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Tampa Estate Planning Attorney > Blog > Estate Planning > Would You Take On Debt To Retire To Florida?

Would You Take On Debt To Retire To Florida?

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Retirement is supposed to be about getting out of the rat race.  After you have spent decades basing all of your decisions on money, you are looking forward to thinking about something else for once.  That means no more keeping up with the Joneses, no more risky investments and backup plans for survival if they don’t pan out, and no more spending your whole paycheck on minimum payments on debts.  There are not very many debt-free people in the United States, but most of them are retired.  By the time you are in your 60s, you know whether you can afford homeownership; you are unlikely to experience a major change to your financial circumstances.  Some people are so rich that they can simply sell their empty nest and use the proceeds to pay the full sale price of a smaller house in a less expensive area.  Others have never owned a house, living paycheck to paycheck their whole lives; they retire with little or no savings and live modestly from Social Security check to Social Security check; to get an idea of how uncomfortable this existence is, watch the movie Shut Up, Little Man.  You do not fall into either category.  For you, a Florida retirement in Florida is just a mortgage loan away, but should you take it?  For help weighing the pros and cons of taking out a home mortgage as a retiree, contact a Tampa estate planning lawyer.

It Is Easier for Retirees to Get a Mortgage Loan Than You Might Think

The first thoughts that come to mind when you consider taking out a home mortgage loan after retirement are macabre ones.  Will I still be alive when the loan matures?  How much money will my estate owe the mortgage lender?  Will the personal representative of the estate have to sell my house, leaving my children to inherit chump change?  When you think about it, though, it makes more sense.  Think about the big picture.

Imagine that, at some point, your children will assume the mortgage payments.  The best mortgage around today is an assumable mortgage.  Most young people today can’t qualify for a mortgage at all, much less the kind of mortgage you can get with your hefty down payment and your lifetime of credit history.  Your monthly payments will be enviably low.  The lender will approve you for a mortgage amount based on whether your income is enough to meet the monthly payment.  In your case, this means your retirement income.  If you have retirement savings, but not enough for the entire price of a house, a mortgage that starts after you retire could be just what you need.

Contact David Toback About Taking Financial Risks in Retirement

A Central Florida estate planning lawyer can help you face the reality that debt does not simply disappear from your life as soon as you retire from the workforce.  Contact David Toback in Tampa, Florida to set up a consultation.

Source:

cnn.com/2024/06/01/success/buying-house-in-retirement-mortgage/index.html?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc

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