“I “We’re looking forward to seeing you in the future,” said Meg, 60, a Maryland office manager. “It was cheaper to undertake a mortgage than to pay my college daughter and me the ever-growing rent.”
Currently, housing costs are consuming 50% of her income.
Meg felt “I am grateful to have our small home,” but the purchase lost its luster. Her older row house needs various repairs, but other costs associated with home ownership have also continued to rise.
“We had to remove additional mortgages to replace the heat and AC system,” she said. “I continue to increase my home insurance deductions in order to keep my premiums down. They raise ratchets every year, but I don’t have any income. Our situation doesn’t change significantly. As long as I can’t repair more. Our essentials consume 75% of my income and 50% of that housing cost.”
Meg is one of many homeowners across the US and shared how hard he has struggled with the Guardians with the rise in the costs of homeownership.
Increased mortgage and loan interest rates, explosion of home insurance premiums and property taxes in many parts of the country, and increased energy costs and eye water costs for home maintenance work, owning a home I turned this dream into a nightmare overturned. Many Americans.
Homeowners who had assumed their property become valuable assets, and providing security refers to the home as “money pit” and “financial burden” and barely in insurance, taxes, utilities and maintenance. Or say they felt stuck in a home that they can no longer afford, and now it often costs more than people’s mortgages.
“I have come to view home ownership and healthcare as a volatile force in my life,” said Bernie, a 45-year-old network engineer from Minneapolis. To own a $300,000 home for him and his wife and save for the future, the couple had cut costs everywhere, with no choice but to stay medical and dental care of all sorts, he said. .
“In four years, we’re going to sell our house and move to an RV full-time,” Bernie said. “Our homes do not provide security.”
The cost is overwhelming, if I can get rid of this house I will definitely
Amy
Amee, 44, a self-employed man from rural Maine, bought a $260,000 home in 2020, securing a 30-year fixed mortgage at an attractive 3.5% interest rate.
“My mortgage is reasonable, but the prices of other things have caused considerable financial stress for my partner and me,” she said.
“Home oil costs are astronomical. The costs for energy-efficient repairs, such as new windows, improved insulation and installation of heat pumps, are beyond our economic range.
“The quotes to redo our roofs range from $65,000 to $140,000 than I make in a year. Home equity loans currently have an interest rate of 11% around here. I can’t pay a monthly fee. If you are in the risk of losing your home, you are scared to commit to such a big loan.”
A property tax of about $4,000 a year is another concern. “They’ve come up again,” Amy said. “I recently had to create a plan to pay for electricity bills. If I could build a small holding on this property and remove this house, I would definitely do that. It’s totally overwhelming. I feel trapped.”
Amie’s concerns echoed by many who said they wanted to remove themselves from a home that was too expensive to own and maintain, but most felt they couldn’t do so. Mortgages; others said they considered returning to rent, but concluded that this is not feasible as rents are rising exponentially in many parts of the US It was on.
Stephanie, a 49-year-old psychotherapist, sold Massachusetts from her home and moved to Colorado. There, she, her sister and her fiance purchased a house that was manufactured for $130,000.
“That’s all I can afford given the student loans and temporary obstacles from multiple surgeries in seven months,” she said. “I don’t think it’s viable to own a house that’s not manufactured again again. After selling my last home, after 17 years of mortgage payments and massive spending on maintenance costs, I left for only 20,000 dollars.”
The resale value of a manufactured home can be very low, but Stephanie doesn’t want to avoid expensive repairs due to the simplicity of her new home and the risk of falling into a mortgage delinquent when she’s sick. I’m here.
Various seniors who have already paid their homes or were hoping to be mortgage-free, said they must quickly sell and relocate to low-tax areas for homeowners. . Southern Chicago suburbs.
“I bought this house 19 years ago for $220,000,” she said. “If you’re lucky, you can sell it for $300,000,” she said local home prices have not risen much throughout this period, as local property taxes were exorbitantly high.
I didn’t expect my home insurance costs to rise that way when I retired.
Jane
“There’s this huge tax burden here, but it really got out of control. Property taxes increased by $3,100 last year. I’m currently paying $8,800 a year for the house, probably at $280,000. Only can I sell. I’m in a better position than most people and I’m making a decent salary today, $170,000.
“But I’m thinking – can you afford these taxes when you retire? I’m cutting everything down.”
Angela is worried that she will eat the funds to eat the money she needs to retire.
“But these very rural areas tend to be more conservative. The country is very divided and I might be completely isolated in some of these places,” she said. said.
Elderly homeowners said they didn’t expect to meet such a rapidly increasing cost of homeownership when they began planning their retirement finances decades ago.
Jane, 69, a rural California pensioner, was among those who said her home has become affordable due to rising insurance rates, mainly in areas where natural disasters are prone to them.
The home in a high-risk fire area still has a mortgage with a mortgage of around $100,000, and her savings are being eaten up by fire insurance costs, and she has more credit card debt. I’m accepting it.
“I bought the house in 2008 for $190,000,” Jane said. “The cost of fire insurance is rising rapidly. My fees jumped from $3,200 a year in October to $7,886. Maybe I should have planned better, but I am the one that I am. When I bought the fire insurance was not a thing. I didn’t expect the cost to go that way when I retired.”
Even her fixed Social Security income is $2,000, making it difficult to keep up with more expensive propane and electricity. “I’ve saved money, but I only have $10,000 for just one year to be enough. I don’t know what to do. I’m very scared.”
Jody, a mental health expert from Florida in her 50s, said she is among many Americans who have given up on her home insurance.
I don’t have homeowner insurance, like many people, many of my neighbors
Jody
Homeowner insurance for manufactured homes without a mortgage costs $5,000, with annual deduction of $8,000 and coverage up to $60,000.
“As a result, like many of our neighbors, we don’t have homeowners’ insurance,” she said. “Even double income (households) can’t afford to own a house here, and there’s no average person. I’ve sold it back to Michigan.”
Last year, when he tore a mortgageless home of 63-year-old Wisconsin graphic artist Connie Jones last year, the insurance company for nearly 20 years refused to pay most of the damages in the neighborhood and took it to his family. I was forced to do so. A $19,500 loan for roof and fence repairs.
“You have to postpone your retirement to make payments,” Jones said. “Owning our home is too expensive and we are looking at other options.
“We are debating whether to sell and move to a more affordable area or maintain the property for your daughter’s inheritance. The property tax is around $4,000 a year, and we have an increase. I’m continuing. I’m really not sure if it’s all worth it, but I definitely feel that I can’t balance all the costs of owning a home. We’ve got enough fairness I have (to buy again), but I’m more leaning towards renting a house in the future.”
I had to take out a mortgage. As an elderly person, I had to pay back a high interest credit card loan of nearly $100,000.
Patricia
A 70s pensioner from rural Massachusetts, Patricia was one of several people who said she was forced to take on substantial debt in her old age to meet the cost of homeownership.
The property is currently valued between $450,000 and $525,000, as it built a three-bedroom home in 1985 for around $250,000.
“I didn’t have a mortgage from 1985 to 2025, but recently I had to pay off my mortgage as an elderly person with an interest of about 10% and a high interest credit card loan of nearly $100,000. There was. Maintaining the house,” she said.
Patricia now fears that after her real estate loan has been deducted, her home sales revenue is too small to buy again in a small town in the area, so she won’t be able to shrink in the end It’s there.
I was thinking about finding a senior roommate, but was eventually kicked out.
Bill Howard
67-year-old Bill Howard said he found staying in the US financially impossible for them as fixed retirement benefits didn’t have the opportunity to keep up with rising housing costs. He was one of the recipients.
He tried to hold onto his late mother’s home in Reno, Nevada, but it was becoming more valuable.
“I was considering using the service to find a senior roommate, but Reno is in the wildfire zone. My home insurance was on the rise. Howard said, he was selling. I maximized a few credit cards to fund the home repairs in preparation for it, and moved to Medellin, Colombia the day after the house went to the market.
“I had two suitcases and started my life in July 2024 at the age of 66,” he said. “It was extremely painful to leave everything behind. There were many reasons why I wanted to stay. I felt like I was being kicked out.”
Luckily, Howard feels happy with the move right now and is about to buy an affordable apartment in Medellin. “You’re scared and living in the US and going to die, “Okay, things will work out.”
Morgan, a 36-year-old associate director of brand partnerships at a fashion company from Philadelphia, recently reached the real estate ladder, but now he wondered if his home would be a permanent financial outflow. I’m worried.
“My insurance increased by $150 per month. With the increase in utility, my total monthly housing expenses increased by about $300 to $400. I’ve exhausted some of my savings.” He said.
“I had to prioritize discretionary costs, and I cut them down each month I met my therapist. I looked into cutting costs to sell my home, but I was a year and a half. I bought it before. I don’t want to sell it yet, so I won’t lose money at the closing costs.”
Political and economic uncertainty adds to Morgan’s concerns.
“I’m worried,” he said. “In the event of an emergency or financial crisis, owning a home can reduce flexibility.”
