What the NAR Real Estate Commission Settlement Means to You
Category: Real Estate Listings
what the NAR real estate settlement means
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Published on April 8, 2024
Comments 12
The Cheapest and the Most Expensive Towns in Florida
Category: Retirement Real Estate
February 8, 2023 -- Florida might not appeal to everyone, but it sure does attract more retirees than just about anywhere else in the USA. Its huge coastline, countless lakes, lack of a state income tax, and warm winter climate are magnets for overtaxed retirees with a hankering to get away for the winter (or all year round).
The cheapest and most expensive towns in Florida
For purposes of this article we used data from the National Association of Realtors®, which reports on 19 Florida markets. To generalize about Florida, the further one goes south, and the closer to the coast, the more expensive it gets. Naples and Miami hold an overwhelming lead when it comes to costly places for retirement real estate.
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Published on February 7, 2024
Comments 5
How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent
Category: Real Estate Listings
October 11, 2023 -- The key to getting your dream home for retirement is to find the right real estate agent. Maybe you know where you would like to retire (region, state, or even town) and the lifestyle you want to pursue. But how do you find the right real estate agent to help you reach that dream? A place to retire that comes at the right price, and one you can afford. In a neighborhood that suits you, and that will be a good investment down the road. And most importantly, a home that makes you happy, not having to worry that you might have made a mistake.
One of the best ways to find your retirement dream is to make sure you know how to find the right real estate agent. That is not always that easy, particularly when you move to an area far away, and unfamiliar to you. In that situation, any contacts you already have are probably of no use.
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Published on October 10, 2023
Comments 7
The Best 55+ Communities – Who Builds the Best Ones?
Category: Active adult communities
July 18, 2023 — As with everything in life, some companies are better at what they do than others. Tesla makes great electric cars, Titleist is terrific in golf, Gucci’s shoes are amazing, etc. But when it comes to the best 55+ communities, which company does the best job? Since…
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Published on July 18, 2023
Comments 27
Downsizing in Retirement: Great Idea, Not Without Its Costs
Category: Downsizing
December 11, 2022 -- One of the best pieces of advice we have heard is to think about downsizing in retirement. Finding a smaller, lower maintenance place to retire can unlock equity in your home so you can maintain a great lifestyle with less income. It can also simplify your life. Less maintenance and yard work, smaller utility bills, lower property taxes, and more time to enjoy retirement, are just some of the benefits. But downsizing is not always quite as easy as it seems. Here we outline some of the costs and headaches that many people do not consider when they start the downsizing process.
Costs to fix up your home for sale. Either you or the buyer might decide to make costly improvements before the sale, such as radon mitigation, roofing, HVAC, structural, etc. These expenses can cost a lot more than you imagined when you put the home on the market.
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Published on December 10, 2022
Comments 14
New Florida Law, SB 154, Sends Tsunami Towards Florida Condo Market
Category: Active adult communities
Update June, 2023 - In another development, Governor DeSantis recently signed the much anticipated Surfside Glitch Bill, SB 154, into law. The bill relieves some of the ambiguity in SB 154. It also provided relief for some provisions of the law such as allowing a Milestone Inspection to be provided by a team of professionals with an architect or an engineer acting as a registered design professional in charge of the report (the supply of inspectors was an issue). Other clarifications had to do with reserve requirements. In one provision, reserves are not needed for replacement costs for items for which the estimated remaining useful life exceeds 25 years (but reserves are still required for deferred maintenance for those items).
November 13, 2022 -- Hurricanes Ian and Nicole were bad enough, destroying thousands of homes, changing the coastline, and scaring residents and real estate buyers alike. But a new Florida law, SB 4-D: Building Safety, is about to provide a potential killer wave to the Florida condo market.
The Building Safety Law is a reaction to the tragic Surfside building collapse in Miami in 2021. It has several key requirements for condominium associations that most are not yet aware of, especially how fundamentally those will affect their finances. This article will attempt to give a quick snapshot of what is now required, and how things will change. We recommend that if you are on a condo board you get familiar with the law now, because it has several new requirements. As it spells out clearly, failure to meet them is a breach of an officer’s and director’s fiduciary relationship to the unit owners. Sadly, the jailhouse humor going round is that it could cause mass resignations of board members across the state. Even if you are not a board member, you should make sure that your board is working on this issue.
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Published on November 12, 2022
Comments 18
As Housing Prices Fall Off Their Highs, These Markets Are Thriving
Category: Best Retirement Towns and States
August 3, 2022 -- Since the pandemic began a housing boom has churned markets across the country. Big cities have lost out, and smaller ones with better quality of life and cheaper housing prices have gained. The Wall Street Journal/Realtor.com Emerging Housing Markets Index is a list of the top metro areas for a strong local economy, appealing lifestyle amenities, and an appreciating housing market in this year's second quarter. This index comes as home prices have fallen in most parts of the country for the past few months, finally succumbing to higher mortgage rates and an overheated housing market.
Although the study was mostly oriented toward young working people looking for a better lifestyle, an easier commute, and lower real estate prices, many of the markets that came out on top are quite suitable for baby boomers and people of retirement age. That is not only because these housing markets bode well for the future, but mainly because many of them, such as Billings, Montana, offer exceptional outdoor recreational opportunities. The index's top-ranked market for the quarter was Elkhart, IN with its 206,000 people. After that came Burlington, NC; Johnson City, TN; Fort Wayne, IN; and Billings, MT. Indiana had two cities in the top 10, as did North Carolina.
Here are the WSJ's top 10 Emerging Housing Markets:
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Published on August 2, 2022
Comments 0
The Perils of Selling in a Rising Market: Pamela’s Experience
Category: Retirement Real Estate
June 28, 2022 -- Back in 2018 Pamela shared her ideas on looking for an amenity-lite active community. That article, When Amenity Rich Is Not the Answer, was clearly relevant to many of our Members and sparked 60 Member Comments (which were turned into another article: "When Amenity Lite Is the Answer"). Recently we heard back from Pamela on a related topic. She recounted her experience in selling her home in 2020, along with its aftermath and sellers remorse. We are grateful for her sharing her story; it is always fascinating to hear about actual experiences in the retirement world. We wish her and anyone else in this tough market who has faced challenges well. Note: This article makes an excellent counterpoint and addition to last week's "Time to Sell Your Home and Rent" post.
Here is her story (with minor edits):
Pamela: I am still dealing with the absolute worst mistake of my life - selling my home that I owned for 28 years and lived in since it was new. Since you're always looking for new topics to write about, I wanted to update you on my situation, hopefully generating some helpful insights and advice from your great subscribers.
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Published on June 27, 2022
Comments 23
Crazy Markets: Time to Start Thinking about Selling Your Home and Renting?
Category: Financial and taxes in retirement
June 18, 2022 -- The last two and half years have provided an amazing ride for homeowners In almost every part of the U.S. Most sellers probably had to fight off buyers willing to pay far more than the asking price, and ended up with a buyer the same day they put it on the market. For renters, it wasn't such a great period, with rents high and hard to find. In 2019 the NAR median sales price of a home in the U.S. was $274,600. Two years later, that price has risen to $368,200, a 34% increase, certainly one of the most meteoric rises in history. The Census Bureau reported a similar increase in the average price of a home, now at $570,300. Those double digit increases put a smile on many people’s faces, but is it time to think change is a coming?
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Published on June 17, 2022
Comments 25
Will Renters Ruin Your Retirement?
Category: Retirement Real Estate
May 10, 2022 -- People living in a retirement face a new and growing problem - short term renters. While the problem is more acute in resort communities, it can occur almost anywhere.
Imagine living in a peaceful community where you know your neighbors on a first name basis. Then one day you wake to see strangers dragging suitcases down the hall, not sure where they are going. Confused about which unit they are renting, they might even try to get into yours. When when you hit the hay at 10 or so, the party next door is just getting started, their alcohol-fueled voices getting louder and louder over their music. The next day at the pool you find that you can't get a lounge chair, all of them taken up by your new neighbors as they enjoy their music, smoke, and drink beer from glass bottles. The renters, who might have crammed 3 couples into a 2 bedroom home, have helped to fill the parking lot too.
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Published on May 10, 2022
Comments 9
