Anonymous
04/10/2024 15:34
Subject: Mortgage in retirement?
Op, you can get a mortgage now since you are working. It becomes much, much harder if you are not employed, even if you have plenty of assets. So if you want the option of having a mortgage, do it now, and keep your mouth shut during the finance process re: retiring soon.
Anonymous
04/10/2024 15:32
Subject: Mortgage in retirement?
I doubt there is no market of buyers
Anonymous
04/10/2024 15:17
Subject: Re:Mortgage in retirement?
Anonymous wrote:As the heir of someone with a mortgage, I think you also need to consider your children, if you have any. My ILs live in a "second home" community that has never recovered from the 2008 slowdown. So their house, while nice, is unsellable. They will die before the mortgage is paid, which leaves us with these possibilities: pay the mortgage ourselves or let the bank take it. Neither is a palatable choice.
That sucks but is due to having bought a much less stable piece of real estate. As long as OP buys a regular home in a reasonably popular neighborhood, that's unlikely to happen.
You can also guard against this issue by doing a shorter mortgage term. If OP is 60, a 15 year mortgage is unlikely to get left to heirs.
Anonymous
04/10/2024 15:10
Subject: Mortgage in retirement?
As the heir of someone with a mortgage, I think you also need to consider your children, if you have any. My ILs live in a "second home" community that has never recovered from the 2008 slowdown. So their house, while nice, is unsellable. They will die before the mortgage is paid, which leaves us with these possibilities: pay the mortgage ourselves or let the bank take it. Neither is a palatable choice.“
OP here. This would be a very unlikely scenario. It a high demand area with little room to build more housing. And what I would owe on the mortgage would be a small amount of my estate - maybe 1/6 at most.
Anonymous
04/10/2024 13:41
Subject: Re:Mortgage in retirement?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As the heir of someone with a mortgage, I think you also need to consider your children, if you have any. My ILs live in a "second home" community that has never recovered from the 2008 slowdown. So their house, while nice, is unsellable. They will die before the mortgage is paid, which leaves us with these possibilities: pay the mortgage ourselves or let the bank take it. Neither is a palatable choice.
You can sell the home and pay off the mortgage with the proceeds. If the house is underwater, then be happy that they used a mortgage instead of paying cash because that becomes the bank's loss to eat
Please read post: House is unsellable. There is no market of buyers.
Anonymous
04/10/2024 13:40
Subject: Re:Mortgage in retirement?
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:As the heir of someone with a mortgage, I think you also need to consider your children, if you have any. My ILs live in a "second home" community that has never recovered from the 2008 slowdown. So their house, while nice, is unsellable. They will die before the mortgage is paid, which leaves us with these possibilities: pay the mortgage ourselves or let the bank take it. Neither is a palatable choice.
You can sell the home and pay off the mortgage with the proceeds. If the house is underwater, then be happy that they used a mortgage instead of paying cash because that becomes the bank's loss to eat
Anonymous
04/10/2024 13:38
Subject: Re:Mortgage in retirement?
Anonymous wrote:As the heir of someone with a mortgage, I think you also need to consider your children, if you have any. My ILs live in a "second home" community that has never recovered from the 2008 slowdown. So their house, while nice, is unsellable. They will die before the mortgage is paid, which leaves us with these possibilities: pay the mortgage ourselves or let the bank take it. Neither is a palatable choice.
You can sell the home and pay off the mortgage with the proceeds. If the house is underwater, then be happy that they used a mortgage instead of paying cash because that becomes the bank's loss to eat
Anonymous
04/10/2024 13:36
Subject: Mortgage in retirement?
Can you work for a few more years instead of retiring early?
Anonymous
04/10/2024 13:21
Subject: Re:Mortgage in retirement?
As the heir of someone with a mortgage, I think you also need to consider your children, if you have any. My ILs live in a "second home" community that has never recovered from the 2008 slowdown. So their house, while nice, is unsellable. They will die before the mortgage is paid, which leaves us with these possibilities: pay the mortgage ourselves or let the bank take it. Neither is a palatable choice.
Anonymous
04/10/2024 13:17
Subject: Mortgage in retirement?
Let me preface this by saying that I tend to be a bit financially conservative and have always expected to have a paid off home once I hit retirement.
Now I’m about a year out from buying a retirement home and looking at prices need to make some choices. To afford something without a mortgage in the area where I want to retire, I would need to either live further out (20-30 minute drive from shopping and activities) or buy something older that will need more maintenance and repairs and that would not have garbage or storage that I would need. Alternatively, if I take out a mortgage I can buy something in better condition, that has a garage and is close to amenities. To pay for the mortgage, at least during the first 8 years or so until I take social security (I plan to retire a little early), I would need to bring in income, whether by consulting in my industry or renting rooms or some other side hustle. There is also the possibility that I would get an inheritance that would allow me to pay it off, but I don’t want to count on that.
So the choice is working than intended, at least on a part time basis, and perhaps worrying about income coming in, but with easier living in terms of less home maintenance, less driving and greater access to community. Versus not worrying about paying for a mortgage but having a more difficult lifestyle in terms of more effort and driving to socialize, shop, etc. And more home maintenance work.
Has anyone made this choice one way or the other and would you make it again?
Now I’m about a year out from buying a retirement home and looking at prices need to make some choices. To afford something without a mortgage in the area where I want to retire, I would need to either live further out (20-30 minute drive from shopping and activities) or buy something older that will need more maintenance and repairs and that would not have garbage or storage that I would need. Alternatively, if I take out a mortgage I can buy something in better condition, that has a garage and is close to amenities. To pay for the mortgage, at least during the first 8 years or so until I take social security (I plan to retire a little early), I would need to bring in income, whether by consulting in my industry or renting rooms or some other side hustle. There is also the possibility that I would get an inheritance that would allow me to pay it off, but I don’t want to count on that.
So the choice is working than intended, at least on a part time basis, and perhaps worrying about income coming in, but with easier living in terms of less home maintenance, less driving and greater access to community. Versus not worrying about paying for a mortgage but having a more difficult lifestyle in terms of more effort and driving to socialize, shop, etc. And more home maintenance work.
Has anyone made this choice one way or the other and would you make it again?