Do you have parents who retired years ago? Do they keep receiving brochures from various retirement communities? Here are some reasons why a move to one of those communities might be a good option for your parents:
Lower property taxes: Your parents may have paid off their mortgage years ago, only to have to pay thousands of dollars every year in property taxes. Failure to pay these high taxes can mean that your parents could lose their home to a tax sale. However, many retirement communities are located in states with much lower property taxes. Instead of paying almost a thousand dollars a month in property taxes, they could wind up paying the same amount for an entire year's worth of taxes. This extra savings will allow your parents to have a much higher quality of living.
Lower income taxes: If your parents had a good pension or retirement plan, they should be receiving a good amount of money every month for their expenses. However, a significant portion of this could be getting taken away by state income taxes. Fortunately, there are several states with absolutely no income tax whatsoever. Nevada, Florida, Texas and Tennessee all lack a state income tax. If your parents don't want to move to a warmer climate, they should consider retirement communities in Alaska, South Dakota, Washington or Wyoming if they don't want to pay state income taxes.
Low investment cost: Depending on what state and the different requirement communities that you look at, your parents may be able to find a beautiful home to purchase for $10,000 to $20,000. If your parents don't have a lot of money saved and are on social security, they may want to look into a rental unit in a retirement community. Depending on the community, the rent may be as low as $500 to $600 for a home that is similar to the one they are currently renting for a thousand dollars a month or more.
No more home maintenance: Do your parents grumble about having to mow the lawn, shovel snow, clean out the gutters and other household chores? In many retirement communities, these mundane tasks are handled by someone else. Not only will your parents have more free time to do what they want to do, but you will no longer have to worry about them having to tackle these potentially dangerous chores on their own.
Share27 March 2015
Apartment living can be a trial sometimes. Even the best apartment complexes can have problems, such as noisy neighbors. I experienced this firsthand with my newest neighbors. Between their partying and trashy existence, I was ready to go crazy. Late one night when they were being particularly noisy, I started researching my rights as a tenant. I found out I did not have to live with their inconsiderate behavior. As a public service, I decided to help others through this blog with their neighbor problems. Whether you are dealing with a landlord that will not do any repairs or bad neighbors, I can help.