Your home becomes a big deal right after you hit your retirement age, there’s no doubt about it. You even have to plan ahead, consider several housing options and decide – even pay—on what you want even before the need arises. That’s the weird part of it, just when you finally found your own, true home – a place where you truly belong — you’ll be forced to look for another just because you will not be able to maintain the home of your dreams anymore. Or, if you are stubborn like that, you need to make a major makeover, fitting the home with assistive devices, then putting on a poker face just so nobody will see how daunting your situation is.

But what about your house, the one that you’ll be abandoning sooner or later? Below are some ideas and tips on what you could do with your home:
•    Make sure your home is fully paid to begin with. As much as possible, bring your home to retirement fully paid and ready to sell if the need be. Like I always say, you don’t need the burden of paying mortgages when you should have been enjoying your retirement years.
•    But what if, by chance, your hands are now both tied by mortgage? Seek refinancing of your home. What refinancing can do for seniors is that it will be able to lower their monthly payments if that is what’s burdening you. You can shop around for manageable rates than your current one.
•    Downgrade. One of the reasons why seniors are having problems with their homes is that it seemed to have grown or they seemed to have shrunk as the house is evidently bigger than the first time they laid their eyes on it. No matter how you see it, you either have to start with a smaller house or sell your mansion and settle for a one bedroom apartment.
•    Rent out the extra space. The upkeep of a big house will eventually take toll on you. And if you are living on your own, it will definitely get lonesome as time goes by. By renting out the extra space you have, you’ll be able to keep your house, live in it and have company all at the same time.
•    Take a reverse mortgage against your home. This must be the most popular option for seniors nowadays as reverse mortgage will allow you to borrow money against your home until you’re able to sell it. The beauty of this is you don’t have to pay anything while on reverse mortgage. The downside is, it is possible to max out your credit against your home leading you to almost nothing when sale date comes.