old.
Not easy but always lived at poverty line .
Not easy but always lived at poverty line .
Other states, like Pennsylvania and Georgia don't tax "retirement income" much, but just be aware "retirement income" has to be in the form of a pension or IRA/401K withdrawal. If you are living off money from a regular taxable account, that still gets taxed.
That's also why it's better to retire in GA then SC, NC, AL, if you don't want to move to Florida.
SS is different because you already paid taxes on the money that you paid into it, so it's reasonable to expect it to be treated more like a Roth IRA then a regular IRA.
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