For Boomers

About online reviews

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Online reviews of real estate agents, doctors, and books are an excellent idea. Unfortunately, they are not very helpful. Most if not all real estate agents have five-star ratings. Often the questions asked on the surveys don’t hit on anything that matters. Often it is only satisfied customers who are offered a survey.

Sure the doctor was on time and he gets a 5 for that but he is also a bully and his “charts” contain inaccurate information. That kind of information is valuable to people who are looking for a doctor. Sure being on time is important too but doctors can do things or not do things that cause a lot more harm than keeping patients waiting.

I have worked with hundreds of real estate clients over the years and I can tell you that no two clients are the same and neither are any two properties. First-time home buyers who have only had experience with one agent may not even notice that their agent did not do a good job. They don’t understand that for agents being on time and answering the phone is a small part of what is important.

A better way to vet an agent is to ask friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members for recommendations, especially those who have recently worked with a real estate agent.

Rent free and mortgage free retirement

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Mortgage lenders don’t like this idea and neither do landlords. There are some huge advantages in owning a home free and clear in retirement. In St. Paul the property taxes are high but property tax refunds are available through the State of Minnesota for low-income property owners.

In 2020 according to Zillow, 37% of Americans own their homes free and clear. The number went up by 5.5% after the Great Recession. In 2017 41% of baby boomers owned their homes free and clear. For seventy-year-olds, an estimated 68% are mortgage-free, in 2022 that number grew to 70%.

Over the years, I have read tons of advice suggesting paying off a mortgage isn’t a good idea. It makes sense that if paying off a mortgage means using up savings and retirement accounts it probably isn’t a good idea. Other debts should be paid off first, especially credit card debt.

Owning a home free and clear means lower housing costs during retirement. Those property taxes are killer but still lower than renting or paying taxes and making mortgage payments.

It might even be possible to retire without having a million dollars by owning a modest home that is paid for and no debt.

It isn’t possible to save up enough for long-term care. To get help paying for care seniors will need to spend all of their savings. In most cases, homeowners do not have to sell their houses to pay for care as long as they live in the house.

There are some psychological benefits of not having to make house payments can be liberating. Something to consider when planning for retirement.

Would the contents of your home fit in a dumpster or two?

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

blue storage inWatching a neighbor fill a few 20-yard dumpsters with stuff from his house is a reminder to me that I still have too much stuff. A 20-yard dumpster holds about 3 tons or at least 130 large trash bags.

I don’t think my stuff would fill a 20-yard dumpster, yet I definitely have a few things that can be tossed, recycled, or donated.

The best way to get rid of the excess is by choosing one category or room at a time and sorting through it. I like to put things in two piles. Keep or discard.

For people who are planning on downsizing in the next year or two, it is best to get started on getting rid of the excess now so that it doesn’t all end up in a landfill.

What happens to a house when the occupant has Alzheimer’s

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
wooden houses
Houses

Alzheimer’s disease can be hard on a house. The owner may forget to clean the kitchen and pay the bills. Can you imagine remembering to pay your property taxes when you don’t always remember who you are?

In the US some 27% of people who are over 60 live alone. age is the biggest known risk factor for dementia. The majority of people with dementia are over the age of 65, and the risk of this condition increases as you get older, and the population is aging.

It is easy to forget to turn off the burner on the stove. Operating a microwave oven isn’t always intuitive and for people with dementia it can be very difficult.

I don’t have any answers or solutions on how to keep people with dementia safe when they are alone in their own homes. We all need to keep pay attention to aging family members and help our neighbors when we can.

In St. Paul, the fire department has a team that can respond to non-emergency crises. They can be reached at 651-228-6216 on weekdays between 10:00 AM and 6:00 PM. I recently met the head of the unit Deputy Chief Dwayne Gibbs.

There is also the House Calls program through Ramsey County. 651-266-1290.

There are other services. I am in the process of working with a couple of government agencies and the Saint Paul Areas Association of Realtors to come up with a list of services specifically for elderly homeowners in crisis.

Sometimes our homes own us

Posted on by Teresa Boardman
House

Owning a home free and clear means there is no mortgage or rent payment yet there are seniors in St. Paul who are in danger of losing their homes. Property taxes are sky-high and with double-digit percent increases each year.  It costs money to have the trash removed and the city makes sure it gets paid.

There are water bills and heating bills too. The cost of natural gas has gone way up in recent years.

Roofs wear out and so do toilets and water spigots. Water heaters can explode and furnaces don’t last forever either. There is more.

I am not trying to discourage anyone from owning a home. In fact, it is something that should be encouraged.

People need to be aware that there isn’t such a thing as an inexpensive house and even if there is no mortgage living in a house isn’t free.

If you are not firm your home will provide storage for you family forever.

Posted on by Teresa Boardman

Storage If you just bought a house now is the time to remove any and all items you are storing at your parent’s house. If you are a parent your children will have every excuse there is for not removing their stuff from your basement. Don’t fall for any excuse,

Dear person in their twenties, thirties, or forties,

It is wonderful that you got that new job and were able to move out of your folk’s place a mere________ years after you graduated from college. I know it is a big scary world out there and it is hard to move away. Just think of it as a new beginning.

Your parents love you, we always have and we would do almost anything for you and we probably have and we are very proud of you.

There is one thing that you need to know. We are not being honest with you about something. We have kept a secret from you all these years, and it has nothing to do with Auntie Sue or that one incident a few years back at the water park. We know you did not do that on purpose.

We want to tell you that we are very tired of the boxes and storage bins in the basement and the bike, sports equipment, and rollerblades in the garage. We understand that you also regret having purchased that tacky piece of furniture that you bought the first time you moved out but left stored in the basement this last time you moved out. We hate it too, and yes you may move back in that is true, even though we had the locks changed and you know the secret about the back door, you will find a way, but I suspect you won’t want to use the furniture as you seem to hate it so.

Even though we love you and would do almost anything for you we don’t want to provide storage for your stuff anymore.  We would like to use our basements and garages and attics for something else now. We have our own stuff that needs to be stored and most of our closets are overflowing as we have not moved in years.

It would be heavenly to be able to walk to the washer without tripping over something and honestly, the furnace and water heater have always wanted a room of their own, they watch and wait silently as the stuff piles up around them.   The last time we had a repair man here he couldn’t even find the furnace, I guess he wasn’t much of a repair man.  I never saw him leave the house, he may still be down in the basement looking for the furnace, I guess we don’t know for sure, but hope not because they charge by the hour.

Please come over for dinner tonight.  We promise to cook something you really like and buy a couple of bottles of wine, or maybe you would enjoy a beer instead.   Bring a friend or significant other and a moving van. We will even front you the cash so that you can rent it. After dinner kindly remove your stuff. Don’t make me have to write this twice.  I may be old but I am still your mother and even though you are bigger than I am I can still kick your butt, or at the very least make you feel guilty.

Thanks, your loving mother.