Home Sweet Home
There’s a saying that everything in life is related to three things: Location. Location. Location. In retirement, this is especially true. Here are some helpful hints on choosing your new hometown.
- Make a wish list. Start by listing the things that are important in your retirement. Be sure to include amenities, activities, and the sort of community you’re looking for.
- Contact authorities—the local chambers of commerce and tourist development councils in your prospective new town. It is their job to provide prospective residents and visitors information about what a community offers concerning climate, population, activities, amenities and social structures (such as churches and medical facilities).
- Take a trip. Make a short list of areas under consideration–your most promising picks. Come down, stay a few days, and visit them all. It’s like buying a new car. You may love the first thing you see, but you’ll want a basis of comparison and offers to choose from.
- Investigate different housing options, including purchase versus rental, and site-built versus manufactured. Retirement communities come in many shapes, sizes and economies. Different communities will have different fees, standards and rules. Some will restrict pets, some will restrict by age. Make sure you know all the positives and negatives of any community before making the final decision.
- Make a savvy deal. Examine all offers on the table, and when you make your choice, use the rejected offers as bargaining chips.
- Read the fine print. Take time to review offers and contracts with a legal or financial professional. The last thing you want is to feel like you’ve made the wrong decision by missing a small but important detail—for example, in a community where you buy the home but rent the lot, there may be a clause you are unaware of for annual rent increases.
For a listing and contact information for Florida chambers of commerce, visit http://www.2chambers.com/florida2.htm, or contact the Florida Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 11309, 136 Bronough Street, Tallahassee, FL 32302. (850) 521-1200.
