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"History is gossip well told." ~Elbert Hubbard
Today's Community Reviews
May 6, 2023
The Academy Village/Altura, Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is in southern Arizona and is the setting for The Academy Village/Altura, a 55+ community with Southwestern style single family homes and town homes amidst an abundance of open space. Amenities include The Arizona Senior Academy, a life long learning organization with a bounty of trips, classes, symposiums and lectures.
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Fiddler's Creek, Naples, Florida
On Florida's southwestern coast, beautiful Naples is the location of Fiddler's Creek, a resort style community with a golf course, a swimming complex, eateries, lakes, parks and a wide range of home styles. Many of its residents are baby boomers and retirees.
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Carolina Preserve, Cary, North Carolina
Cary is in central North Carolina and is the site of Carolina Preserve at Amberly, a welcoming 55+ community has single family homes and town homes, a clubhouse, a resort-style swimming pool, tennis courts, a putting green, a lake and an abundance of clubs and more.
Mizner Falls, Boynton Beach, Florida
Boynton Beach is on the southeastern Florida coast and is the setting for Mizner Falls, a handsome 55+ community with Tuscan-style single family homes, canals, ponds, a clubhouse, a swimming pool, tennis courts, an activities director and more.
Villages at River Pointe, Canton, Georgia
Canton is in the foothills of Northern Georgia, about an hour outside of Atlanta, and is the setting for Villages at River Pointe, a cozy 55+ community with attached homes and nearby shopping, dining and more.
Savannah Lakes Village, West McCormick, South Carolina
West McCormick is in western South Carolina and the site of Savannah Lakes Village, a wooded lakeside community popular with retirees. Single family homes and town homes are for sale, and amenities include golf courses, restaurants, tennis courts, a wellness center, a pool complex and more.
Country Place, Pearland, Texas
Outside of Houston, near the Texas Gulf Coast, Pearland is the location of Country Place, a soothing, settled 55+ community with an 18 hole golf course, a carriage house clubhouse, single family homes and town homes.
Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club, Summerfield, Florida
Summerfield is in north central Florida and is the setting for Spruce Creek Golf and Country Club, a large, gated 55+ community with single family homes, patio homes, a meandering golf course, a golf club, two clubhouses, tennis courts, swimming pools and more.
Heritage Todd Creek, Thornton, Colorado
Thornton is north of Denver in pretty north central Colorado and is the site of Heritage Todd Creek, a 55+ community with beautiful duplexes and single family homes. Amenities include a golf course, a saltwater pool, tennis courts, planned outings and invigorating Rocky Mountain views.
Fairfield Glade, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee
In rolling east central Tennessee, Fairfield Glade is a resort and retirement community with five golf courses, 11 lakes, two marinas, tennis courts, beaches, riding stables and a wide range of home styles and prices.
On the Florida Gulf Coast, balmy Naples is the site of Heritage Bay, a handsome gated golf and tennis community popular with empty nesters and baby boomers. Amenities include 27 holes of golf, seven tennis courts, a large clubhouse, six swimming pools, an abundance of social activities and more. Homes come in many styles and prices.
Creek View, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
In pastoral south central Pennsylvania, Carlisle is the site location of Creek View, a quiet, family-owned, 55+ manufactured home community with properties that look site-built. Amenities include a cozy clubhouse, a pond, walking trails, RV parking and more.
Four Seasons at Los Banos, Los Banos, California
Los Banos is in central California and the setting for Four Seasons at Los Banos, a small, well-tended 55+ community with single family homes, a nice clubhouse, a swimming pool, tennis courts 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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