Where To Retire? How About Monterey

Where To Retire?
Where to retire that is a question we all tend to ask ourselves from time to time. For a lot of people they will simply retire in the home they have always lived in and raised their children in. For other people it's an opportunity to move and maybe go to another community and see and live a new lifestyle. Maybe moving from the suburbs where you lived for the good schools and to raise your children but now you want to move into the city where everything is within biking or walking distance.
Retire in Monterey
Retiring in Monterey is something a lot of people dream about doing since they love the lifestyle of the Monterey area and the coast and they have been coming here for years on vacation. Not to mention all the local events and programs that the Monterey area has that you can take advantage of when you are retired. But how to make that dream a reality? Well, now is actually a pretty good time to start on that plan for a couple of reasons. Typically home prices in Monterey are very expensive relative to everywhere else. But, just like everywhere else home prices have fallen dramatically in the last few years due to the housing crisis. Currently you can find homes in Monterey in the $400,000.00 range with some going cheaper and a lot going for a lot more. But, previously those prices were unheard of in Monterey. Also home loan rates are some of the lowest that they have been in recent decades. I know what you are thinking hey I'm not ready to retire yet how do I afford to buy another house even if they are cheaper than they were a few years ago and loan rates are so low?
Rental to Retirement Home
     How about this idea you buy the home now and turn it into a weekly rental. For people or families who just want to spend a week or two at the beach or to come to the AT&T Pro Am tournament. By the way have you seen how much they charge for weekly rentals in Monterey? Typically a one bedroom one bath weekly rental in Monterey rents for about $1100.00 to about $2300.00 a week so that can pay your mortgage on say $450,000 pretty handily if you rent your home an average of about three weeks of the month. Now I know what you are thinking you are thinking I don't want to be a landlord. Nobody does but if you don't want to do this type of thing you can pay a rental management company to do it for you. They will  charge you about  ten percent monthly to manage your property and that will include everything from cleaning to maintenance and everything else so it can be a just be sure to include that cost in your math when you are figuring out your monthly expenses on your property. So every month that goes by you are collecting rent on your home in Monterey that you will use to retire in. Not to mention that if you purchase a home in Monterey to use as a rental when you come into town you will already have a place to stay and not have to book a hotel.  Now some months you will more than make up the mortgage and some months you will be a little short but overall this is a good strategy to help pay for that house that you will live in when you retire in Monterey. That way you can take action to make that idea to retire in Monterey a reality.
What Type of Home to Buy?
The kind of home you buy for your retirement is probably much different than the home you might currently live in. Think about it you probably won't have the kids living at home or all the stuff you currently have so you don't need as much space for just you and your spouse as you do for you your spouse and your children and all their stuff. So you probably don't need four bedrooms two stories and a three car garage and all of the cleaning and maintenance that all of that entails.