Mark Kenny of Southport Asset Management Discusses Annuities

with Mark Kenny of Southport Asset Management Ltd.

What are annuities?

Today we discuss what are annuities with Mark Kenny of Southport Asset Management Ltd. Southport Asset Management Limited is located at 3845 Joseph Howe Drive, Suite 402 Halifax NS B3L 4H9 Office: 902-446-3900

Fax: 902-446-3901 Toll Free: 1-877-446-5763
Mark Kenny – Partner mark@southportasset.com

Mark Kenny of Southport Asset Management Ltd

Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here

When you list your home for sale, don’t overlook the importance of your exterior landscaping as a tool for increasing the volume of potential buyers and selling your home more quickly. In real estate, while you can’t always “tell a book by its cover,” having a home with curb appeal is more likely to get people to request an appointment after seeing it on a website or from a drive-by. A home that looks neat and inviting from the outside is likely to be the same way inside.

Landscaping Upgrades That Add Resale Value

Just as with other upgrades you do to your home before sale, you should not go crazy with exterior landscaping or add features with questionable resale value, such as a pool, water feature, or a large garden. You want to present property that is well-maintained and attractive, while not seeming overly difficult to maintain. As a result, planting some colorful flowers, adding a hanging basket to the porch, upgrading the exterior doors, refurbishing an existing deck or adding a new one, and playing an attractive stone walkway may be well worth the money in resale value and speed of sale.

According to Carson Arthur, landscaping designer, often seen on TV home shows, great landscaping can increase a home’s value by 7%, which amounts to $42,000 on the $600,000 home. Patios may add a 12% return, while decks, especially low to no maintenance types, have a 10% to 15% rate of return. An awning, pergola, or even a tree that offer backyard shade might increase your home value by $2,000-$3,000 each. In general, adding trees, a bench in your front yard, a stone walkway or driveway, and attractive plantings are among the key upgrades that pay off.

“Preparing to Downsize” please click here

Managing Exterior Landscaping

If you are selling your home because you are no longer able to keep it up as you like, the whole concept of exterior landscaping may be overwhelming. Given the extra value that great landscaping can add to your home, hiring someone to do the work will be well worth your investment. If you are up to it, putting some effort into the outside of your home can be the perfect closure for transitioning to a new place.

Any home will benefit from neatly trimmed lawns, gardens, and shrubs, along with a patch of color. If you don’t have much to spend on updating a moderately priced home, hiring a neighborhood kid to clean up the area, cut your grass, and plant some flowers might offer the boost you need. If you have a higher-end home where you are hoping to extract maximum value, or if your landscaping is outdated and out of shape, you should go to the next level of hiring a landscape designer or landscape architect to plan out your improvements. A professional will be able to suggest the proper plantings and upgrades and even do them in an eco-friendly way that appeals to many modern buyers.

Ask Me About Curb Appeal

If you are ready to sell your home and wonder whether your property needs more curb appeal, give me a call for an honest assessment as to what you need to do before we list your home.

Most likely your home is your biggest asset. It’s also your biggest expense. Unfortunately, when it comes to retirement planning, the family home is often last on the list of later in life changes.

There are many reasons for this delay

Emotionally it’s difficult to let go of a home filled with memories. Moving can be a big process. For these reasons, many retirees delay for years moving into a smaller house, condo or apartment.

“Preparing to Downsize” please click here

However, in many cases, the benefits of downsizing sooner rather than later can be significant. The financial benefits may seem small, but they can extend the life of your retirement savings.

Cost of staying in your home

You may have a hesitation to sell a mortgage-free house and move to an apartment with a monthly rent payment. However, with a home, many of the expenses are hidden.

It’s the ongoing maintenance such as roof, furnace, windows, grass cutting and landscaping, snow removal, etc. Not to mention the annual costs of heat, electricity, and taxes on a large older home. These costs add up to a substantial amount.

Selling your home will eliminate any mortgage or other debt, reducing monthly expenses. Add in the income you will earn from investing the equity of your home and the savings from no home maintenance. Compare that to the monthly rental payment of an apartment.

Trading the variable and hidden costs of homeownership for the visible cost of a condo or apartment can help with planning and budgeting. You know what your fixed costs will be.

Let’s do some math

Even without a mortgage, housing often accounts for 30% of retirement expenses. You sell your $300,000 home and move to an apartment that rents for $1500 per month. This allows 10% of the selling price to cover all moving-related expenses. This leaves $270,000 to be invested.

That $270,000 could produce an additional $16,200 of income per year. On top of that, the savings from lower housing expenses could easily be $3000 per year. A total of $19,200 additional income to pay $18,000 in total annual rent.

Besides the financial benefits, this is simply the practicality. Many people fail to consider how the aging process makes it harder to move. The process is exhausting at a young age. It’s much more daunting for retirees.

As we age, illness or death can unexpectedly force a move upon you. Situations like this create stress and havoc for the entire family. In many cases, the bulk of the responsibility falls upon the children.

Making the move before one spouse dies can help prevent the surviving spouse or your adult children from having to empty and sell a big house.

Need a change in your life?

Consider downsizing with less space and fewer possessions. You can spend less time and money cleaning, organizing, and maintaining things and focus on other priorities.

10 Tips for Downsizing

1. Boomer and senior need less space. Large homes with multiple levels and a big yard represent your past, while a smaller house, condo, or apartment is the present.

2. You want space, so be selective downsizing. Choose a large master bedroom, but fewer secondary bedrooms. An open-concept kitchen but not a big dining room.

3. A smaller home or condo may cost less. If the space is right for you, even paying an equivalent or higher price may be worth it.

4. If you have less space, your utility cost should be less.

5. Moving to a smaller home usually means ridding yourself of some furniture. Some pieces won’t fit the space, so splurge on new pieces that are perfect for the new space.

Preparing to Downsize Report

6. Consider the move a fresh start cutting down on clothes, kitchen gadgets, hobby equipment, and other things you don’t use. Reducing the volume of “stuff” will make your move easier and help you get settled in your new home.

7. As the items that won’t make the move pile up, use Kijiji, garage sales. Donate all or part of it to an organization or a needy familiar.

8. If you have collectibles, jewelry, household goods, or other treasures you want to give to your kids or grandkids, distribute them as you downsize and reclaim the space.

9. If you discover you still have more than you need to move into your new home, don’t be afraid to continue the purge as you get settled to make sure your home stays uncluttered.

10. Though you might feel sad as you let go of your big house and stock of possessions, revel in the fact you are downsizing on your own terms.

Downsizing is a process but a rewarding one. It can be an opportunity to right-size your life and move onto the next chapter with more independence.

At 65, will you still have a mortgage hanging over your head? Are you a Boomer over 50 who will still be making mortgage payments once you reach normal retirement age? If so, you’ll be like 35% of other senior homeowners, according to the Canadian Association Of Accredited Mortgage Professionals. As a senior, a mortgage obligation can take money away from the resources you need to carry you through the remainder of your life. Unless you are willing to cut expenses, you could be in trouble.

Why Seniors May Still Have Mortgages

With the 25-year mortgage common, you might be in that situation if you took out a mortgage past the age of 40. You may have become a homeowner later in life, but many seniors are still paying mortgages because they refinanced their homes at an earlier time to pay for a wedding or a loan to their kids for a down payment or some other purpose. Your thinking might have been that the kids would inherit the money anyway, so they might as well have it when they need it.

The Trade-off For Having A Mortgage In Retirement

This generosity makes some sense, but the great risk is that it will tap into monies that seniors need to live on. With people living longer, the average senior will need to keep working into retirement, cut expenses, and not take on a new debt areas to make it. In contrast, according to Jeffrey Schwartz, executive director of Consolidated Credit Counseling Services of Canada, Inc., many seniors are not changing their spending habits to match their coming reality. Seniors are both adding new debt and taking on new mortgages which could put them in trouble if interest rates rise and the payments follow. “It could send them into a tailspin,” says Schwartz.

How Do Your Finances Line Up?

During your retirement years, what does your financial picture look like? If you are thinking of taking out a new mortgage or even if you find yourself holding a mortgage or considerable debt, you need to ask yourself some hard questions:

How far into your retirement does or will your mortgage extend?
How far into retirement are you planning to work?
How much debt do you have and how do you plan to extinguish it?
Are you making it every month or feeling squeezed?
Are you prepared to cut your spending so you can both pay off your debt and save for the future?
Do you have any other assets you could extinguish to reduce your debt or monthly living expenses?
Whether you are paying house or only it out right, can you still afford the extra expenses associated with homeownership, such as taxes, landscaping, repair, and maintenance?

The answers to these questions might influence your housing plans in your retirement years. Your concern should be to have the resources to hold you through the rest of your life.

Call Me For Expert Senior Housing Services

Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today. When you are buying or selling a home, don’t waste time. Give me a call for experience, market knowledge, correct pricing, and a sincere interest in helping you fulfill your real estate goals. If you are ready to sell your home for maximum value, the best place to start is by clicking here and scheduling an appointment.

Over time our housing needs change. The kids leave to get married and start their own families and your housing needs changes. My senior clients decide to sell and move to something smaller. This process Is called downsizing. Not just getting something smaller but finding a new place more suitable. More accurately called Rightsizing.

Common questions I am asked by my clients are “When do I downsize and sell my home?” These are really two questions rolled into one. The first question “what time of year is best to sell” and the second “based on our situation, when is the time for me/us to sell”.

The first question has a very simple answer. Whenever you want to sell can is the best time. There are certain times of the year that have unique advantages. January to March period are good because there are fewer homes listed for sale means you have less competition.

The selling market in the Spring / Summer market (April to July) usually the busiest market and when the most buyers are actively looking. Spring and Summer are also when most homes are for sale and you have the most competition. The Fall market (September to November) usually the second busiest market of the year.

The second question is difficult to answer because situations are different for everyone. To decide for yourself when you to make a move, ask yourself these questions.

How much longer can I realistically stay?

If you are in the mid-60s, in good health, still able to mow lawns & shovel snow, and enjoy gardening, staying for 5-10 years or longer possibly makes sense. But if you are in the ’80s, experiencing health issues, unable to maintain the property, and rarely able to leave your home, make the move.

What are the advantages of staying?

Emotionally it’s hard to leave your home, but look at it objectively and make a list of the advantages of staying. People stay to maintain their independence. However, selling your home and moving to accommodations more suitable to your current needs could increase your independence. You may end up closer to necessary amenities and family.

What are the financial benefits of rightsizing?

The vast majority of my clients and seniors, in general, prefer to move to a rented apartment to enjoy a maintenance-free lifestyle. This frees up the equity in the home for investing to produce an income. If you netted $300,000 from the sale and invested it at 3% it would produce $9,000 in annual income.

Eliminating expenses like property tax and maintenance you could free up another $5,000-10,000 (or more) per year. Let’s say an average of $7,500. Add that to the $9,000 and it gives you $16,500 to put towards the cost of the rent. And of course, the original principal stays intact and untouched.