Mortgage debt among older American homeowners rose during the years when the housing bubble was inflating – reversing the long-standing trend of declining debt as retirement approached. At the same time, older homeowners are sinking underwater on those mortgages at above-average rates. Now, growing numbers of older homeowners are deciding to default on their mortgages even [...] [...more]
Before the housing bubble burst, retirement real estate was on a roll. Older Americans could leverage high housing prices to buy second homes, move to the Sun Belt, or just tap into equity to generate cash. The real estate crash of 2008 put a stop to all that. A recent report from The Joint Center [...] [...more]
The concept of active adult living just turned 50, with the anniversary of Sun City’s opening in Arizona on New Year’s day in 1960. NPR notes the anniversary with a look today at Del Webb’s concept of retirement living is faring. Since those days, developers have updated the retirement living concept to recognize the lifestyle [...] [...more]
In phase one of the foreclosure crisis, policy-makers and news media have focused mainly on homeowners who lose their homes because they can’t afford to make mortgage payments. The next big issue is “strategic default”–homeowners who can afford their payments, but walk away from mortgages and accept foreclosure because they’re facing financial stress, and their [...] [...more]
In a recent column on paying off your mortgage to boost cash flow in retirement, I mentioned the option of selling a home and buying something in a less expensive part of the country. Reader Nick Radesca wrote to point out another good idea–sell your home and rent a place to live. This can make [...] [...more]
