Smart Moves

For months, a couple in their late 60s, an author married to a retired accountant, has been engaged in a spirited debate about their housing plans. Should they stay in the Victorian house where they’ve lived for more than 30 years and raised their kids? Or should they move to a one-level condo where they could better age in place?

The debate started in earnest when the couple’s grown son, a biotech specialist, got a promotion to work in Berkeley. That meant the son’s family, including two granddaughters, would move to a pricey part of California -- miles away from the grandparents’ place.

The son’s move raised numerous questions for the older couple. Would it be financially prudent for them to sell the Victorian, uproot themselves and move to the more expensive area? Also, if they lived near the grandkids, would they like becoming the de facto caregivers for the children?

The couple worries that the present period would be an inopportune time to put their property up for sale, given that the low mortgage rate they obtained through refinancing three years ago would have to be replaced with a much more costly home loan on a new condo in California.

Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert, doesn’t know the couple facing this vexing issue. But he insists there’s no one-size-fits-all solution to their conundrum.

“When you make a major housing move at any age, it’s not just your money at stake. It’s also your psychological well-being and what works for you in terms of your overall lifestyle,” says Tyson, co-author of “Personal Finance After 50 for Dummies.”

The author and retired accountant are convinced they’d make a healthy profit selling their house, located in a coveted suburb near Washington, D.C. After all, properties in their neighborhood are currently fetching significantly higher prices than they were prior to the pandemic.

Economists at Zillow, the national real estate firm, estimate that the total value of all the U.S. housing stock is now 49% higher than it was in early 2020.

But home values are expected to continue rising in coming years, given the extreme shortage of available properties in many metro areas. Demand for homes from the millennial generation is outstripping the supply of available properties. That’s because many seniors are holding back from selling.

“There’s a major mismatch between the generations,” Tyson says.

Here are a few pointers for seniors torn about selling versus staying put:

-- Always factor lifestyle into your decision making.

Cary Carbonaro, a certified financial planner, notes that some older parents of grown children relish the idea of downscaling to a smaller place that imposes fewer upkeep demands.

Still, Tyson cautions empty nesters, especially those with a sentimental streak, against clinging to the big house with the uncertain hope it will become the hub for many extended family gatherings.

Perhaps your children will marry and move to a distant state, coming to visit you only occasionally during summer vacations or possibly at Thanksgiving.

“Do you want to rattle around all year in a house too big for you just so you can entertain your kids eight or 10 days a year?” Tyson asks.

-- Gain perspective by seeking outside advice.

“Most financial planners aren’t set up to deal with specific issues, such as what to do with the family house when the kids have moved away,” Tyson says.

However, by going through a professional group, such as the National Association of Personal Financial Planners (napfa.org), you can locate a planner you can hire for just a few hours to discuss your empty-nest housing issues.

Tyson recommends seeking out advice from a certified public accountant who has also been trained as a personal financial specialist (PFS). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants awards this designation.

-- Make sure your plans allow for financial comfort.

Obviously, many people reach the kids-are-gone stage with years left in their careers and a strong desire to continue working. But that doesn’t mean they can afford to be oblivious to their future needs for retirement income.

If you’re in this category, and your home has appreciated substantially, selling could open the way for investments that are potentially more lucrative.

“I’m talking about freeing up money from your current house by moving to a property that has a smaller mortgage and is less expensive to maintain,” Tyson says.

If your offspring are still in college or grad school, you may have pledged that you’ll cover the full cost of their tuition payments. Still, there could be alternatives open to you.

You might want to meet with financial aid officers at your students’ schools to discuss alternative ways to help offset their tuition costs. For example, maybe they’d be eligible for scholarships, fellowships or work-study programs you didn’t know about previously.

“You’ll have more housing options open to you if you don’t saddle yourself with large educational expenses,” Tyson says.

-- Avoid postponing tough housing decisions.

Some people appreciate the expanded freedom that comes with an empty-nest life. But others are depressed after the last child leaves.

“A lot of times, people are in denial. They run away from making hard choices, such as whether to sell the big house and move,” Tyson says.

He says those in a funk about their new status as empty nesters can squander several years failing to explore and consider alternatives to staying put in their current home.

“It’s a huge mistake to rush into a decision about selling your home. But postponing your plans is also a really bad idea,” Tyson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Rich Harty, a real estate broker in the Chicago area, has been selling homes since 2008. But he’s never witnessed such high levels of worry among potential first-time purchasers.

“People are extremely, extremely cautious about what they buy. That’s understandable, because buying a home isn’t like buying a pair of jeans you can return. It’s a vastly larger commitment,” says Harty, a past president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (naeba.org).

Of course, there are solid reasons for the unusual level of wariness on the part of potential buyers. One is that since the pandemic first started, prices have risen dramatically. And in many popular neighborhoods, prices continue to escalate.

Orphe Divounguy, a senior economist for Zillow, the national realty company, says the estimated total value of all homes in America has surged since February 2020.

“The U.S. housing market has rebounded impressively in 2023 after a short-lived downturn last year. The total value of the U.S. housing market is 49% higher than before the start of the pandemic,” Divounguy says.

It’s not only high prices that pose a significant affordability challenge for prospective purchasers. Mortgage rates, once expected to ease by this point in the economic cycle, are still elevated. And there’s no certainty that rates will moderate by the end of the year, as once hoped.

“Heading further into the fall season, home listing prices continue to be propped up by a low existing home inventory, as higher mortgage rates contribute to an ongoing existing home inventory crunch,” says Sabrina Speianu, economic data manager for Realtor.com, the home listing service.

Besides the pricing barriers facing would-be homeowners, many are holding back due to the dearth of available listings in the areas they prefer.

Harty is currently working with four sets of renters, all in their 30s, who for many months have been unsuccessful in finding a suitable property in central or suburban Chicago. They include two couples with young children as well as two single adults trying to relocate to larger properties.

“Those who already own homes don’t want to move because they’re sitting on 3% mortgages and know that buying elsewhere would mean a much steeper home loan rate,” he says.

Due to their extremely cautious approach to home selection, many first-time buyers are hoping they can obtain a property they could hold indefinitely.

“They’re skipping over the ‘starter home’ and trying to go straight to the ‘forever home’ because of the high costs of moving,” Harty says.

Affordability barriers are not the only reason many purchasers are resistant to making an immediate purchase. They’re also troubled by worries that limit them psychologically. Here are a few such common fears and how buyers can address them:

-- Fear of humiliation about your credit history.

“It’s truly a smart idea to go to a lender’s office for mortgage preapproval before heading out on a house hunt. You might be very pleased to realize the lender would qualify you for a larger loan than you anticipated,” says Dorcas Helfant, a former president of the National Association of Realtors (nar.realtor).

Some would-be mortgage applicants, especially those with modest incomes, worry they’ll feel shame when lenders look at their pay stubs or federal tax returns. Applicants who are self-employed fret that their financial documents won’t convey their true capacity to afford a home.

But most mortgage lenders rely on commissions and don’t get paid unless their clients get approved. This gives them a strong incentive to take the time and effort required to help rectify their clients’ problems.

-- Fear of choosing a place against the advice of your family members.

Many would-be first-time buyers are in their 20s or 30s. On financial matters, they still look to their elders for direction and, not infrequently, for cash subsidies as well.

“I can’t tell you how many times buyers crave the support of wise family members when it comes to buying their first home. It’s a new experience that can feel exciting yet incredibly scary,” says Merrill Ottwein, an Illinois-based real estate broker who specializes in helping buyers relocate.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with seeking help from relatives. But Ottwein says you should request their involvement early on, not when you’re about to sign the papers to buy a place.

“Your family could be caught off-guard by a late-stage request for guidance. They might be needlessly negative and counsel you against a particular purchase in an attempt to shield you from an error,” Ottwein says.

If you’re afraid to go forward without your relatives’ guidance but don’t want them to mess up your plans, he suggests you bring them along on all your house-hunting trips. That way, they can compare various alternatives and are likely to give you more objective advice.

-- Fear of coming up short on funds to close a home deal.

Granted, it can be costly to make a housing change at any stage of life. But many first-time buyers overestimate their need for cash to go through the transition. They fail to take into account the reality that there are a multitude of low-to-no-down payment mortgage programs available to them.

Ottwein says first-time buyers are well advised to explore these options as soon as they decide to make a purchase, rather than waiting until their savings accounts are brimming with funds.

“Before you head into a huge savings campaign, call an experienced mortgage lender. It’s possible that you may not need as large a down payment as you imagine,” he says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)

Fifteen years ago, a senior executive for a major retail chain fell in love with a Civil War-era house located in rural Maryland, a long drive to the nearest major city, Washington, D.C. She filled her beloved Victorian -- set on a 12-acre lot -- with antiques.

Now 71 and retired, the executive has a whole new vision for her lifestyle. She’s planning to put the iconic property on the market and buy an RV for travel all over the country.

“This woman’s house is totally unique and historic. It will sell in an instant,” says Stacy Berman, the woman’s real estate agent.

Exceptional properties like this Victorian, along with remotely located homes in resort areas such as those near the ski slopes of Colorado, continue to command high prices. That’s because many high-end buyers, including those with elite tech jobs, are still able to work from home on a full-time or nearly full-time basis.

But with the worst of the pandemic behind the nation, more employers are telling their workers to return to the office. And that’s somewhat weakening demand for properties in remote areas.

Take the case of a married couple of financial analysts who for three years worked remotely from San Francisco for their New York-area companies. This summer, they were put on notice by their employers that they needed to spend more “face time” in the office. So they packed up and moved to New York.

“It got so exhausting flying across the country just to attend an office meeting or a happy hour with my office mates. We were sorry to leave San Francisco. But we know our bosses are grateful we now live so much closer, which is good for our careers,” the wife says.

Are you planning to sell a remotely located property in the near future? If so, real estate specialists caution owners to exercise caution when selecting a listing agent. Also, it’s important to price your place to reflect changing work patterns.

“You can’t assume everybody will want to move to your quiet village just because its peaceful to live there and the cost of living is low,” says Eric Tyson, a personal finance expert and co-author of “House Selling for Dummies.”

Karen Rittenhouse, author of “The Essential Handbook for Selling a Home,” says that agent choice can have major financial implications.

“Who you select is a really big deal because you’ve got a lot of money riding on your sale. You need to ask for referrals, check references and interview every agent you’re considering. Like hiring a cancer specialist, you don’t want to just pick someone at random,” she says.

Many successful agents hire assistants to handle much of their routine work, and Rittenhouse doesn’t necessarily disapprove of this practice. But she says it’s important that your primary agent handle such core functions as negotiating on your behalf when an offer comes in.

Here are a few other pointers for sellers:

-- Examine a potential listing agent’s track record.

Maybe the agent you’re thinking of hiring is a superstar -- having won numerous awards for sales volume. Even so, this could be the wrong type for you.

“Just because the agent is a ‘big producer’ in sales volume doesn’t mean they have expertise selling in your specific area or your type of house,” Tyson says.

He urges sellers to get an “activity list” from any agent they’re considering. This should itemize all sales closed in the previous 12 months and show the property locations as well as list and sale prices. This info tells you how the agent is performing on a day-to-day basis.

Agents don’t just specialize in particular areas; they also specialize in certain price categories.

“For instance, you wouldn’t want an agent who’s earning most of his commission dollars on suburban houses worth over $1 million to list a studio worth a fraction of that. In that case, your studio might fail to get the attention it deserves,” Tyson says.

-- Consider the implications before hiring “partner agents.”

Some agents, including married couples, like to work as a professional team. They bill themselves as two interchangeable parts of a qualified whole.

“In theory, such a partnership has big advantages for clients because you get a doubling-up of talent with two people devoting themselves to your sale,” Tyson says.

However, in practice the two-agent arrangement is only advantageous to sellers if both partners are truly committed to their work.

“Sometimes the two halves don’t equal a whole, and the clients are shortchanged,” Tyson says.

-- Survey the agents you interview about their holiday and vacation plans.

Obviously, agents like to pull away from work from time to time. But real estate experts caution against hiring one who plans to head for vacation during the early weeks of your listing period. That could hinder your sale at the time when buyer excitement about your place is high.

Tyson says it’s unreasonable to ask agents to forecast their travel plans a full year ahead. But it’s fair to ask a couple of months in advance about any lengthy absence that will occur shortly after your property goes on the market.

“To avoid a timing conflict, ask the agent about his or her vacation plans as far ahead as he knows them. Then if you’re really committed to working with that person, you might still want to postpone your listing to suit their schedule,” Tyson says.

(To contact Ellen James Martin, email her at ellenjamesmartin@gmail.com.)