The Six Changes in Rules & Opportunities For Ages 55+

HOME TAXATION RULES: Baby Boomers often have feasible access to some property transfer methods that are unique from those that are a practical option for younger persons. Some of these include, for example: reverse mortgages, 1031 Exchanges, Contract for Deed, inheritance, and others. All of these options can have vastly different tax consequences that are connected with how the property for sale is advertised and the kinds of buyers sought.

HOME OWNERSHIP AND TRANSFER RULES: Young homeowners tend to have lower net-worth compared to income. But we more senior homeowners tend toward higher net-worth in proportion to income. That changes much in terms of how we might transfer property to buyers or family members.

MEDICAL SUPPORT RULES: Public and private health care-provider choices become much more entangled with what location and type of building we select to live in (single family residence, shared-living, assisted living, nursing home, our children's homes, etc).

HOME FINANCING RULES: There are rules against age-discrimination in lending, so that's not the point; but, the "rules of reality" certainly move us to confront the 30-year debt we might take on when less than 30 years from life expectancy. By now our longer term credit history is a compelling and very noticeable indicator of our risk to a lender. If the property comes under the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) then that can affect buyer financing eligibility when we sell. Given that our domicile becomes increasingly entangled in our health care arrangements, insurance for both the household and for health care services will depend on where we elect to live more than any prior time in our lives.

INSURANCE RULES: Older homes, no matter who owns them, can sometimes have older roofs. Unlike a newer home less than 10-15 years old, a buyer of an older home may find their insurance company reluctant to cover the roof, thereby placing pressure on an effort to get the house sold. Medical insurance can become much more entangled with choice of type and location of your residence in many complex ways.

HOME DESIGN RULES: Finally, our bodies grow more demanding and less forgiving, requiring certain home design features such as grandchild playspaces, steep stairs, doorway widths, bathtub entry, emergency egress options, cooking equipment and various other safety and convenience features. And we grow less tolerant of cleaning gutters from a high ladder, mowing a large yard, paying unpredictable runaway utilities costs, and high pantry shelves. As we pass 55, hit 60 and beyond, we will appreciate more and more that a home is an active "functioning system" that we interact with and not just a pretty place.