Funding Your New Lifestyle

There are several misconceptions about the cost of community living vs. the expense of staying in your current home. One is that you must sell your current home in order to afford making a move. NOT TRUE!

If you own your home, selling it isn’t the only or even best way to fund your move to community living. Have you considered turning your home into a rental property to help fund your new community lifestyle? Consider this:

• Keeping your home as an income property is particularly attractive in a weak housing market. Rents in many markets are stable and rising. Renting out your home can create a new and reliable monthly income stream you can use to either pay down your mortgage (if you have one), help cover your community expenses or both.
• Since real estate tends to be an asset that appreciates in value, keeping your home as a rental means you continue to enjoy appreciation and could see a larger return when you do sell or leave it to your heirs.
• You may have to pay capital gains tax on the proceeds of a home sale; if you rent instead, you may be able to claim various tax deductions and minimize your tax burden until you’re in a lower tax bracket.

Use our handy calculator to see if this approach makes sense for you!