Topic hub
Retirement Housing
For most households the home is both the largest asset and the largest cost. This hub covers whether to stay, downsize or move, what selling in one county and buying in another actually frees up, and the housing options later in retirement.
5 guides · 2 free tools
Where you live now
Where you might move
At county medians, this move frees about $196,600 of home equity, lowers the property tax bill by $4,906 a year, and raises expected hazard loss.
County medians, not your home. Home value and tax: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019–2023 5-year estimates, Tables B25103 and B25077. Hazard: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025); expected building loss per $100,000 of property value per year. Before selling and buying costs.
Guides in this hub
Housing
Aging in Place vs. Moving to a Community: The Later-Care Math
Home modifications and in-home care versus a community's continuum. Both are priced by the county. How to compare them for the decade when care matters.
Published · 6 min read
Housing
Can Airbnb or VRBO Pay for Your Second Home? Check the County First
Short-term rental permits, caps, bans, and HOA rules are set by cities, counties, and associations. Verify them before the rental income goes in your budget.
Published · 6 min read
Housing
Manufactured-Home and Land-Lease Retirement Communities
Low purchase price, rising lot rent, and no land equity. How land-lease communities work, what investor ownership has done to rents, and what to check first.
Published · 5 min read
Housing
Mid-Term Rentals: Renting 30+ Days to Travel Nurses and Remote Workers
Monthly furnished rentals often escape short-term rental rules, match the months you're away, and bring steadier tenants. What to verify locally.
Published · 5 min read
Housing
The Five Kinds of Retirement Community, and Who Each One Is For
55+ active adult, CCRC, independent living, assisted living, and co-housing work on different contracts with different financial exposure. A plain-language map.
Published · 6 min read
Still to come in this hub:
- Stay, downsize or movePlanned
- Home equity and the cost of a movePlanned
- Property tax by county, state by stateFirst states published →
- Renting in retirementPlanned
Connects to: Taxes
A move can reset your property tax bill.
Selling in one county and buying in another changes the cash you free up and the property tax you pay every year afterwards. In some states a home's taxable value also resets when it sells, so a buyer's first bill can be well above what the previous owner paid.
Free tools for this decision
No account, no email required. Each tool names its dataset and date.
Home equity move calculator
Sell in one county and buy in another: the cash it frees up and how your property tax changes.
Data: Census ACS 5-year, Tables B25077 and B25103 (2023)
Open the tool →County hazard and insurance risk check
FEMA's ratings for 18 natural hazards in any county, and what they mean for your insurance.
Data: FEMA National Risk Index (December 2025)
Open the tool →