MK Open Mic

Archive for May, 2010

If you would like to remain in your present home, the major obstacles may be financial ones. Inflation_especially the runaway inflation of the l970s—has continued to affect the lives of all of us. Financial problems and solutions for homeowners and renters differ in many respects, so we’ll discuss them separately.
First, the options for owners. If you are over 65, the chances are good that you own your own home and your mortgage is paid up. Three-quarters of all heads of households over age 65 own their homes. What this probably means is that your home is your single largest financial asset.
Yet regardless of no longer having to meet those monthly mortgage payments, you may still feel financially pressed. Fuel costs (which tripled between 1972 and 1983), property taxes (up 67 percent for the same period), plus increased costs of insurance, utilities, and home repairs may leave you feeling “house rich and cash poor.” Many people with fixed incomes_especially those for whom social security is their sole income_live near the poverty line inside their paid-for homes. You or your adult children may have wondered more than once if there is a safe way the value of your home could be made more useful to you in the time ahead.