Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yes and since the property taxes are for the amount of 50 thousand dollars, that is capped in California at 1% so that is $500 a year+ fire fee which is a little less than $50 a month.
I tripled that property tax cost in anticipation for inflation. The property is already zoned for a 2brm/1 bath home though none exists on the property
The SS will also go up slightly due to inflation, that was figured in todays dollars.
MysticalTiger-the 125+thousand dollars is in cash. It is from an inheritance but would likely be more than this, I am being VERY conservative. Sadly we cannot split the acerage as there is a 20 acre minimum
Thank you everyone for your help!
After reading your posts, I can see where this retirement makes sense to you. I think you'll be fine.
Property tax may not be as bad as you think. Don't forget homestead exemption, and our area gives a discount when you go over 65 years of age. As a result we pay $900/year. We think normal taxes would be something like $2500, so it all makes a BIG difference.
Did you include Homeowner insurance? Though it is a small house you are going to build, it may still add on $20 or more to your monthly budget. Is the property located in flood zone? If yes, you may need to buy flood insurance from FEMA.
If you don't buy comprehensive and collision coverage for your car, the insurance premium should be less than $50/month.
Do you have life insurance policy? If one passes away, the other half is most likely not entitled to full SS benefits. Can the other half live on reduced SS income to make ends meet?
....The property is already zoned for a 2brm/1 bath home...
Have you checked with zoning to be sure you'll also be allowed to rent out RVs on the property? If it's zoned for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home I'd be surprised if it also allows two more dwellings to be placed on it.
Personally I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it, you're basically talking about living at the poverty level, and even with very simple tastes for housing/fun/recreation that just doesn't leave much margin in life. RVs are also depreciating assets, so tying up any amount of your small net worth in those is worrying.
It's probably doable because of that 125k cushion you have set aside, but unexpected expenses will almost certainly mean you'll be eating into it.
Are you suggesting living entirely off Social Security?
Is that seriously possible?
Property taxes $150 a month? WTF? Do you live in Mexico?
Meh. Totally depends where you are and what you own. My 1250 square foot 2 bed 2 bath 2 car garage townhouse only is about $90/month in property taxes. $150/month easily covers both taxes, insurance and HOA dues, for me. So $150 for property taxes on a small house is easily possible. The OP has stated that is triple their current rate.
And on the small chance that SS is still around in it's present form by the time I get around to retiring in 40 years, I would be able to retire on an equivalent amount of income, without supplemental. I'm not expecting that to be the case, and I'm figuring whatever hubby and I DO get will be a nice bonus, but I could live comfortably on it if I was retirement age today and would get what I will eventually get.
So it isn't impossible, but I wouldn't want to do it without reserves to fall back on. The OP has stated that they have reserves that they would prefer not to use, but they are there in case of emergency.
My biggest concern for the OP would be less about if the rental is vacant for a month, and more about a bad tenant that has to be evicted and does a bunch of damage. We've had rentals where tenants did as much as $15k in damages, and that is your entire year's income, almost.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
