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"Age does not diminish the extreme disappointment of having a scoop of ice cream fall from the cone." ~Jim Fiebig
Today's Community Review
June 12, 2024
Swansgate, Greenville, South Carolina
Greenville is a shopping and dining hub in northwestern South Carolina and is the setting for Swansgate, a cozy, gated 55+ community with patio homes and condominiums. The grounds are wooded and dappled with streams, mature trees, a pond and a gazebo. Amenities include a clubhouse, a swimming pool, walking paths and more.
More Communities
Dallas is outside of Salem in pretty northwestern Oregon and is the setting for Ceres Gleann, a snug 55+ community with single family homes, a clubhouse, an adjacent golf course, neighborhood groups and more.
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Compass Pointe, Leland, North Carolina
Near the North Carolina coast, Leland is the site of Compass Pointe, a beautiful age-targeted, resort-style community with single family homes, an amenity center, 45 holes of golf, two swimming pools, a lazy river and more.
Riviera Golf Estates, Naples, Florida
Beautiful Naples is on the southwestern Florida coast and is the site of Riviera Golf Estates, an established, mellow 55+ community with single family homes, condominiums, mobile/manufactured homes, a clubhouse, an 18 hole golf course, swimming pools, plenty of activities, an activites director and more.
Windsor Lakes, The Woodlands, Texas
North of Houston in southern Texas, The Woodlands, a huge master-planned development, is the setting for Windsor Lakes, a leafy 55+ neighborhood with single family homes, attached homes, an expansive clubhouse, an activities director and more.
Mill Pine Village, Sandown, New Hampshire
Sandown is in rural southeastern New Hampshire and is the setting of Mill Pine Village, a wooded 55+ modular home development with a community center, walking trails and more.
Greenbriar, Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is on the central Gulf Coast and is the site of Greenbriar, an established, modest 55+ condominium community with a clubhouse, a heated swimming pool, planned activities and tidy, tropical landscaping.
Woodlake Village, Murrells Inlet, South Carolina
Charming Murrells Inlet is on the northern South Carolina coast and is the site of Woodlake Village, a welcoming 55+ community with single family homes and duplexes. Residents enjoy a clubhouse and a good selection of activities and events.
Westbrook Village, Peoria, Arizona
Outside of Phoenix in southern Arizona, Peoria is the site of Westbrook Village, a large, established 55+ community with Mediterranean-style casitas, condos and single family homes. Homeowners enjoy recreation centers, golf courses, movie nights, ice cream socials and much more.
Fairfield Glade, Fairfield Glade, Tennessee
Near Crossville 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.
Barefoot Bay, Sebastian, Florida
On Florida's southeastern coast, Sebastian is the site of Barefoot Bay, a large, settled manufactured home community popular with baby boomers, retirees and "snowbirds." It has a golf course, a private beach, RV storage, three swimming pools, a fishing pier and more.
Communities by State
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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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