Should You Sell Your Home After Retiring?
You might be approaching retirement thinking that you should sell your home. But unless you absolutely need to move (like for health reasons), you might not need to sell. You might want to live closer to your grandkids or closer to a golf course, but it is important to figure out what makes the most sense financially first.We all have different ideas of what our perfect retirement life looks like, whether that's moving to a warm and sunny new state, or staying in the family home to host Thanksgiving every year, either will be make much sense in the long run if you can't afford it. Keep reading to figure out if you should sell your home after retiring, and click this link to read the full article.
Q: Are my property taxes through the roof?
A: Depending on where you live (*cough* New York and New Jersey), you may be paying a hefty sum in property taxes each year. If you’re willing to move to another state, you could save $10,000 to $15,000 a year on a midrange home, says Craig Jaffe, a financial planner at United Capital in Boca Raton, FL.Annual property taxes on a $300,000 single-family home in New York, for example, run roughly $15,625, as opposed to $931 for the same home in West Virginia, according to RealtyTrac data. So it's worth asking yourself whether you want to face those same fees indefinitely, or move to more tax-friendly digs. (Also worth asking: Do you want to live in West Virginia?)
Q: Is my home a money pit?
A: If you live in an older place and need to make frequent repairs, maintenance costs could be draining your retirement savings (and crouching and bending for DIY repairs might be getting wildly uncomfortable). In other words, the upkeep on your 19th-century Colonial may not be worth the hassle. Moreover, it’s no secret that newer homes are less expensive to maintain, yet you may be surprised by just how much you can save: 73% of new-home owners spend less than $25 a month on routine maintenance costs, according to a 2014 report by the National Association of Home Builders.