10 tax-friendly places for early retirement
Retiring at a relatively younger age may mean needing to stretch your nest egg further. One way to do that is to find the right retirement destination. Where you live makes a big impact on your budget, as it helps determine your living costs, tax bills and income opportunities. Even if you retire, you may actually want to keep working a bit — whether to help pad your budget, pursue... READ MORE
D.C. Housing Notes – April 2021
Affordable/luxury assisted living opens in D.C. This month, Livingston Place at Southern, a 152-unit luxury assisted living community, will open in D.C.’s Ward 8, offering housing for residents 60 and older who require assistance with daily living activities and have low to moderate incomes. Gina Latture, Livingston Place’s director of sales and marketing, grew up in Ward 8 and is... READ MORE
A caring home for those with disabilities
Carol A., a mother of an adult child with autism, worries about her son’s future. “After my husband’s cancer passing, I am often in private anguish about what will happen to my sweet son if anything happens to me,” she said. Parents of adult children with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DD) must plan ahead to secure a reliable, caring home for their children, who ... READ MORE
Sell the house, toss the junk and travel
Five years ago, my wife and I — then in our 60s and recently retired — sold our home in Connecticut and embarked on a worldwide adventure as nomads. To date, we have been to 36 countries on five continents. Our dream turned into a reality that has exceeded our wildest expectations. We did it. You can do it, too. During our 45 years of marriage, we enjoyed traveling, adventure and... READ MORE
Golf community life
Many retirees dream of a home in a golf course community, where connecting a shiny driver with a perfectly dimpled ball on a lush, green fairway is just another day in paradise. But a golf club membership isn’t a given at these communities and sometimes comes with hefty fees. When you buy a house in a golf community, it pays to understand exactly what you’re getting. Some golf... READ MORE
Reverse mortgage can be a financial tool
Note: This story picks up where our January Housing Options feature, “Tap into a home’s value with refi or loan” ended, with a reference to reverse mortgages. Over the past several years, reverse mortgages have begun to overcome a somewhat tarnished reputation through product changes and additional requirements for financial assessment that have corrected some potentially... READ MORE
Make your bathrooms safer, easier to use
Dear Savvy Senior, What tips can you recommend for making a bathroom senior-friendly? My 78-year-old mother has mobility problems, and she fell getting out of the bathtub last month. I’d like to modify her bathroom with some safety features that can help keep her safe. —Concerned Daughter Dear Concerned, Great question! Because more accidents and injuries happen in the... READ MORE
Retire to a room of one’s own at the kids’
When Cary Childre, 65, of Athens, Georgia, considered moving closer to her daughter, Eva Maudlin, of Decatur, an Atlanta suburb, she realized she couldn’t afford to buy “much of anything.” So, Maudlin, 31, researched building a cottage in her own backyard. In October, they made a deposit on a Craftsman-style design by a local architect who will manage the project from permits ... READ MORE
Whether to move to a senior community
With so many senior housing options available today, deciding where to live — and whether to move at all — can be an agonizing exercise for some. For others, there is no decision to make: They want to stay put in the home they’ve known for years. But some older adults find they need support, or they long for a more active social life and prepared meals. Others are ready to stop... READ MORE
D.C. Housing Notes January 2021
Find the perfect housemate Looking for an affordable place to live? Or perhaps you have an extra room you’d like to rent? Montgomery County, Maryland, just made finding (or renting) a long-term, affordable home a little easier. The county teamed up with a nonprofit called Housing Initiative Partnership (HIP), a local housing developer and counseling agency, to launch a Home Sharing... READ MORE
Housing 2021
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