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We bought one house in 1986 for 74000. Over the years we refinanced for home improvements like roof.etc. We were planning a stable retirement when my husband died unexpectedly at 62. Luckily we had insurance as well as small pension and 401k.So i made sure my house was paid off. My daughter and family moved in to help with husbands illness and stayed. Four years later still working for us. They have upper level I have bottom and we split all expenses allowing me to easily live on widows social security and small pension. The money i receive from investment and 401k i travel with. Good deal for all. House worth 315000 now and in great condition. Each puts $500 a month in account for taxes insurance appliances repairs and any rennovations. We keep 5000 in kitty as baseline against emergencies.
She will inherit it at cost basis of 74000 when i die. By combining households we both can live in a high cost of living area and enjoy all the advantages. Grandkids get their extra activities like swim team soccer ballet etc. I get to keep my home and travel with friends. Daughter and SIL get extra help when needed.
We bought one house in 1986 for 74000. Over the years we refinanced for home improvements like roof.etc. We were planning a stable retirement when my husband died unexpectedly at 62. Luckily we had insurance as well as small pension and 401k.So i made sure my house was paid off. My daughter and family moved in to help with husbands illness and stayed. Four years later still working for us. They have upper level I have bottom and we split all expenses allowing me to easily live on widows social security and small pension. The money i receive from investment and 401k i travel with. Good deal for all. House worth 315000 now and in great condition. Each puts $500 a month in account for taxes insurance appliances repairs and any rennovations. We keep 5000 in kitty as baseline against emergencies.
She will inherit it at cost basis of 74000 when i die. By combining households we both can live in a high cost of living area and enjoy all the advantages. Grandkids get their extra activities like swim team soccer ballet etc. I get to keep my home and travel with friends. Daughter and SIL get extra help when needed.
Sounds wonderful for all of you. And you didn't even mention that I bet you have a great relationship with your grandkids because you get to be a part of their daily lives. I don't live with my parents, but live nearby and it's been wonderful. My dad died unexpectedly a couple of years ago, but before that, his biggest pleasure in life was spending time with my son.
With so many seniors with little or no savings, I see another crisis for politicians to bank on.
What foolishness to draw the equity out of a home. We always looked at our home as a safe haven and have turned down too many "financial" advisors wanting to invest our shelter. We paid off our home when we were 50 and have no regrets doing so. We also watched many seniors living the life in a luxury 55 development...all leveraged dangerously.
Don't have an ounce of pity for them.
Can you imagine paying $54,000 for a home in Ca that is worth a couple hundred thousand by now...taking out a second to take a trip or get new furniture or whatever? What a waste of money.
With so many seniors with little or no savings, I see another crisis for politicians to bank on.
What foolishness to draw the equity out of a home. We always looked at our home as a safe haven and have turned down too many "financial" advisors wanting to invest our shelter. We paid off our home when we were 50 and have no regrets doing so. We also watched many seniors living the life in a luxury 55 development...all leveraged dangerously.
Don't have an ounce of pity for them.
Can you imagine paying $54,000 for a home in Ca that is worth a couple hundred thousand by now...taking out a second to take a trip or get new furniture or whatever? What a waste of money.
There's many people that have an emotional tie to their homes and don't want to give them up.
My SIL is one of them. She knows they will barely be able to keep the finances up after retirement but she said she'll cut back on other things because her house has too many memories for her to give up.
Well people are just really BAD with money and addicted to living outside of their means. It's horrendous. A senior neighbor of mine who is still young enough to work but doesn't bother...collected SS at 62... was complaining about no healthcare but has a HUGE NEW SUV with payments. After Obamacare I asked her was she relieved and did she sign up? NOPE. She's waiting for medicare. MILLIONS of people like this.
The reason housing is sky high is from crushing government regulations and things like "growth restrictions" or "smart growth" plans. Especially in certain states. Or rather I should say certain states did less of it than others and have better housing opportunities for starters or step up buyers.
It is COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS that in my state FL in my County that all the building permits are for average $350K HOA communities because it's the only way you can get anything built due to economies of scale. So the corrupt politicians put a clause in the agreement to put some stupid fake "estuary" and give them the go ahead.
Just like we passed a ridiculous CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REQUIRING the state to confiscate properties and mandatory spending for "conservation" which is a total scam and atrocity. The state already owns HALF the land as it is, and mismanages it. In what universe in the United States of America does the state get to own more property than the citizens AND drive up the price of everything btw, because of supply and demand. THEN after they take your tax dollars to confiscate that property, YOU GET TO PAY MORE for some bureaucrats to "manage and maintain" it.
When the citizens WISE UP and vote politicians in who understand FREEDOM and the founding principles of LIMITED GOVERNMENT, there's a slight chance that they can put pressure on these big government PROGRESSIVES of both political parties.
I say slight chance because the horse has left the barn. Once you give people what they perceive to be "free stuff" you'll never get the mind set corrected. And peoples' attention span for "news and information" is limited to glancing headlines or "hearing something about that" from some unnamed source or whatever.
And of course, the only way to have a stable society with family formations and commitment to a community is through HOME OWNERSHIP but with the vicious cycle of high $ properties and stagnant income you're not seeing that. HENCE, the huge drop in family formations which you can directly correlate to big government growth.
Then you have goofballs who INSIST in something "new" or roman tub or granite counters yada yada and should be looking at something half the price.
We had a real estate crash because the people NEVER EVER could have afforded those HIGH PRICE HOUSES anyway especially with the rate of decreased earning power.
The point should be to make HOUSING AFFORDABLE not make MONEY AVAILABLE and grow central banks and government beyond any logic or oversight abilities!
This exact situation lead to Proposition 13 in California in 1978. Now assessments can rise at most 2% per year as long as you own your home. (Well, mostly. Remodeling with permits can trigger a re-assessment).
Don't forget voter approved assessments which can really add up...
My tax rate is 50% higher than my brother living 10 minutes away... why?
I live in a California city with 24 tacked on special voter approved assessments and he lives in the county with 4 voter approved assessments.
Prop 13 is but one tool that provides some predictability to property taxes... and I am forever grateful to the voters for making it California law.
Had a horrible experience in Olympia Washington... my assessment increased 80% in one year and my rate was based on what I paid 2 years before...
The reason for increase is a California speculator paid an outrageous price for land in the area and every property was then reassessed... 50 to 80%... by the way the speculator lost the property in the crash... we all knew the price he paid was crazy... he is long gone, but his legacy lives on!
Thankfully... Prop 13 prevents this from happening in California... each transfer stands on it's own.
By the way... the Washington home got hit with a 20% increase this year... don't know how folks outside California make ends meet.
don't know how folks outside California make ends meet.
Many people sell the house and move out of those states to other states with cheaper/much cheaper COL, often nicer/warmer weather, and with a much more favorable property tax environment.
Granted my own experience is limited to California and Washington State...
I also have close friends in Texas and New Jersey... they both pay plenty in property tax...
Picture being in your senior years... have the house paid for, know and love the community where you raised a family and they get hit with 10, 20 or in my case in Olympia an 80% increase in assessed value..
Nothing has change since 2008 on that .In fact it might point out that housing cost have risen more by lease/ rent market effecting those cost more than even housing prices . No equity was a big reason many loss their house in the crisis also. I kind of take these articles with a grain of salt as have to write something that makes authors home payment. Just as we now see saving rise when so many articles predicted consumer would spend the savings from lower gasoline cost. Do not belief half you see and nothing your read as is pretty accurate.
That is so right. Doom and gloom sells and appeals to many.
She will inherit it at cost basis of 74000 when i die. By combining households we both can live in a high cost of living area and enjoy all the advantages. Grandkids get their extra activities like swim team soccer ballet etc. I get to keep my home and travel with friends. Daughter and SIL get extra help when needed.
I don't have my tax books handy, but are you sure of that? Generally as of the present date, the heir's basis would generally be "stepped up" to its market value at your death.
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