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"The hardest thing about reliving the past is reassembling the original cast." ~Robert Brault
Today's Community Review
June 3, 2024
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.
More Communities
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.
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Crowfields, Asheville, North Carolina
In rolling western North Carolina, funky, trendy Asheville is the site of Crowfields, an intimate, established 55+ condominium and town home community with spacious floor plans and a park-like setting.
Windsor Gardens, Denver, Colorado
Large, leafy and established, 55+ Windsor Gardens is in suburban Denver in north central Colorado and has condos and town homes. Amenities include a large clubhouse, a golf course, swimming pools, a restaurant, an activities director and more.
Leisure World, Silver Spring, Maryland
Silver Spring is in western Maryland and is the setting for 55+ Leisure World, one of nation's first retirement communities. It has a wide range of home styles and prices, not to mention a golf course, swimming pools, restaurants, a plethora of activities and classes and more.
Spruce Creek South, Summerfield, Florida
Near Orlando in north central Florida, Summerfield is the location of Spruce Creek South, a gated, mellow 55+ single family home community. Amenities include a golf course, tennis courts, RV storage, a clubhouse and more.
Montgomery is near Lake Conroe in southeastern Texas and is the location of Bentwater, a lovely community with private islands, a marina, a day spa and a wide range of home prices.
Sea Pines, Hobe Sound, Florida
Hobe Sound is a nice town on the southeastern Florida coast and is the site of Sea Pines, a small, low key 55+ town home community with a clubhouse, a swimming pool and neighborhood get-togethers.
Rossmoor Village, Monroe Township, New Jersey
In central New Jersey, Monroe Township is the setting for Rossmoor Village, a large 55+ community with a New England village look about it. It has condos, co-ops and a few single homes in 18 neighborhoods. Amenities include a golf course, a 30,000 square foot clubhouse, more than 50 activity groups and more.
Laurel Island Plantation, Kingsland, Georgia
Kingsland is about 10 miles inland from the Cumberland Island National Seashore in southeastern Georgia and is the site of Laurel Island Plantation, a gated community with attached homes, single family homes, an 18 hole golf course, amenity centers, retail centers, preserve views, fairway views and more.
Sun City Apple Valley, Apple Valley, California
Apple Valley is in south central California and is the setting for Sun City Apple Valley, a large 55+ community with single family homes, two recreation centers, a golf course, swimming pools, an art studio, a crafts studio, an activities director and more.
Pretty Naples is on the southwestern Florida coast and is the location of Vineyards, a large, gated community popular with baby boomers. It has 40 neighborhoods, single family homes, attached homes, a 70,000 square foot clubhouse, golf courses, swimming pools, eateries, planned 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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