| So retirement looms and the idea of being | | | | some serious questions before you contact a |
| housebound in the winter for six months is | | | | real estate agent who knows the answers! |
| not a pretty thought. And of course, you have | | | | |
| thought about all those people who just pack | | | | For instance, you may want to find a coastal |
| up and flee as the first snow flake flutters | | | | area and buy a place on the beach, or you may |
| down and you have wondered.... | | | | wish track a resort where you can park an RV |
| | | | or you may want to buy a small cabin high in |
| How do they do it? Do they like it? How did | | | | the mountains or down in the desert canyons. |
| they take the plunge? How could I take the | | | | |
| plunge - if I wanted to, of course! | | | | If you are planning to buy a property, most |
| | | | people browse the Internet for an idea on |
| Well, providing you own your own home, the | | | | prices; a good real estate agent in the area |
| quick answers are: clever financing, wise | | | | of your choice can advise you about regional |
| lifestyle choices, being adventurous, read | | | | concerns and advantages, amenities and |
| on.... | | | | climate. He or she will also be able to email |
| | | | you details of homes before you arrive. |
| The answer to, 'how do they do it?', will be | | | | |
| left until later, because first you have to | | | | If you are planning to rent or buy or bring |
| make sure that you WANT to do it! Well, the | | | | your own RV to a resort, then you can find |
| best way to find out is to tag along with a | | | | much of the resort information on the |
| friend who does it, but obviously many of us | | | | Internet. |
| do not have anyone available. | | | | |
| | | | Let's suppose you have a place in mind: next |
| If you have a car or an RV, you could plan a | | | | is the financing. This can be easy for those |
| tour of the 'Snowbird States' and see which | | | | lucky people who have spent all their life |
| appeals to you the most. These states are | | | | paying off the mortgage. The answer is a |
| generally accepted to be Arizona, California, | | | | reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage will let |
| Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Florida and South | | | | you give yourself a loan without making any |
| Carolina. If you have a car, you will find | | | | payments back. It is like a line of credit |
| many bed and breakfast spots to overnight, as | | | | that is secured by your original home. |
| well as hotels. | | | | |
| | | | With this money you can buy a property for |
| If you don't want the expense of this, the | | | | cash, which puts you in an excellent |
| Internet will give you an overload of | | | | bargaining position. If you leave the line of |
| information (start with Snowbirdhelper.com) | | | | credit on your original home for the rest of |
| and you can pick out one place and fly there. | | | | your life, the bank will pay it off and give |
| Or if you are driving, you can pick out a few | | | | the balance of the house to the 'estate' |
| places fairly close to each other and have a | | | | (along with your paid-up snowbird home). |
| research vacation. | | | | |
| | | | You may even choose the option of renting |
| The question, 'do they like it?', will | | | | your home for part of the winter to help to |
| probably be answered by how much research is | | | | pay down your reverse mortgage. Some |
| done by each 'wannabe snowbirder' to track | | | | snowbirders find that they want to spend |
| down the environment that is perfect for | | | | Christmas with the family, so do not leave |
| them. You may love the idea of spending | | | | until January 1st each year. In this case, |
| winter in a warm place, but may forget that | | | | you could rent your home out from October to |
| you need to match your lifestyle choices to | | | | December. |
| that place. | | | | |
| | | | But either way, you can now join that happy |
| Do you want solitude and peace or do you want | | | | bunch of people who never get a wheezy cough |
| dancing and a social life or do you want | | | | or feel an arthritic twinge - because you can |
| recreational fun, stimulating learning | | | | choose to always be in the warm! |
| opportunities or endless golf? Ask yourself | | | | |