Retirement

Live-Work and Semi-Retirement

As a lot of people contemplate retirement, we are finding that the concept of retirement itself is changing. Many of us can’t stand the thought of completely retiring, either because of finances, or just because we simply can’t see ourselves not working. What this means for many is working part-time at what we did full-time, either for our long-time employer, or as a consultant. For others it can mean starting an entirely new business.

The next question is where will we work? Anywhere! The internet has made many of our jobs portable…worldwide. So, if your beachfront house in Mexico has a high-speed connection, you can do much of what you do in the office every day from your home-office at the beach. That makes semi-retirement almost bearable!

This brings up the idea of homes where we can live and work at the same time. The concept is not new, of course. I remember growing up in Seattle, and we had family friends who had small businesses in storefronts, and they lived in apartments upstairs, in small mixed-use buildings.

Recently, some developers have made these types of homes available in new construction. One Seattle developer is making live-work townhomes, with a bottom floor of work space with a bathroom, and 2 upper floors that contain living areas. There are separate outside doors for each of these units, and they are also connected inside. They sell very fast, too, as they are in popular neighborhoods! One client bought a unit as an office space for their business, and an apartment for their daughter who attends the nearby University of Washington. Developers in some suburban cities (I have seen these in Issaquah, Mukilteo, Lynnwood, and Poulsbo) also occasionally build live-work townhouses, with the work area either below the living areas, or beside them. A new listing just came on the market today for a 2100 sf unit with 3 bedrooms, 5 baths, and a separate office just off the main entrance. It’s located in Lynnwood near the Ash Way transit center for commuting convenience as well. These are affordably priced at around $350,000.

For more info on these or others in the area, contact Greg at 206-713-2921 or email below.

Mexico, with a personal touch

Mexico is a big place, with many opportunities for owning a home or condo for vacations, or part-time or full-time retirement living. Dollars go much, much farther there for everything to everyday goods and services to health care, and real estate too. The best part is it’s a big place, with many opportunities for every budget and lifestyle. The challenge has been finding the best place for you. Until now.

DownsizeNW has recently teamed up with some Re/Max agents who know Mexico…all of it. From the different areas to consider..from beach resort cities to small colonial towns to university towns centers of art and knowledge. They also know the ins and outs of the real estate industry there, from buying new homes or condos from developers, or restored older homes, or building your own, not to mention the legalities of making sure you have good title, and wading through the bureacuracy of buying. They even know how to connect you with buyer’s agents to make sure you are getting the best deal and paying the lowest closing costs.

For more information, or to sign up for one of their local seminars or trips to Mexico, let us know!

Will You Outlive Your Assets when you Retire?

Here’s an alarming article that says 3 out of 5 Americans who are approaching retirement age are in danger of outliving their assets without increasing their rate of savings immediately.

The article also discusses life annuities, and a bill before Congress to relieve some of the tax associated with these annuities.

Articles are good at giving general advice, but to find out how your situation will look when you retire, it’s best to work with an experienced financial planner. In the meantime, you can visit our Financial Calculator page.

International Living’s World’s Top Retirement Havens

Ever been on vacation somewhere, and thought “I would love to live here when I retire!” If so, you should visit International Living.com . It is a very exciting magazine, with a fantastic website all about living abroad. It has tons of info and great advice about living in locations all around the world, for the future ex-pat! I could spend hours on this website! It has blogs, discussion forums, data about all kinds of locations where Americans are retiring, as well as a feature they call “Post Cards” wherein those living abroad describe life in detail in the places they have chosen.

Their Top-rated Retirement Havens for 2007 include Mexico, Ecuador, and Italy.

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