Anyone renting in retirement?

[Scallywag]

I know this has been asked before (if not here, then on other forums) but is anyone here renting in retirement?

What are some pros & cons of doing this? A senior couple who just sold their home moved in across from us a couple of months ago. They said the cost and effort of maintaining the large home in which their kids grew up became too much so they prefer the comfort of renting where someone else "takes care of the maintenance".

HA!

Is the trade-off of steadily increasing rents really acceptable to the cost and effort of maintenance?

Would love to hear your opinions on this. We will eventually have an adult child with special needs living with us in our senior years so this is worth some additional thought for us, especially as we have been saving up a down payment and hoping to buy soon but their feedback has given us cause / food for thought.

Thanks so much for all your input!

[disneysteve]

My mom sold her house and moved to a senior apartment building 15 years ago. Her monthly expenses dropped by several hundred dollars. She no longer has stairs. Only has 3 rooms to keep clean. Not responsible for maintenance and repairs, lawn care, snow removal, etc. Plus there are activities onsite, a bus that takes her to the grocery store and other shopping, etc. Overall a far better and cheaper option for her.

[Scallywag]

My mom sold her house and moved to a senior apartment building 15 years ago. Her monthly expenses dropped by several hundred dollars. She no longer has stairs. Only has 3 rooms to keep clean. Not responsible for maintenance and repairs, lawn care, snow removal, etc. Plus there are activities onsite, a bus that takes her to the grocery store and other shopping, etc. Overall a far better and cheaper option for her.

Wow, several hundred dollars? Did she have a mortgage + property taxes + insurance payment that was larger than the rent she ended up paying?

We would have our son with us, so we do need to take his needs into a/c, too, esp. since he'll be an adult and need to be occupied in some way even if we're too old and weak to do so. That's another criteria. I don't mind living in rented quarters as long as the rent never exceeds our ability to pay, thereby threatening the stability my son will always need (an advantage with most fixed rate mortgages & California taxes).

[LivingAlmostLarge]

So my friend's grandma rented from 1991-2010 in Santa Monica California. Rent control. The landlord wanted her dead. I mean she paid $1500 for a 2 bedroom 14 blocks from the beach and when she passed he said they easily got $4500-5000. So um yeah there are people and I visited her place with my friend so it was cute. It was 3rd floor with elevator.

My grandparents never owned and rented. But they were poor and on section 8 housing so I'm not sure that's a fair comparison. So was my great-grandmother.

But another more relevant answer is that I have had multiple about 5+ clients who have "rented" because they are in assisted living facilities. Facilities that provide transporatation, food, cleaning, activities. You can't own so you have to "rent". My mom's BFF her husband in such a faciltiy. More than few of my clients have sold homes and moved into places like this.

Also I have about 4 clients currently "renting" snowbirds. They do own up where it's cold but often a second home in Arizona, florida, Las Vegas. So it's not uncommon because they do not necessarily want to stay for long periods of time.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I think it depends. It depends on where you live, how old you are, what you can afford, and if you have children around to help. I do not think it's a cookie cutter 1 size fits all answer. Also things change when perhaps 1 of the couple dies. The needs of a widow or widower is very different than the needs of a couple.

To me it sounds like you've made up your mind, but obviously there are people renting for a variety of reason that obviously make sense for them. I don't think you can say

"What are some pros & cons of doing this? A senior couple who just sold their home moved in across from us a couple of months ago. They said the cost and effort of maintaining the large home in which their kids grew up became too much so they prefer the comfort of renting where someone else "takes care of the maintenance".

HA! Is the trade-off of steadily increasing rents really acceptable to the cost and effort of maintenance?"

Things are rarely black or white or simple calculation. I think also there are people (myself included) who see ourselves moving from where we are to somewhere else. Maybe where our kids are. So does it make sense to buy? Depends. Maybe we only stay a few months a year. Maybe we move full time. Who knows? If i had a crystal ball I'd be rich.

I do know you can only make the best decision on real estate with the information you have at hand. If you want to buy now then buy now. Waiting for the prices to drop is a losing proposition if there is a place you want to live.

I know people where I live currently who have been renting for 10+ years and they have 11 and 6 year olds. They couldn't afford then and they can't afford now to buy ever. They never will. They were priced out then. But they want to live where they live because of amenities. They can't afford to buy without moving further out. So they are sucking it up and renting till the kids are done with school. There are a lot of families like this. Also I know the mom and asked her if they thought about buying and she herself said they would love to but it would mean moving and that they won't compromise on. Yes her rent has gone up but not at the rate of property taxes, water, etc.

In fact my neighbors are the landlords in that case and they've rented their house out now since 2011 (before they had their twins and why they moved) to a family who always offer to buy. They say no way. The family will never move out because they love the neighborhood. But they can't afford it. So they rent and call it a day. Has the rent gone up? Yes but again my assessed value on my house went up $200k in 1 year from 2021-2022. Since we've bought the assessed value has gone up from $700k to $1.3M. So almost double in 5 years. That means my property taxes are going up like crazy. Is that passed on in the rent? Not at that rate. So has water bills.

So there are always pros and cons to renting. A big one is getting a place that is nicer or a better location than you could ever afford to buy.

[Scallywag]

So my friend's grandma rented from 1991-2010 in Santa Monica California. Rent control. The landlord wanted her dead. I mean she paid $1500 for a 2 bedroom 14 blocks from the beach and when she passed he said they easily got $4500-5000. So um yeah there are people and I visited her place with my friend so it was cute. It was 3rd floor with elevator.

My grandparents never owned and rented. But they were poor and on section 8 housing so I'm not sure that's a fair comparison. So was my great-grandmother.

But another more relevant answer is that I have had multiple about 5+ clients who have "rented" because they are in assisted living facilities. Facilities that provide transporatation, food, cleaning, activities. You can't own so you have to "rent". My mom's BFF her husband in such a faciltiy. More than few of my clients have sold homes and moved into places like this.

Also I have about 4 clients currently "renting" snowbirds. They do own up where it's cold but often a second home in Arizona, florida, Las Vegas. So it's not uncommon because they do not necessarily want to stay for long periods of time.

I'm not sure what the answer is. I think it depends. It depends on where you live, how old you are, what you can afford, and if you have children around to help. I do not think it's a cookie cutter 1 size fits all answer. Also things change when perhaps 1 of the couple dies. The needs of a widow or widower is very different than the needs of a couple.

To me it sounds like you've made up your mind, but obviously there are people renting for a variety of reason that obviously make sense for them. I don't think you can say

"What are some pros & cons of doing this? A senior couple who just sold their home moved in across from us a couple of months ago. They said the cost and effort of maintaining the large home in which their kids grew up became too much so they prefer the comfort of renting where someone else "takes care of the maintenance".

HA! Is the trade-off of steadily increasing rents really acceptable to the cost and effort of maintenance?"

Things are rarely black or white or simple calculation. I think also there are people (myself included) who see ourselves moving from where we are to somewhere else. Maybe where our kids are. So does it make sense to buy? Depends. Maybe we only stay a few months a year. Maybe we move full time. Who knows? If i had a crystal ball I'd be rich.

I do know you can only make the best decision on real estate with the information you have at hand. If you want to buy now then buy now. Waiting for the prices to drop is a losing proposition if there is a place you want to live.

I know people where I live currently who have been renting for 10+ years and they have 11 and 6 year olds. They couldn't afford then and they can't afford now to buy ever. They never will. They were priced out then. But they want to live where they live because of amenities. They can't afford to buy without moving further out. So they are sucking it up and renting till the kids are done with school. There are a lot of families like this. Also I know the mom and asked her if they thought about buying and she herself said they would love to but it would mean moving and that they won't compromise on. Yes her rent has gone up but not at the rate of property taxes, water, etc.

In fact my neighbors are the landlords in that case and they've rented their house out now since 2011 (before they had their twins and why they moved) to a family who always offer to buy. They say no way. The family will never move out because they love the neighborhood. But they can't afford it. So they rent and call it a day. Has the rent gone up? Yes but again my assessed value on my house went up $200k in 1 year from 2021-2022. Since we've bought the assessed value has gone up from $700k to $1.3M. So almost double in 5 years. That means my property taxes are going up like crazy. Is that passed on in the rent? Not at that rate. So has water bills.

So there are always pros and cons to renting. A big one is getting a place that is nicer or a better location than you could ever afford to buy.

Well, we don't live in a city with that kind of rent control, but we do know that there was recent legislation that keeps future rent increases to no more than 10%

I don't have a crystal ball, either, LAL, but in my case, being forced to live in California (for a variety of reasons), I think it might just be better to buy than own. I have NO idea what will become of my older kid, but I know our son will live with us for the rest of our lives. All I hope is that he continues being taken good care of after we're both gone.

CA property taxes - as you may well know - are kept low by Prop 13 which limits property tax increases to 1% of the assessed values (which is still large compared to say taxes in TX due to real estate prices here). We need a small home (preferably about 1800 sq.ft) and it should necessarily be close to a location which will enable access to services for my son, especially as he grows into adulthood. I doubt we'd move to be near our other kid and grandkid(s) (if any) unless the benefits of the move outweigh the overwhelming need for stability and services for our son. That's not "fair" to our other kid and it sucks that we won't be as involved with our potential grandkid(s)' life(ves) as other people could, but then life just isn't freaking fair.

I have to do the math to figure out if property taxes + maintenance + insurance would be more than a 10% rent increase from here on out, esp if we get a fixed rate mortgage. BTW, most landlords now charge extra for water, utility and sewer so it wouldn't be anything extra if we owned, as opposed to rented.

Honestly, at this point, we're both just thinking out loud here because we don't know whether renting or owning is better for our family given our overwhelming need for permanency and stability (both cost-wise and otherwise). We cannot afford to buy where we live now, so like your friends, we're just waiting for DD to finish up school and go off to University, then we'll up and move. I'm heartily sick of the prices here, and in California, in general, but can't see how to "escape" the State, because of our circumstances. I really think owning makes more sense for us, I just don't know how we could make that happen, unfortunately. The number that would have been about 15% down as of late 2019, is now closer to 10%, thanks to prices that just seem to defy gravity.

California!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!! Love it but sometimes, and in some ways, don't really like it...

[disneysteve]

Wow, several hundred dollars? Did she have a mortgage + property taxes + insurance payment that was larger than the rent she ended up paying?

It's been over 15 years so I don't remember the exact numbers but yes, it was a few hundred dollars. Between taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, etc. she came out well ahead renting. She is in a senior apartment building and rent is subsidized so it's income-based which obviously helps a lot, but also just the fact that she went from a 3-story house in the city to a 1-bedroom apartment in the suburbs so costs would be lower regardless.

[Scallywag]

It's been over 15 years so I don't remember the exact numbers but yes, it was a few hundred dollars. Between taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, etc. she came out well ahead renting. She is in a senior apartment building and rent is subsidized so it's income-based which obviously helps a lot, but also just the fact that she went from a 3-story house in the city to a 1-bedroom apartment in the suburbs so costs would be lower regardless.

You don't have to share, if it's too private, but was the rent subsidized because she was a senior when she moved in or because she income qualified? I know this was a different time and likely in a different state, but we do NOT income qualify for anything here, except that we cannot afford most things (like legal services, etc), here, either. We make just a few hundred dollars more than the cut which ABSOLUTELY SUCKS but don't make nearly enough for much more than minimum, esp now that rents are on a TEAR here.

We MAY well income qualify once DH retires, but don't know if they would take the retirement assets into account at that point, especially if we get social security and any dividends (which are low right now), so just curious about the subsidized housing your mother was able to get. Thanks for sharing, if you can

[disneysteve]

You don't have to share, if it's too private, but was the rent subsidized because she was a senior when she moved in or because she income qualified?

Rents in her building are on a scale based on income. I'm sure she's not at the lowest rent but she's not at the highest either.

Investment assets don't matter; only income from those investments matter. That's a big difference. You can have considerable assets and still qualify for income-based aid if you aren't realizing a lot of income from your assets.

Also, as a senior, she qualifies for various discounts like on her electric and phone bills. She also regularly (monthly maybe) gets a carton of food donations through the Jewish Federation (she lives in Federation housing) and some other little things here and there.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Santa Monica is a city in California. In fact a suburb of Los Angeles so....rent control is in the state of california.I also have friends rent controlled in San Francisco above ghiradelli's. That being said my BFF lives in Davis and another in Alisa Viejo. So I've got quite a few friends who have families in California and my own included in Orange county area and San Diego. Most stay in their homes until they get quite old. My cousin bought in 2019, so he's definitely younger than you probably since he only has a 3 and 1 year old. So recent. My BFF in AV bought in 2013 and Davis in 2011. BIL bought in SJ this year in 2021. Along with Aunts and Uncles in OC.

So yeah I know what's up with rent and prop 13. Like I said you just need to stop waffling and being offended when people offer real suggestions . You buy because you plan on staying. You rent when you plan on moving or are uncertain. How much longer are you planning on staying? My BIL has lived in south bay since 2011 and took 10 years to buy. Big mistake, prices have skyrocketed. But he's decided he's all in. So he bought because now he's planning on staying. Renting was and is cheaper than his condo. He was renting for $2500/month and is paying $4500/month PITI. My cousin in SD also same thing. Renting around $1500 but buying closer to $4k.

There are reasons for both. If you want real help then post the numbers. Post the cost of the house and size and numbers. We can tell you if it makes sense. But make sure you are comparing buying a house with renting a house. I mean if you are buying an 1800 sq ft house in California that's ASKING a lot. Many people are more along the lines of 1200 sq ft 3bd/2ba without garage since it really is a 2/1 800 sq ft house with converted garage in the bay. And if you are renting now a condo/townhouse then why not buy an apples to apples comparison?

Do I love my house? Nope. It's fine. I picked location over size and quality. It's a nice house but for the same price at the same time we could have bought double the size if we had been willing to be 10-15 minutes away. I calculated we won our bidding war by 30% over list 37 other offers and we beat out cash by going higher than cash offers. People always say cash wins. NOPE. Again if you want a house in a hot market you have to be willing to overpay. Cash wins if it's the same but if you are willing to put in another $50k and have a solid offer? Trust me lots of people want money more than cash since they know you will be performing to close. 30% remember I get a lot of complaints from clients and friends about how they offered but didn't win. Well again what are you willing to do? Then they shut up when I say we bid 30% over and beat cash.

[Scallywag]

Santa Monica is a city in California. In fact a suburb of Los Angeles so....rent control is in the state of california.I also have friends rent controlled in San Francisco above ghiradelli's. That being said my BFF lives in Davis and another in Alisa Viejo. So I've got quite a few friends who have families in California and my own included in Orange county area and San Diego. Most stay in their homes until they get quite old. My cousin bought in 2019, so he's definitely younger than you probably since he only has a 3 and 1 year old. So recent. My BFF in AV bought in 2013 and Davis in 2011. BIL bought in SJ this year in 2021. Along with Aunts and Uncles in OC.

So yeah I know what's up with rent and prop 13. Like I said you just need to stop waffling and being offended when people offer real suggestions

Who was offended? Me? I said very clearly we are STILL doing the math and the research. Assuming much?

Yes, I'm aware that Santa Monica in in California. No, not all towns in California had rent control until recently. My town did not until 2019. I don't want to say where I live but rest assured we did NOT have rent control until now and then they can still raise it 10% which is a lot, when you consider the existing rents.

You buy because you plan on staying. You rent when you plan on moving or are uncertain. How much longer are you planning on staying? My BIL has lived in south bay since 2011 and took 10 years to buy. Big mistake, prices have skyrocketed. But he's decided he's all in. So he bought because now he's planning on staying. Renting was and is cheaper than his condo. He was renting for $2500/month and is paying $4500/month PITI. My cousin in SD also same thing. Renting around $1500 but buying closer to $4k.

There are reasons for both. If you want real help then post the numbers. Post the cost of the house and size and numbers. We can tell you if it makes sense. But make sure you are comparing buying a house with renting a house. I mean if you are buying an 1800 sq ft house in California that's ASKING a lot. Many people are more along the lines of 1200 sq ft 3bd/2ba without garage since it really is a 2/1 800 sq ft house with converted garage in the bay. And if you are renting now a condo/townhouse then why not buy an apples to apples comparison?

Because there's no "apples to apples" when it comes to housing and even then it would mean comparing a home you're renting in Town X with a nearly identical specification in the same town X. You can't compare a home in San Francisco to a home in Burlingame or in San Mateo, even if they are the exact same floor plan, and the same age, built with the same materials and located within miles of each other. Also, I never intend to buy a townhome, a condo or a single family property with an HOA. I hate HOAs like the plague due to my personal bad experiences dealing with giant egos on the committee or unemployed / retired snitches in the community, so thanks but I'll pass. And, there are MANY homes in that 1800 to 2500 sq. ft range that are the norm in many parts of Sacramento, Bay Area, Fresno / Patterson, LA etc. Look it up on Redfin. I know it used to be doable until the market lost it's head when 2020 happened. Now it's not affordable, so I'll continue to rent.

Do I love my house? Nope. It's fine. I picked location over size and quality. It's a nice house but for the same price at the same time we could have bought double the size if we had been willing to be 10-15 minutes away. I calculated we won our bidding war by 30% over list 37 other offers and we beat out cash by going higher than cash offers. People always say cash wins. NOPE. Again if you want a house in a hot market you have to be willing to overpay. Cash wins if it's the same but if you are willing to put in another $50k and have a solid offer? Trust me lots of people want money more than cash since they know you will be performing to close. 30% remember I get a lot of complaints from clients and friends about how they offered but didn't win. Well again what are you willing to do? Then they shut up when I say we bid 30% over and beat cash.

Your advice is to get into a bidding war and overpay on a home? Alright, and how do you intend to cover the difference between what it appraises for and what you are buying it for? Good for you if you can cover it yourself but not everyone can and I would much rather rent than overpay.

And let's agree to disagree on why one rents vs. why one would buy. Folks don't rent simply because they are "uncertain" about the future because NO ONE on Earth knows what that "future" holds (barring possession of an efficient crystal ball). Folks also rent when they can't make the numbers work and because people like me want to be a responsible buyer who takes on just enough debt that we can AFFORD to take. At least that's my principle. I'm also probably just too poor to be able to outbid on any property.

In any case, since your tone sounded like you were ranting -- I am PERFECTLY fine with renting and hardly "waffling". I am aware that it might be a distinct possibility for my family which is why I posted this thread to begin with. I know people who do it and wanted feedback from those folks because it presents a realistic picture of what having housing costs in retirement entail. As you pointed out, and as Steve says, renting may actually be the cheaper option. That said, renting does present the downside of potential pricing instability, especially as we age and move into fixed income. But as your post also illustrates, we simply might not even have that option because there's NO way DH & I are getting into a bidding war by over 30%. Why, that would be the cost of a small condo in addition to the SFP we aim for in our neck of the woods! Thanks... but no thanks! I'm good renting under those circumstances.

BTW, you mentioned "clients". Are you a real estate agent??????

[Scallywag]

Rents in her building are on a scale based on income. I'm sure she's not at the lowest rent but she's not at the highest either.

Investment assets don't matter; only income from those investments matter. That's a big difference. You can have considerable assets and still qualify for income-based aid if you aren't realizing a lot of income from your assets.

Wow, that would be simply awesome! VTI and VOO don't pay much in dividends right now, so we may not have much dividend income even in retirement, until the yield rises or we buy bonds / bond funds, REITS etc. IF we can have about 2 mil in retirement and still "income qualify" based on just SS, that would be awesome, as the investments can all be moved into our son's special needs trust. It sounds weird and unethical to even say that but hey we do have to cover our son's living even after we're gone and we did pay into the system, so why not?

Also, as a senior, she qualifies for various discounts like on her electric and phone bills. She also regularly (monthly maybe) gets a carton of food donations through the Jewish Federation (she lives in Federation housing) and some other little things here and there.

Does she drive? Next to housing, I find transportation (gas, insurance, maintenance) to cost the most, even if the car has technically been paid off. If we can live close to public transportation that should help. We have county transportation for the disabled but we tried it once to get our son around when our car was in the shop and it was AWFUL. So we'd need a car, but maybe we can make do with just one car, instead of our current 2 cars.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I'm going to say it's hard to write and have expression. But I will say i'm not ranting but pointing out that California can see be manageable and affordable. It just needs your attitude/expectations needs adjusting to the reality that is California. If you are affording a home that is 1800-2500 sq ft in the Bay it's $3M plus and you aren't middle class. It used to be last year more like $2M. If you are affording that sort of salary you aren't hurting. Monkeymama can speak more to sacramento, but I'm feeling like 1800 sq ft in Davis is still running $800-1M now. I am not entirely sure that's middle class either.

The point about winning bidding wars? Adjust down the price of home you are bidding one. Nope I do taxes and financial planning. Not realtor. My advice is if you want to buy a house then the expectation that you will lose to an all cash offer is incorrect. You just need to offer more money to win. I didn't say it's the correct move to make nor do I make a judgement to my clients. I just point out that if they want to win that's what has to happen. If they choose to not buy then that's also their decision. Something I"ve learned is that people need to make their own decisions and rationalize it.

My BIL we suggested buying 10 years ago. He didn't want to. He's been waiting for the last 5 years for prices to "drop". Finally this spring he bought a place because he felt condos were a "good" deal because people didn't want to live in condos but homes. So he felt it had pulled back and he had gotten a "good" deal comparatively. Two things - one he did get a good deal compared to someone who bought say in 2019/early 2020. But it turns out he HATES the HOA and less than 6 months after closing he's looking at houses because he hates all the rules (no hardwood floors, no bbq, can't replace fixtures, parking, etc). Who knew? Probably someone who did a bit more research about condos but he wanted a "good" deal. Two - the price of the same condo he bought in 2021 for $780k $550k in 2017 same building multiple units. So did he really get a good deal waiting? It went up 40% in 5 years and his rent did not go up that much. He knows this and regrets not buying but you can't look back. You can only make the best decision to buy or rent.

I had a friend's son buy in Campbell in 2017 for $480k condo. Sold in 8/2021 to move to Santa Rosa for $580k. She said he'd have gotten more if he'd sold last year for $600k plus so condo prices have come down. But they made a mistake when they bought she said. So who knew. Buying a risk but so is renting. I think that if you are fortunate either way you can come out ahead.

If you found a rental that the landlord won't raise the rent great. If you buy at the right time (ie you don't plan on moving and it fits your needs long term) then doesn't matter what you pay. The reason why we overpaid was that we were planning on staying there 5 years maybe longer. We had no idea whether we would be able to afford to move. BUT we knew we could comfortably afford it and it was cheaper than renting in the similar area. So we pulled the trigger knowing we were overpaying and not caring. But the pandemic changed everything and our house value just about doubled instead. That was not predicted. Has rents gone up that much? No.

Trust me I've been waiting since 2017 to buy rental properties and I keep saying it' can't keep going up. it'll have to come down. There will have to be deals. Well i've been wrong this ENTIRE time. I should have just bought in 2017, but I bet incorrectly on buying rentals. BIG time incorrectly. I have no one to blame but myself. But i felt like buying an investment property is exactly that an investment. it's not like a house that you can overpay and not care as much, you always need a place to live. You do not NEED to invest in an rental that's overpriced. You can need to invest in an home that's overpriced because you NEED a place to live.

So go ahead and post numbers. We'll give you the true measurement of value of whether you should buy or rent. My BIL should have bought 5 years ago. Homes are a hedge against inflation. They also are biggest investment risk because it's a 5x investment. You put down 20% on a home but you are leverage 5x for returns. I still think you need a place to live, but whether you need that place you want is a different story.

[Scallywag]

Anyone else renting in retirement? I am guessing not.

[scfr]

Anyone else renting in retirement? I am guessing not.

I'm not retired yet. Renting in retirement is something I'd consider. I've lived approx 1/2 of my adult life, and 1/3 of my married life, renting. Home ownership and renting both have their pros and cons. I'm about to transition back to home ownership, but who knows which I'll prefer as I get older?

One thing that hasn't been discussed in this thread is the impact on executor and heir(s) after death. My in-laws were renters at the end of their lives, and even though there was some pressure to get the apartment cleared out ASAP after MIL passed, their children did not have to deal with a house to sell. They had been homeowners but sold shortly after retirement and started renting. My mother owns a home and the thought of dealing with her home (which has deferred maintenance and a reverse mortgage among other issues) after her death makes me want to grab the bottle of antacid tablets.

Same thing if we have to go in to assisted living or a nursing home. It will be an easier move to manage if we don't have a home to sell.

[Scallywag]

I'm not retired yet. Renting in retirement is something I'd consider. I've lived approx 1/2 of my adult life, and 1/3 of my married life, renting. Home ownership and renting both have their pros and cons. I'm about to transition back to home ownership, but who knows which I'll prefer as I get older?

One thing that hasn't been discussed in this thread is the impact on executor and heir(s) after death. My in-laws were renters at the end of their lives, and even though there was some pressure to get the apartment cleared out ASAP after MIL passed, their children did not have to deal with a house to sell. They had been homeowners but sold shortly after retirement and started renting. My mother owns a home and the thought of dealing with her home (which has deferred maintenance and a reverse mortgage among other issues) after her death makes me want to grab the bottle of antacid tablets.

Same thing if we have to go in to assisted living or a nursing home. It will be an easier move to manage if we don't have a home to sell.

My new neighbors mentioned the cost and effort of maintaining their former home as their no.1 reason to sell and rent in retirement. IF we did end up buying a home, it would be in the name of our son's special needs trust, and it would be up to the trustees to sell the home and put the money in the trust's bank accounts.

But is there usually a challenge in selling a home as part of an estate? Would like to learn more, thanks!