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"Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right." ~Oprah Winfrey
Today's Community Review
January 2, 2024
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.
More Communities
Tree Tops, Lancaster, South Carolina
Just outside of Charlotte, North Carolina, Lancaster is the site of Tree Tops, a wooded 55+ community with a charming village center, a rookery, nature paths, a putting green, an amphitheater, single family homes 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.
Carriage Park, Hendersonville, North Carolina
Hendersonville is a touristy small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and is the site of Carriage Park, a lush, secluded mountaintop community with town homes, single family homes, a lake and incredible views.
Quail Creek, Green Valley, Arizona
Green Valley is south of Tucson in southern Arizona and is the location of Quail Creek, a large, gated 55+ community with Mediterranean-style single family homes, town homes, 27 holes of golf, a clubhouse, an athletic center, tennis courts, pickleball courts, RV parking, fishing lakes, pretty views and more.
Little Manatee Springs, Wimauma, Florida
Wimauma is about 20 miles inland from Florida's Gulf Coast and is the setting for Little Manatee Springs, a pretty 55+ manufactured home community nearly surrounded by Little Manatee River State Park. It has gated access, palm trees, spring-fed lakes, a nine hole golf course, covered RV parking, nature trails and more.
Elms of Charleston, North Charleston, South Carolina
Outside of charming Charleston on the mid-South Carolina coast, the Elms of Charleston is a gated 55+ community with single family homes and town homes in a wooded setting. Amenities include a clubhouse, a swimming pool, tennis courts, walking paths, an activities director and more.
Americana Cove, St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is on Florida's Gulf Coast and is the location of Americana Cove, a gated 55+ waterfront co-op community with colorful mobile/manufactured homes, canals, boat docks, a heated swimming pool, a pet park, organized events 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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