Yesterday I received a postcard with a photo of my house greeting me by first name mind you stating they want to buy my house 'AS IS'. I thought 'Nice picture Google.' Should I sue?
We get those "want to buy your house!" offers occasionally. I wonder if they are coming from one of those chinese (or other foreign) conglomerates that is buying up American homes for rental property.
If I'm reading that right, it sounds like your aged pension is needs-based, Kate. Once again, people who worked and planned for their retirement are getting penalized for being responsible by the government.
They are trying to get the same thing through Congress for SS here to under "means testing." They push it as penalizing "the rich"...just like income tax is only on the rich among us. Thankfully, average Americans don't have to pay income tax
Beth altho I worked till I was 65 I had very little in superannuation which employers pay 9 % on top of your wages into a retirement scheme which wasn’t compulsory when I was young it only became compulsory when I was about 50 however we both paid enough in tax over our working years to cover our pension Neither of us claimed government support prior to retiring . We only got married ( 2 nd marriage ) at 40 and 41 bought a brand new small home , stayed home never went anywhere ….and paid it off in 5 years …sold that after 16 years which paid for this home to be built/ block of land @Beth Gallagher
3 years ago I downsized to a 2 bedroom condo that is 855 sq ft. in a secure building. I was sick of owning a home and wanted an easier life. I absolutely love it and have made 4 friends in the building.
I dread the idea of moving. Sheer fantasy, I'm not nuts, but sometimes it might be nice to pack a few suitcases and call in a team to just do a controlled burn.
The talk of starter homes got me thinking (yeh, I know.) I don't believe that there are many starter homes being built or remaining. I lived in my tiny home outside of DC for several decades and was always inundated with letters and phone calls from potential buyers because of the value of the land. Ten years ago, that 1/4 acre improved lot (utilities already run to it) went for $500,000. When land value is $2,000,000 an acre, no one is going to build a small home on it...to do so just doesn't make sense. In fact, the opposite happens. When real estate values go up, the starter homes like mine get knocked down and replaced with McMansions. The only place I have seen moderately sized homes being built has been in these rural areas where legacy family properties get parceled out for the younger generation. There are still lots of older small homes here. But the people living in this region are nth generation poor families and "come here" retirees. There aren't young families, because white collar jobs don't exist around here. So the era of "starter homes" has come and gone. They had their time.
As usual CNN or whoever, places the blame on the wrong people. I won't even ask if they'll ever figure out how wrong they are and finally straighten up their act, just not holding my breath. I'm with you @Beth Gallagher Seniors have earned their homes, not just financially, but with the wisdom they've gained. The younger "set" is always on the move for bigger and better jobs and homes, they don't stay put any longer, and for anyone with good kids, I'm not talking about ALL younger people. Bottom line I know it's not anybody's fault except "whoever" is controlling our economy today. I mean give the credit to the jackasses that created our lousy economy.
I read a few more posts and thought I'd add that I live in a small apartment. I never lived anywhere for longer than 3 years, which includes my childhood homes. Now I'm so proud to say I've been under the same roof for 8, going on 9 years. I "need" to move I've decided, but it is hard for me to leave the "familiarity" of this place. I can't imagine leaving somewhere I lived most of my life, maybe even a very old home that was my ancestors, or more recent families. I can understand both sides of either staying in my home until I pass away, or, moving into something more manageable for me. But it should never be up to someone else, like anybody that can't find homes they want to buy, or heaven forbid, government making our decisions.