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I know what you mean. Seems anything and everything is going up in price. There isn't enough retirement income to keep up with it for a number of retirees. I saw a video on YouTube where retired people have had to live in their cars. Their rent was raised way beyond their income. When they would try to find other rentals, their income wasn't high enough to qualify for an apt. The waiting list for senior Apts was 2 or more years long. No other choice live in their car. It's scary I can see how it could happen. Priced out of housing, no family to help. No senior services in their area to advise on a solution to their housing. It could happen very easily in this rather thoughtless America of soon to be 2022.
What the hell kind of a country did we become for things to get this bad. A senior citizen having to live in their car.
Renting has hardly ever been good for most seniors. Decades ago I remember many that had to move every few years because of rent increases.
Many could have bought a home for the same or less than they were paying in rent.
Renting has hardly ever been good for most seniors. Decades ago I remember many that had to move every few years because of rent increases.
Many could have bought a home for the same or less than they were paying in rent.
depends on so many factors and location ….
there are few places here one can buy today and have it lower then rent …that generally takes years to be true in most desirable areas .
we rarely rent as much house as we would buy but not only that many urban areas offer apartment house style rentals .
the economy of scale is way different then a single family home .
homes in our area start at 7 figures , but 2 bedroom 2 bath apartments can be had for 2500 a month and that includes no other expenses except electricity .
no maintenance , water, sewer , real estate taxes , repairs , heat , etc .
so it rarely is going to be an apple to apple comparison .
plus some areas protect seniors .
here in nyc if your apartment is stabilized which most are and income is under 50k and the rent more than 35% of your income and over 62 you are exempt from future rent increases as long as you qualify .
since more than half of all rentals in nyc which include millions of renters , are stabilized , that is a great benefit to renting .
on the other hand , homes like we bought back in the 1970s were 30-35k .
those mortgages are long gone but taxes are 10-15k a year .
those paid-off mortgages wont have that amount even cover utilities today. , so affordability was really not improved. much.
so there are way to many factors involved to make broad based claims .
we cant even buy an equivalent coop in an apartment house for less then the market rents here , forget about a single family home
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-05-2021 at 05:16 AM..
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mathjak107
depends on so many factors and location ….
there are few places here one can buy today and have it lower then rent …that generally takes years to be true in most desirable areas .
we rarely rent as much house as we would buy ....
so there are way to many factors involved to make broad based claims .
we cant even buy an equivalent coop in an apartment house for less then the market rents here , forget about a single family home
Agree... As a lifelong RE investor, during my senior years I expect to rent. No more taxes, hazard insurance, maintenance, HOA, neighbor wars.... and free to explore other regions and countries.
I have never raised rent for my senior tenants, most have stayed for over 7 years. I'm sure they would accept me raising rents based on my tax increases, but with 2021 insurance rates doubling due to increased replacement costs and lack of contractors.... I'm offering all my tenants the opportunity to buy. Few retiree tenants want the hassle of ownership, so they can stay put and I will sell when they leave.
Coop ownership is an option, many housing coops are equity capped + there are some senior loan perks.
I would also consider "shared equity" ownership, tho there are complexities there too.
Easier, smarter, and much cheaper to rent in many situations.
Not all... But often enough to recognize and evaluate.
For increased costs to seniors (mostly medical and other insurance + taxes)... Overseas / international relocation will be the most viable option to survive on fixed income. Those who are capable and prudent investors may be able to keep up with the cost increases. Those strapped with fixed annuities and fixed pensions may need PT employment, downsizing, economizing, or moving in with family or friends.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TMSRetired View Post
So they are saying that part B is going up because of this new Alzheimer drug.
Why wouldn't that fall under part D for drugs and have that go up rather than part B ?
I'm guessing that it is because it is given under supervised infusion; similar to my wife's immunotherapy infusions.
Sorry to put two quotes into this reply (If I knew how better, I'd identify the second poster)
Anyway, I had the same question about why Part B is going up if the majority of the cost is a drug. We are all assuming the drug will be given via infusion, but maybe our gripe should be with the makers of this drug. Could they produce it in a way (pill or something else) that does not require supervision, or are they doing this because it then becomes a more esoterical and complicated thing and requires special handling, etc.etc. This all translates (to me) as more profits for the company.
There's nothing urgent about Alzheimer's treatments, as there is with cancer inverventions. Why would it have to be given as an infusion, or however they're handling it? I think we need more info on this drug and why specifically it has to be included in a government budget when it's not even proven that it's beneficial yet.
To the person who left an anonymous rep about how lucky I am to have money, let me tell you, we worked hard, got up in the middle of the night to do emergency call outs & also clipped coupons, & brown bagged lunch for many years. Did not buy the fancy coffee drinks, we saved hard, maxed our IRA every year & now are enjoying it.
Plus I do think most people can trim their budgets by $20. They may not want to give up something, but it is doable.
there are few places here one can buy today and have it lower then rent …that generally takes years to be true in most desirable areas .
we rarely rent as much house as we would buy but not only that many urban areas offer apartment house style rentals .
the economy of scale is way different then a single family home .
homes in our area start at 7 figures , but 2 bedroom 2 bath apartments can be had for 2500 a month and that includes no other expenses except electricity .
no maintenance , water, sewer , real estate taxes , repairs , heat , etc .
so it rarely is going to be an apple to apple comparison .
plus some areas protect seniors .
here in nyc if your apartment is stabilized which most are and income is under 50k and the rent more than 35% of your income and over 62 you are exempt from future rent increases as long as you qualify .
since more than half of all rentals in nyc which include millions of renters , are stabilized , that is a great benefit to renting .
on the other hand , homes like we bought back in the 1970s were 30-35k .
those mortgages are long gone but taxes are 10-15k a year .
those paid-off mortgages wont have that amount even cover utilities today. , so affordability was really not improved. much.
so there are way to many factors involved to make broad based claims .
we cant even buy an equivalent coop in an apartment house for less then the market rents here , forget about a single family home
I wasn't talking about buying now even though buying is cheaper than rent in many places. If they are seniors what about 1975? 1980? And I'm certainly not talking about NYC.
In most parts of the country, and I don't mean San Francisco or Boston or Hawaii, there have been many time periods where buying was cheaper than rent and eventually the mortgage part is over and it leaves you with repairs and taxes. Many areas have homestead property tax rates for 65+. Cheaper utilities for many if the income isn't there. In many areas you can still buy a nice small home for 150k with taxes less than 2k a year. And those aren't bad areas. They aren't in major cities but they have everything most people would need. You won't see many, if any old people living in cars in those areas.
there is also missed investment opportunities elsewhere with money no longer tied up in that house .
i sold my house in 2003 …instead of buying another house we rented and invested in a real estate business …today we rent in retirement , sold the real estate business and not only can the proceeds cover our rent and all rent increases but it covers all our living expenses while still growing itself .….
.by renting we actually earned enough to subtract out 20 years of rent and taxes on what we made and still buy multiple homes today .
so there is no such thing as general statements as to whats better ..it is all about individual circumstances.
no way could we have options early on .it was either rent in a better area or buy in a notch down area .
by retirement lots of options open up as people have decades of equity to either invest and rent or buy and have that much less generating cash flow.
if i owned the house my son does in westchester my rent is less then just his taxes .
just about anywhere in the tristate area someone moving from a big ole home to a rental in a building would likely pay way less a month in housing costs.
so for many buying in a low cost area works , but for others not buying in a high cost area and investing that money no longer in the house can be a far better option if they chose to go that route.
many seniors are just not going to invest so buying would be a better .
there are two aspects to looking at which works out better .
there is housing costs and that is rarely any apples to apples comparison since many urban areas are apartment houses which can be much cheaper than trying to maintain and buy a house .
then there is the investing aspect to it as far as if you rent , are you going to invest ? and what kind of resources do you have to invest
Last edited by mathjak107; 12-06-2021 at 02:44 AM..
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