Finance

Rental Apartment or House - Deciding where to live after Retirement

You may be facing the difficult decision of whether to keep your house or sell and move into a rental apartment, if you’re fortunate enough to be able to choose, we have provided some points to help you decide.

Being retired and on a fixed income, apartment living can help with budgeting because your costs are predictable. Often your utilities are included in your rent and if they aren’t, you have the opportunity to reduce your utility cost by being energy conscious.

If you like to travel, the ability to close your door and go is often a big selling feature for apartment living. This is also a great benefit for those suffering with limited mobility. The property manager looks after all the maintenance you would otherwise have to if you lived in a house.

For the social butterfly, many senior-oriented apartment buildings host evening events like bingo and craft nights and have a social room so you can drop in and visit with other residents at your leisure.

Location is a big factor in a decision of where to live. For those who choose to get rid of their car, many apartments are conveniently located in areas with great public transit access and direct access to shopping and leisure centres.

A property manager like Williams & McDaniel for example, offers a broad range of apartment buildings to suit your individual needs. If you like trendy, condo-style living, Regency Court Apartments in Guelph is the place to be. For those who like access to parks and walking trails, Park Towers, Terrace Towers, Diplomat and Driftwood Apartments are ideally located. Terrace Towers boasts large balconies while Diplomat and Driftwood apartments are steps away from Evergreen Seniors’ Centre. Some may be looking for a location in a quiet, small town setting or close to cottage country - the perfect home can be found in one of the apartments in Midland, Orillia, Fergus or Elora.

It’s hard to leave a house that you have lived in for so many years, but when you consider the many benefits of living in a rental apartment, perhaps it’s time for a change.

Personal Finances

May 17 roundup On a 12-year-old's scathing critique of banks, retirement planning in small chunks and how to negotiate the price of just about anything.
Ride the summer stocks wave With the TSX down about 7.5% this month, you might be tempted to heed the long-time investment advice of “sell in May and go away.” Resist that temptation.

May 17 roundup

On a 12-year-old's scathing critique of banks, retirement planning in small chunks and how to negotiate the price of just about anything.

Ride the summer stocks wave

With the TSX down about 7.5% this month, you might be tempted to heed the long-time investment advice of “sell in May and go away.” Resist that temptation.

Personal Finance Resources

Wealthy Boomer

My last Wealthy Boomer blog Jonathan Chevreau: 'Even though I’ll soon turn 59 and have written much about retirement and financial independence, I am not yet retiring'
Early retirement vs. financial independence Lots of blogs and tweets lately on Early Retirement, like this one that caught my attention this morning. The writer is a financial planner who confesses he loves his day job but nevertheless hopes to retire early, which he defines as 55. He describes one practitioner of “Extreme” Retirement in which one Jacob Lund Fisker ...

My last Wealthy Boomer blog

Jonathan Chevreau: 'Even though I’ll soon turn 59 and have written much about retirement and financial independence, I am not yet retiring'

Early retirement vs. financial independence

Lots of blogs and tweets lately on Early Retirement, like this one that caught my attention this morning. The writer is a financial planner who confesses he loves his day job but nevertheless hopes to retire early, which he defines as 55. He describes one practitioner of “Extreme” Retirement in which one Jacob Lund Fisker ...