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"Moonlight is sculpture: sunlight is painting." ~Nathaniel Hawthorne
Today's Community Reviews
May 15, 2023
Villages of Seloy, St. Augustine, Florida
Historic St. Augustine is on the northeastern Florida coast and is the setting for Villages of Seloy, a 55+ condominium community with tropical landscaping, a stately clubhouse, an oval shaped swimming pool and more.
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Bel-Aire, Powder Springs, Georgia
Powder Springs is in northwestern Georgia, about 30 miles from downtown Atlanta, and is the site of Bel-Aire, a stylish 55+ community with single family homes, quiet lanes, a clubhouse, a neighborhood garden, a dog park and more.
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The Colony, Murrieta, California
Outside of San Diego in sunny Southern California, Murrieta is the site of The Colony, a large, settled 55+ community with Mediterranean-style homes, an 18 hole golf course, a nice clubhouse, walking trails, lakes, a good menu of events, groups and activities and more.
Whisper Walk, Boca Raton, Florida
Boca Raton is on the southeastern Florida coast and is the site of Whisper Walk, a large, low key 55+ community with patio homes, villas, clubhouses, swimming pools, planned activities and more.
Heritage Oaks, Georgetown, Texas
Georgetown is outside of Austin in central Texas and is the site of Heritage Oaks, a settled 55+ enclave with brick single family homes, a clubhouse, walking and biking paths, an activities director and more.
Hollybrook, Pembroke Pines, Florida
In southeastern Florida, Pembroke Pines is the site of Hollybrook, a large, established 55+ condominium community with two 18 hole golf courses, 14 tennis courts, seven recreation centers, a restaurant and more.
Sunshine Country Club Estates, Harlingen, Texas
Deep in the Rio Grande Valley in South Texas, Harlingen is the setting for Sunshine Country Club Estates, a casual 55+ community with mobile/manufactured homes, site-built homes, a clubhouse, a 9-hole golf course, RV parking, planned activities and more.
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.
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.
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.
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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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