Pre planning your retirement move to DE (Dover: sales, real estate)
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Two years ago I started to seriously consider where I wanted to live when I retired in six years. The trigger was needing to make a decision on repairing or replacing my 27 year old heating system (electric/heat pump) in my present home. Instead of repairing it for $2000 my decision was to replace the entire system for $7,000. I selected a unit that carried a 10 year parts and labor guarantee that was transferrable to a new owner. I get the benefit of a new heating system for 6 years and it increases the value of my home when I am ready to sell.
A year ago I made a detailed list of things I was looking for in a new home. One floor living, no yard maintenance, wheel chair accessible, lower real estate taxes etc. This pointed me in the direction of 55+ type communities and Delaware in particular because of the lower cost of living vs PA. Last year I made my first trip to Delaware to look at 55+ communities. This year I spent several days in the lower part of DE. I fell in love with the area south of Dover. Multiple visits at various times of the year over several years I think should be part of your retirement pre planning. You get to know the state and you see how the area you are considering is changing over time.
I had planned to replace all of the windows in my present home ( due to seal failure over the years) prior to selling it in 2013. The opportunity to get a $1500 tax credit this year and enjoy a reduction in my heating costs for the next 4 years and make my home more salable made it a very easy decision to put in new windows this year.
I am coming up with lots of things to do OR not do over the next 4 years to maximize the sale of my present home and minimize the costs associated to making the move to DE in 4 years.
I would love to hear from others about thier pre retirement planning in preparation to making the move to DE. For example, if you are thinking of buying a new car a year or two before you move to DE it might save you some money to hold off until after the move. It appears that to register an out of state car in DE you will pay a few hundred dolars in paperwork fees PLUS 3.75% of the trade in value of your car. Why would I want to pay 6% sales tax for a new car in PA and then a few years later pay DE 3.75% of its trade in value? It would make more sense to delay purchase of a new car until after my move and take advantage of no sales tax in DE.
Would love to here from others on your pre retirement planning for your move to DE.
One thing we are looking into is health care. Knock on wood, right now we are both happy and healthy. We have done research into how our plans carry over to another state and what is available to us there. My husband has Tricare through the military and Medicare so he has no problem fitting in but I have a Tricare program not available in DE. Bummer! So I have made the necessary phone calls to customer service and also done on-line research into my available options. I have looked at hospital profiles, physician profiles, distances from our hoped-for future home to these places, and a host of other factors. DO NOT wait until you land in DE to go shopping for a doctor!
Excellent point! I am thinking that once you reach the age of 65 and have to select a Medicare program or Medicare advantage program you want to be sure it is one that you can easily move to your planned retirement area within DE.
Lots of things to be aware of - this past week the $6500 tax credit became available for those who will be buying a home between now and the first half of 2010. You will need to have lived in your present home for at least 5 years and it looks like you will need to be under contract for your new home by 4/30/10 and moved in BEFORE 7/1/10. The last thing you want to do is miss the opportunity to take this credit because you lived in your present home for only 4yr and 11 months (work with your buyer to coordinate the settlement date) or the builder of your new home gets delayed and you can't move in until 7/1/10. By pre planning you might be able put in the contract with the builder that if he misses the occupancy drop dead date of 6/30/10 that he will give you a discount equal to the tax credit you missed. That sure would be an incentive for the builder to get your occupancy certificate by 6/30/10.
Knowledge is power - know all the specifics of this new tax credit to insure that you can qualify to take the credit.
The big reason was cheaper taxes and housing.
Was just saying yesterday......if it wasn't for that.....we would have stayed in Pa.
But yes.....that was the reason.
A lot of thought on your "personal decsion". And I say that because everyones reason is different.
I was soooo tired of working a stressful job with the goverment and My DH was diagnoised with Parkisons. We had bills out he wazoo and thought I would be working till I took the last trail of life en route to he grave.
After researching how much it would cost to live in a manufactured home in a 55+ community with a pool, gym and activities......we decided DE offered us the best for our money.
Then we narrowed it down to 3 communities. Southern Meadows did give us the best deal for our money.
We like nice things and SM is very nice with a 2 car garage built on site. they do not look like manufactured homes.
This was right for us.
So because of my husbands illness and my stress.......we decided to go for it. Plans were 2 years in the making.
I ate, slept and dreamed retirement plans. LOL!!
We visited Fl, AZ, checked out PA, NJ, VA and DE to see what would best suit us.
Health care is important but that was not our main focus. I was just hoping and praying the care was okay.
The trick is to find the right doctor.
Mary 2014 we wanted to unload our home too, the heater and air went, the roof was going and so many things were in need of repair or would in the near future. We were getting older and were just plain tired.
Mary 2014 we wanted to unload our home too, the heater and air went, the roof was going and so many things were in need of repair or would in the near future. We were getting older and were just plain tired.
That's another great point - the constant upkeep of an older home. All through our married lives in whichever home we were in, there was always something that needed fixed, painted, or replaced. We just finished a $13,000 complete septic replacement. Hated writing out that check but that will be a big plus come selling time. We want a NEW home where we are the original owners, built the way we want, and not in need of repair the moment we step in!
Keep in mind anything can happen at any time even with a brand new home. We don't own the land so if the sewer system goes....the The community pays for it.
some communities where you own the land..if they pool needs major work.....it is split among the residents.
Find out all that too.
Our taxes are $240 a year,
We pay $385 a month for land rent which also includes........use of pool, gym, clubhouse and trails
Along with snow removal and lawn service
Sewer is included.
We have had some minor repairs in 2 1/2 years......sink leaking, dishwasher gave us a hard time and shelves in bedroom closet started to come down. Other residents have had them come down.
I contacted management and asked them to let he builder know cuz this is a flaw in these homes.
Cheap brackets or whatever.
Happened to many homes so that needs to be fixed. Our Maintence man was kind enough to come in and put extra reinforcement before we ended up with our cloths on the floor.
My wife and I are also planning to move to Delaware when I retire (5-6 years). We are looking exclusively in Sussex county, and at new construction or less than 5 years old. We like Delaware for a number of reasons including tax structure, cost of living index, choice of 55+ living or not, somewhat rural small towns with little traffic and congestion issues, but mostly because we are partners in a family partnership owning a very nice home in Ocean City, MD. which we could use regularly when retired if we lived close. Having a house one block from the beach in O.C. means we have no intention of buying anywhere near the DE. shore or paying the prices and suffering the summer congestion that go with it. Our hope is to be able to sell our current home, pay off any debt we have, buy something nice in western Sussex county, and have money left over for a new car and some travel as soon as we relocate. We have been doing some pre-planning for a year or so already (even though we won't be moving to DE. for a few years yet), such as staying in touch with some realtors just to see what's selling and how the pricing is moving up/down in DE. Some early concerns we have are quality and convience of health care, residential water quality, lot rents, and how long before the state alters its tax treatment of retirement income. This forum provides plenty of useful info.
Hi Linksnut and welcome........
planning a move to DE is a good choce.
Your right, tax structure and choice of 55+ communities is a great reason to consider DE.
There are many threads on this forum on retirement in DE.........So much useful information at your finger tips.
Wishing your the best in your planning to retire. It can be fun, stressful, confusing and exciting all rolled in one.
Linksnut,
Health care is a big issue for all of us who are looking to retire. I think you might start by looking at available hospitals, doctors etc. in the are where you want to relocate. From experience dealing with my mother 18 yrs ago and helping my brother select a medicare option last year - here are a few things to consider:
My mother moved from NY to PA to be a little closer to her children - she wanted to be close but not too close. She was healthy at that time. She had medicare and I think it was AARP as a supplementl plan. Both were accepted pretty much anywhere. A few years after her move due to health reasons it was no longer safe for her to drive. All of her doctors, hospital, grocery stores, senior center etc. were within 5 miles of her home. However, all of these places were located in Chester County and her home was located one mile over the border in Lancaster County. She was located 45 minutes from my home, close , but it turned out not to be close enough.
Para transit in PA will not cross county lines. If she needed to have tests done at a hospital, Lancaster para transit would drive 25 miles to pick her up, 25 miles to the Lancaster hospital and 25 miles to bring her home. Chester County para transit would not cross the county line to pick her up and drive her 5 miles to a Chester County hospital for the needed tests. Nor would they pick her up to take her 3 miles to her doctor or 2 miles to the grocery store. The only alternative we had was for me to shut down my business for a full day to get her to various appointments or hire someone at $50 per hour to pick her up, take her to the doctor, wait for her and bring her home.
My brother who lives in another county in PA asked for my help selecting a Medicare advantage program last year. For him Medicare Advantage was much cheaper than paying for Medicare and a supplemental program like AARP. We found a provider in his area and a hospital and several doctors who accepted the Medicare advantage program. As long has he stays "in Network" it is great. The Network is within State and within the specific county where he lives. If he needs care outside of the network it could get very expensive - that is the risk he takes to get a Medicare Advantage program he can afford.
What kind of healthcare you plan on having when you retire and the geographic restrictions ( state and county lines when using your health care) can have a big impact on exactly where you want to own a home.
Thanks elizamary, always enjoy reading your upbeat posts on the DE forum
Mary2014, good stuff...like I said, plenty of useful info here. I hope to take my company heath coverage with me after retirement (contributing my share of the cost of course) until we are eligible for Medicare or whatever exists by then.
Then again, I have every confidence that our wise leaders in D.C. will have things all straightened out by then!
kidding
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