The Reality Retirees Face
According to Realty Biz News, “Most imagine retirement as a time of boundless leisure time, month-long vacations, and worry-free days. But for many retirees in the time of COVID, this is not the reality retirees face. According to Clever’s new study, many have not been saving enough, putting them in dire straits during the pandemic. Instead of playing tourist, many of these retirees are taking on part-time jobs to cover living expenses.”
The Reality Retirees Face
Already, we are seeing retirees struggling to pay for necessities such as their rent or mortgage. Those over 50 years of age are the fastest-growing segment of the homeless population. For at least half of these people, this is the first time in their life they have been homeless. This may mean their homelessness has resulted from little to no savings and bad luck: the result of a lost job, a serious illness, or the death of a spouse.
Half of retirees said they had to cut back on spending and expenses to retire. About a fourth of respondents said they fear outliving their retirement funds, and more than 40% worry about social security ceasing to exist.
Missing a Mortgage Payment?
The good news is that if you’re in danger of missing a mortgage payment, you don’t have to worry about foreclosure just yet. Legally, it takes at least 120 days before the foreclosure process begins, and you can often stop it from happening at all if you take action now and speak to your mortgage lender.
You may be worried about approaching your lender, given how hard you worked to get a mortgage in the first place, but acting now is the best thing to do if you want to avoid foreclosure. If you bury your head in the sand and ignore the problem, then you could find yourself on the path to foreclosure.
Are There Alternatives?
There are many alternatives. Take in a boarder and rent out the spare room or the lower level. Sell the house and move to a community with a lower cost of living. Southern Living regularly features the top cities for retirement in the US.
Draw up a budget. Know how much income you have each month and how you are spending that money. For now, skip thinking of going back to work at McDonald’s. If you sold your house and rented, could you get by without the mortgage, insurance, upkeep, and property taxes? I have a friend who had $200,000 equity in his house. H already had a mortgage and a second, and he couldn’t keep up with the maintenance, and property taxes were always a big problem each year.
He had been receiving International Living (IL) and reading about people becoming ex-pats and living well on their social security in a foreign country. The two countries that meet all the IL standards are Costa Rica and Mexico.
If you decide this is the time to sell, ask yourself, do I want a fast sale? Do I want to avoid the open houses, people walking through my house, and the negotiations over price? If what you want is a cash sale, fast closing, and no worries about fixing any problems with your home, then you need to call Terra Firma Property Solutions, LLC.
Ask for FREE information about How to Sell Your House Fast.
Terra Firma Property Solutions, LLC, is a professional, full-service real estate solutions firm.
We buy and sell properties throughout the greater Kansas City area. We specialize in buying distressed homes, then renovating and reselling them to home buyers and landlords. Terra Firma Property Solutions: excited to be part of the economic rejuvenation of Kansas City and its surrounding areas.
Call us today at (816) 866.0566
