Where would you live? Part 2: condos when you retire

Paying the equivalent of your Social Security check as a condo fee is nuts.

Sixty percent of Americans who reach age 65 end up in a nursing home, whether they plan to or not. A private nursing home will cost you a minimum of one year's fee--about $120-$150K. If you have any money, or a house, left after a year, you'll have to spend it all down to nothing before you can apply for Medicaid. Eight years in a home can cost over a million dollars. This is why many people who think they are wealthy find out, when they are old, that they actually are not.

How will you carry a condo costing an additional $12K-15K or more a year, just for fees alone, in those circumstances?

The best benefit of homeownership is the ability to live rent- and mortgage-free in retirement. A lot of people seem to have forgotten that.

Can't take it with you.

I can't imagine anywhere that has a condo fee of $1100. The most I have ever seen is $400, but then I'm not looking to live inside Boston city limits... ever.

I would think, as a retiree, paying $300/mo for the convenience of having maintenance, snow removal, HEAT, etc covered would be worth it. That was the fee in my last condo and as everyone else i knew was struggling with winter heating bills I was unaffected.

Condos definitely make sense for some people.

There are some amazing values to be found in 55 and older units along I-495. West of Boston, there are even some townhouse style units with first floor master bedrooms that have dropped below $300,000. In many cases, this is $100,000 less than they were selling for mid-decade. Buyers taking advantage of today's soft market are bound to benefit from price appreciation as more boomers reach retirement age and more normal credit conditions return.

While not located in an urban setting, some, such as Quail Run in Hudson, are just a mile or two from a wide variety of shops and restaurants.

I've lived in a condo (which I still own) and I live in a house (which my husband owns) -- granted, in very different locations. Wherever I live, and where everyone I know lives, you still have to maintain the place. Roofs have to be replaced everywhere. Snow and leaves have to be moved around here. You always have to heat and/or cool the place, pay for the lights and the fridge etc. A well-managed condo association with very few amenities (what I think Rona means by "nice apartment") has the benefit of someone _else_ gets to shop for the roof and window replacements; you just have to pay out a relatively small, set fee every month, a chunk of which goes into the reserves which are sized to match the capital spending plan. Of course, if you get suckered into serving on the board, you get to do what do what you would have done on a house -- for more people than just yourself and family.

I agree about favoring flats over townhomes; a broken foot taught me the importance of that. There's a lot to be said for being over someone else -- you get to mooch heat. It's important to check the quality of the sound proofing before you buy. All that aside, skip every amenity you possibly can, make sure you're on a bus line and close enough in to not need your car, and aging in a condo can look really, really good. It sounds bad to say it, but a lot of my neighbors have died since I bought my unit. Quite a lot of them died without having to move to skilled nursing facility.

There's a lot of personal preference as well as economic questions condo vs. house. Remember when you decide to hire out services on a house (lawn care,etc), you have a new (hopefully smaller) task. You have to select the person/service, negotiate the price/job, supervise, pay when complete, etc. In a condo situation, for good or bad someone else has that job and the risk is apportioned over more people.

One thing that would worry me is the whole "special assessment" thing for condos and this is one of the main reasons - aside from not having nearly complete control over your property - why even as a first time buyer, my husband and I aren't considering one. Even if you're "only" paying $400 a month in condo fees, you can still be hit at any time with a special assessment. From what I've been told by friends and family that live in condos in the area, the timing of payment for these is generally non-negotiable - it just has a due date and you have to come up with the money. If I were retired and on a fixed income, I'd be equally worried about coming up with the special assessment money and I don't see how this is any different than owning my own house. Granted someone else is (hopefully) taking care of regular maintenance the rest of the time, but I don't see how this beats having your own home in a nice neighborhood where you can get to know your neighbors but still have some space. My parents just bought a ranch style home that has everything on one floor this year after living in a multi-level home for over 30 years because it offered them independence and the ability to plan for possible health issues so they won't have to move to assisted living or a nursing home just because of their type of residence.

Retirement Living: My view is the opposite of Rona. I guess the answer lies in how you want your life to play out. I dumped my McMansion in the burbs and all those maintenance contractors that went with it.

Now I live in a 1200 foot stainless and glass high rise downtown and love it. Sure the condo fee is a grand and another couple bills for the valet garage, but I like zero maintenance and having the concierge services to handle conveniences as they come up. Things like Fed-X packages and laundry services.

I kept a few toys like my motorcycles and had to rent a 10x30 storage unit for them, but its worth it for now.

I wanted to get out from the burden of property ownership. I like the lock-it-and-leave-it nature of condo living. I like the security of them, and I like the downtown energy and buzz. I may even buy another condo out west for the winter months.

Condo fees may sound like a bad thing, but in the end, I spent a lot more in maintenance and energy costs for the McMansion. If you think carefully about the lifestyle you want in retirement, you may find the full-service condominium quite attractive.

Helps to list up front what you want (and do not want), and if you are willing to compromise. My wife and I WANTED to be near but not directly in a city, cultural and (if needed) medical amenities, easily accessible (short walk) public transportation, walking distance to supermarket, garage parking, multiunit condo but not too large (less than 20 units and not a high rise) and not too small (definitely not a divided house), near a park, central air conditioning and modern feel to the building, lower level or high first floor unit (definitely not upper level - did not want to walk stairs or be dependent on a elevator), at least 2 bathrooms and 2 bedrooms (for visitors), solvent well managed proactive condo association with professional managment, and owner occupied units (did not want to be in a building with alot of rental units).

Did NOT want building exclusively designed for older or retired people (we might be old but did not want to be reminded of it), a doorperson, concierge, swimming pool and gym (we would prefer to choose our own health club if this interests us), valet parking, restaurant, laundry, etc.. did not want to pay for amenities we would not use.

Condo association takes care of most day to day building needs, fee is reasonable and adjusted as needed.The condo board people like taking care of these things we are glad that they do. Don't mind the occasional unusual cooking odors, episodic sounds of feet above us or doors opening and closing, pets, etc,, because this makes the building an alive and interesting community of people.

Found what we wanted several years ago in Brookline, bought in anticipation of retiring in the not too distant future.,compromised on a smaller condo since it is so expensive in Brookline and unit is nice but needs some kitchen updating. Opted for ideal (for us) location over size. Use it for vacations and weekends now - not quite ready to retire yet but are not sorry that we bought in advance of retiring - has allowed us to gradually "aclimate".

The best benefit of homeownership is the ability to live rent- and mortgage-free in retirement.

What about property taxes and utilities? My father-in-law has owned his house free and clear for decades, but the cost of utilities (especially heating oil) and property taxes (even with discounts for blindness and being a veteran) are really taxing his budget.

Liz, you have to pay utilities even if you live in an apartment. And you pay property taxes, too, as part of your rent.

I've never been one to argue buying is for everyone (read my old comments!). However, owning your own correctly-sized home or condo in retirement, free and clear, can still be a big advantage for some people.