You are contemplating selling or are currently cleaning out your clutter and throwing stuff away to put your home out onto the market.
You are so focused on the cleaning, updating, fixing that maybe you haven’t spent enough time in figuring out where you are going to move?
That’s one of the most critical and crucial things to concern yourself with, as you don’t want to wait until the last minute! Don’t be a Monday Morning Quarterback.
Will you be moving close to your children, so as to me nearby in the event you might need some help? Want to be nearer your grandchildren? (I am nine minutes away, so I am very fortunate).
Looking to move down south or out west? What is your budget in either purchasing your next, “place to call home” or depending on your financial situation, would renting be a more advantageous path to pursue?
One factor you might want to consider is your age when thinking about buying or renting. Obviously, if you have a lot of equity in your home, maybe you want to put your nest egg into a triple tax-exempt bond to be ultra-safe and rent or maybe buying a condo or homeowner association as the market (on paper) is still appreciating at a better rate than any other investment (average in the U.S. 8.1 percent from May 2017-May2018 as per National Association of Realtors).
The real bonus, you get to enjoy your next home as you begin the next stage of your life, while your new home is still increasing in market value.
Obviously, if you are leaving New York, the buying power of your money in the majority of U.S. markets will be far more beneficial than where you are currently living.
My sisters happen to live in Atlanta, and their homes are a 1/3 of the price of comparable homes here in New York and their taxes are almost half of what they are locally in Long Island.
Money goes much further out of New York, so many sellers will find phenomenal homes and what we would call, “amazingly low prices” compared to what we see in the local areas of Nassau County.
However, according to AARP in their January 2018 edition, the 10 best places to retire on $1,500 per month are the following countries:
1. Costa Rica
2. Mexico
3. Panama
4. Ecuador
5. Malaysia
6. Colombia
7. Portugal
8. Nicaragua
9. Spain
10. Peru
One couple I read about said the following:
“I love Costa Rica. You can kick your shoes off on white-sand beaches, hike through lush lowland jungle or mountain cloud forests, and bask in volcanic thermal springs,” he added. “Rent a furnished two-bedroom home for just $500 a month, buy an ocean-view property for under $200,000, spend $25 in the farmer’s market, and come home with a week’s groceries for a couple.”
When it comes to Mexico, which placed second in the ranking, retirees can buy a concert or movie ticket for $4, see a doctor for about $40, and enjoy an evening out with drinks and dinner, a symphony performance, and a taxi home, for less than $20, according to International Living.
The 2018 index considers 12 categories when ranking the top retirement spots outside the United States and Canada: buying and investing; renting; benefits and discounts; visas and residence; cost of living; fitting in; entertainment and amenities; health care; healthy lifestyle; development; climate; and governance.
The overriding goal of the index, which has been released annually for the last 27 years by AARP, is to help retirees pinpoint places where a couple could live comfortably on as little as $1,500 a month.
This amount of money is what many retirees receive from Social Security without any other savings!
More than 500,000 Americans now receive their Social Security benefits overseas, an increase from the nearly 400,000 reported in 2000, according to the Social Security Administration.
But which place is best?
According to International Living, an authority on global retirement opportunities, countries such as Mexico, Panama and Colombia are luring older Americans with their pleasant climates, low cost of living and growing communities of like-minded retirees.
Indeed, International Living’s just-released Annual Global Retirement Index for 2018 puts Costa Rica in the top spot for the first time.
Bali makes its inaugural appearance on the index. And Peru winds up in the top 10 for the first time.
“North Americans have been flocking to Costa Rica for more than 30 years, attracted by the tropical climate; low cost of living; top-notch, affordable medical care; bargain real estate; and natural beauty,” said Jason Holland, International Living’s Latin America editor, in a press release.
Maybe this will give you other options to have an enjoyable, fun and relaxing retirement. Maybe by selling your home now, you could split the money up between purchasing a pied-a-tere up here and a place in one of the choices on my list, so you can come back and forth as you wish! Something to think about, eh?
Phil Raices is the owner/broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 7 Bond St. in Great Neck. He has earned the designations as a graduate of the Realtor Institute and is a certified international property specialist. He can be reached by email:Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or by cell (516) 647-4289 to answer any of your questions or article suggestions or provide you a free comparative market analysis on your property.
