Who will do for you, when you no longer can (states, married)
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Upstate NY (Central and Western NY) has quite low housing costs and relatively high taxes.
You can get a 4bed/2 bath two story home (around 2,000 sq. ft.) for 190-210k. Taxes around 7-8k depending on whether you have a pool, etc. Many were built in the 70s.
New build smaller homes, with more luxurious fixtures, can be around 1,700 sq. ft. and have taxes around $8k or more.
Three bedrooms and 1 1/2 baths can be in the mid-100k range. Taxes a few thousand less, at least until age 65 when there is a break.
Of course, larger homes have higher taxes.
These would be in suburban neighborhoods with good size yards. What you save in mortgage costs, you pay in taxes. Many suburban schools are excellent so some families consider it worth it. However, there has been population loss due to lack of jobs.
I lived there and can only speak from my experience with buying and selling my homes in the area.
This. Many of the upstate NY towns, like small towns everywhere, have taken a pretty serious employment hit over the last few decades. There are few jobs there for newcomers to move in for. Combine the lack of employment options (low demand) with the high taxes running off people on fixed or lower incomes, and it's no wonder it takes properties forever to move.
OP, I understand the anxiety and stress you are feeling. I'm divorced with no kids. I started working with a financial adviser for my retirement needs, but am at a loss for what to do about signatures for Financial and Healthcare POAs, and what to do if I get sick or get in an accident. I have older siblings, but they wouldn't be able to take care of me. Most of my best friends are out of state. My local friends are too busy with their families. I asked my pet sitter to take me to the ER once.
I hope you can reconcile with your kids. That would give you some peace of mind.
I gave my financial poa to an attorney if I cant do it. He is honest so I trust him.
FYI, a short sale will have the same negative effect on when you can get another mortgage, as a foreclosure would.
It's been a couple months since the OP posted here. In my opinion they need to do whatever it takes to get rid of the high tax burden, even if they have to sell for less than they paid, as long as they can get some equity. They can always rent for a couple years until Hubbie retires, and then move to another part of the country with realistic RE taxes.
Even if they have enough equity to get a reverse mortgage, they will have to Maintain the house, keep up with the taxes and maintain insurance on the house. If they sell and have enough equity left, when they move to a new area with low housing costs and low taxes, they can purchase a house with a reverse mortgage(roughly worth 1.8 times the amount they have to put down). If you have 100K, you can afford a house around 180K. It may take a few years to get to that point but they need to start soon, because the time may soon come when DH will have to retire because of health reasons. It's hard to ensure lasting until 75, even in these times.
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I guess we will be one of these couples that ppl find decomposing months after we are dead. I just hope we both die fast, and not fall, etc and lie on the floor for days until we die. Or my worst fear is that we will die, and no one will discover us and our dogs will slowly starve to death.
I'm just so depressed.
I am single, as are millions of others. There are ways to prevent this sort of thing. My main concern would be for my pets. Who cares if I die and no one finds me for a while? I'm dead, after all.
But there are those emergency buttons you wear on a cord around your neck, to press if you should fall.
When you are old enough, you can get a small cell phone easily carried, to call 911 if you should fall.
You can make arrangements with someone to call you every few days just to make sure you are alive & well. A neighbor, a long distance relative. Then you give instructions to them ahead of time what to do if you don't answer or return the call within so many hours (they should call police for a "well check" or whatever).
You should give instructions to the person who calls as to the phone numbers to call to retrieve your pets...the local animal rescue organizations, your vet, the local shelter. Anything is better than leaving your pets to starve and die alone in the house.
When you get really old or infirm and have serious concerns about pets being left alone, that might be a time to consider not having pets any more, since you can't assure they'll be taken care of. I have given this some thought, as a pet lover. There comes a time when I will have to put their needs ahead of my wish for the companionship, unless I can make arrangements for a pet-loving friend or relative to take my pets.
I'm a little over 60 but have given instructions to my older brother what to do if something should happen to me. He assures me he will see to the care of my dogs. If he doesn't keep them, he will find a good loving home for them. Or...if it's necessary, I told him I'd rather see to it that they are mercifully euthanized than go to a shelter where they'll be traumatized and ultimately put down, anyway. The dogs I have now are rescue dogs and would be traumatized if they were abandoned at a shelter. They are older, so would not likely be adopted, so I think that putting them to sleep with a friend there with them would be better.
I will make other arrangements for future pets I may have. I will NOT be getting a young pet, when I am old. That makes it likely that they would outlive me, which is not what I want. Then when I get super old, or sickly, I will not have any more pets. It would be hard for me to properly care for them, anyway.
One can't make plans for every eventuality. The old saying is that life is what happens, when you're making other plans. My main concern is for the vulnerable pets who are reliant on me for their care. If I can't provide that, I can't have pets. It's that simple.
.....I guess we will be one of these couples that ppl find decomposing months after we are dead. I just hope we both die fast, and not fall, etc and lie on the floor for days until we die. Or my worst fear is that we will die, and no one will discover us and our dogs will slowly starve to death.
I'm just so depressed.
I just reread your original post and was wondering, do you plan to die together? I mean, usually one person in a couple goes first. The other takes care of what needs taking care of.
Of course then there's the one who is left. That's when you try to cultivate new friends if you don't have any or maybe reacquaint yourself with family members. Even if you aren't one to socialize much, just knowing a few other people who would notice if you were not around could save you the the worry of your dogs starving to death.
I just moved to a city where I knew no one. At first I was very isolated. Then I moved into senior housing and while I have not met anyone I would call a BFF, I do know people who would miss my absence at an activity in which I participate or just hanging around the common areas to chat. Wherever you live, if you don't want to die unnoticed, you have to make an effort to connect with people, like it or not.
In the seven years I have been on City-Data, that is one of the most amazing, incredible posts I have read, provided you didn't make a typo. Are you saying $384,000? While I have no idea what a "run-in" is, I would think your property would easily fetch several million dollars...
That is a reasonable price for country property of the kind she described. Remember, she's "country" Karen. You can't rent it out for more than a tiny amount, you can't grow much food on it, and there's no oil under it.
I just visited my old home town, where a livable house can be had for $25,000, and a nice one for $100,000. The whole country doesn't live like we do in Los Angeles or Chicago.
I have virtually no income and will have no where to go. (We pay $8K in property taxes alone, plus $1100/ month mortgage, and so my $1700/ month won't get too far)
I just retired, my rent is higher than your mort payment, my SS is $1150 month.
have a bit saved, not a huge amount.
In two days I am buying a nice 3 acres and 2 car garage house in northern Maine.
$ 39K , mortgage+tax/ins only $275 mo.
Taxes are $800yr in Maine. Cheap living, people I met are very nice up north, self sufficient and sociable.
I'd be delighted to have your 1700 month. But am grateful for what I get.
Do you get the point?
"I am just so depressed"
Then DO something about it. The most important thing is not money related, its the broken family.
When money can fix anyone's problem, they don't have a real problem.
Pick up the phone.
We retired in the Philippines. When we can no longer fend for ourselves, hired live-in nurses and or caregivers are affordable here.
I got married in Cebu, we bought a small plot for a house (Bohol?) but its a bit too humid for me.
I'm from the UK, not used to ANY humidity at all. A house in the highlands would be much cooler.
Most Americans are sadly uninformed about the rest of the world and the opportunities to retire in luxury for far less than they pay for crappy MacMansions in the states. Yes , with houseboy and maid for next to nothing.
I also visited the Ukraine, you can buy an apt and car for $30K ,
social security checks go a LONG way there.
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