July 11, 2025 • 5 mins
“Hey Mike, is it better to rent or buy a home in retirement?”Discover the benefits and detriments of renting, buying, and buying with low maintenance.
Text your questions to 913-363-1234.
Request Your Wealth Analysis by going to www.retireontime.com
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Mike (00:05):
Welcome to How to Retire on Time, a show that answers
your retirement questions. Myname is Mike Decker along with
David Franson over here, andwe're gonna be taking your
questions. Just text them rightnow to (913) 363-1234, and we'll
take them one at a time. Again,that number, (913) 363-1234.
Let's begin.
David (00:22):
Hey, Mike. Is it better to rent or buy a home in
retirement? This is a reallytricky question.
Mike (00:29):
Yeah. So you've got really three options, the way I see it.
You can rent where you have nolandlord responsibilities, as
long as you're not setting yourkitchen on fire. Right? The
landscaping's taken care of, theroof, the house, all of that.
You're renting a nice condo.There's a community. Like, those
things, they have theirconveniences. But your rent, you
(00:51):
will pay for the rest of yourlife, and that will increase
with inflation. Now you mightsay, well, my house currently is
worth, let's just do anarbitrary number, 500,000.
So 500,000 growing at areasonable rate should be able
to pay for rent for the rest ofmy life, and that is kind of
true in that sense. And you'vegot no responsibility, But you
don't have control over manyother aspects of your life, so
(01:12):
there's benefits and detriments.I've known many people that when
they get closer to retirement,just sell their house and do
this. And for those peopleunderstanding these risks, have
no problem doing it. Love it.
All on board for that option.For other people, they like
being a homeowner. They likemaintaining their house. They
like the gardening. They likehaving the freedom.
(01:33):
I think of, specifically, peopleI know in Southeast Kansas, the
fact that they can do whateverthey want in their backyard. Big
gardens, little gardens, theycan make a a jump if they had,
like, I don't know, motorcycles,whatever. Like, some people like
that freedom of just doingwhatever they want to their
property. Your benefit is youcan pay off your house, and all
(01:53):
you've got worried about is thetaxes on your house each year,
which you don't pay taxes onyour properties if you're
renting because you don't have aproperty, but it's incorporated
in your rent. So let's be fairabout that.
But aside from taxes, which youhave no control over, they'll
probably increase over time.Your expenses are your time and
your labor on maintaining yourproperty, updating the roof,
(02:13):
updating the water heater, theAC unit, things like that. Those
are smaller expenses, hopefully,all things considered with rent,
but they're gonna pop up fromtime to time, and you gotta be
aware of that. In addition tothe homeowner bit, do you have
the energy to mow the lawn andand take care of the property?
And maybe you enjoy that fortime being.
(02:34):
Maybe you've got a riding lawnmower, and it's just really fun
to kind of ride around. Yeah.They look I don't have one, but
they look
David (02:39):
really fun. They do. You could do your name into the
grass, right, in the pattern orsomething.
Mike (02:43):
Or just do circles. Yeah. So it looks like aliens landed
or something.
David (02:46):
There we go. Yeah. The neighbors talking.
Mike (02:48):
Yeah. And then you've got that option where maybe the
local neighborhood boy mows theline after that. I mean, you've
got flexibility of it. Right?But you're taking on a
responsibility that you have towant.
And then the third option, whichis the hybrid between the two,
is you might buy a propertywhere it's basically taken care
of for you. So the lawns aretaken care of. They're
beautifully manicured and all ofthat, but you've got less say
(03:10):
over what you can do in theproperty. You're paying HOAs, so
that's like paying a partialrent. You might own the house,
but you're paying a small rentthat will probably increase over
time to take care of thelandscape, to take care of the
local pool or whatever it is.
David (03:25):
Yeah.
Mike (03:26):
So there's no way to get out of a maintenance less
property, because you're eitherpaying for the maintenance,
whether you own the property ornot, or you're putting in for
your time. Like, it's just ablend. And what is right for you
is gonna be different than whatis right for someone else.
Downsizing or maintaining yourcurrent house, that's another
conversation. Knowing you maybewanna live in this house until
(03:47):
you can't live in this house,and then do you move in with the
kids?
And if you move in with one ofthe kids, are they gonna be
compensated for the extra workthey're putting in for
maintaining you now from thatpoint on? Do you go to a
retirement community? Is that aone time payment for a certain
period of time, or is that rent?These are things you need to
talk about that will affect howyour plan is curated. And by the
(04:07):
way, if your plan is built onfixed income, not bond income,
though I guess you could arguethat that's kind of the same
thing, or lifetime incomeannuities, be very careful about
how all of these options, all ofthese factors are subject to
inflation.
And will it get more difficultto maintain rent payments or HOA
(04:31):
payments and other associatedmaintenance or your house
maintenance with rising costswith this flat income stream? So
just proceed with caution as youexplore the options. There's no
such thing as a risklessretirement. There's no such
thing as a perfect investmentproduct or strategy, but slowing
down and asking these questionsand how you want to paint your
(04:53):
picture can really help put theright plan together and then put
the right portfolio together.Remember, the portfolio should
support the plan.
The plan is not supposed to bebuilt around the portfolio. Plan
first, explore the strategysecond, then pick your
investments and products tobring it all to life. That's all
(05:13):
the time we've got for the showtoday. If you enjoyed the show,
consider subscribing to itwherever you get your podcast.
Just search for how to retire ontime.
Discover if your portfolio isbuilt to weather flat market
cycles if you're missing taxminimization opportunities that
you may not even know exist.Explore strategies that may be
able to help you lower youroverall risk while potentially
(05:34):
increasing your overall growthand lifestyle flexibility. This
is not your ordinary financialanalysis. Learn more about Your
Wealth Analysis and what itcould do for you regardless of
your age, asset, or targetretirement date. Go to
www.yourwealthanalysis.com todayto learn more and get started.
Welcome to How to Retire on Time, a show that answers
your retirement questions. Myname is Mike Decker along with
David Franson over here, andwe're gonna be taking your
questions. Just text them rightnow to (913) 363-1234, and we'll
take them one at a time. Again,that number, (913) 363-1234.
Let's begin.
David (00:22):
Hey, Mike. Is it better to rent or buy a home in
retirement? This is a reallytricky question.
Mike (00:29):
Yeah. So you've got really three options, the way I see it.
You can rent where you have nolandlord responsibilities, as
long as you're not setting yourkitchen on fire. Right? The
landscaping's taken care of, theroof, the house, all of that.
You're renting a nice condo.There's a community. Like, those
things, they have theirconveniences. But your rent, you
(00:51):
will pay for the rest of yourlife, and that will increase
with inflation. Now you mightsay, well, my house currently is
worth, let's just do anarbitrary number, 500,000.
So 500,000 growing at areasonable rate should be able
to pay for rent for the rest ofmy life, and that is kind of
true in that sense. And you'vegot no responsibility, But you
don't have control over manyother aspects of your life, so
(01:12):
there's benefits and detriments.I've known many people that when
they get closer to retirement,just sell their house and do
this. And for those peopleunderstanding these risks, have
no problem doing it. Love it.
All on board for that option.For other people, they like
being a homeowner. They likemaintaining their house. They
like the gardening. They likehaving the freedom.
(01:33):
I think of, specifically, peopleI know in Southeast Kansas, the
fact that they can do whateverthey want in their backyard. Big
gardens, little gardens, theycan make a a jump if they had,
like, I don't know, motorcycles,whatever. Like, some people like
that freedom of just doingwhatever they want to their
property. Your benefit is youcan pay off your house, and all
(01:53):
you've got worried about is thetaxes on your house each year,
which you don't pay taxes onyour properties if you're
renting because you don't have aproperty, but it's incorporated
in your rent. So let's be fairabout that.
But aside from taxes, which youhave no control over, they'll
probably increase over time.Your expenses are your time and
your labor on maintaining yourproperty, updating the roof,
(02:13):
updating the water heater, theAC unit, things like that. Those
are smaller expenses, hopefully,all things considered with rent,
but they're gonna pop up fromtime to time, and you gotta be
aware of that. In addition tothe homeowner bit, do you have
the energy to mow the lawn andand take care of the property?
And maybe you enjoy that fortime being.
(02:34):
Maybe you've got a riding lawnmower, and it's just really fun
to kind of ride around. Yeah.They look I don't have one, but
they look
David (02:39):
really fun. They do. You could do your name into the
grass, right, in the pattern orsomething.
Mike (02:43):
Or just do circles. Yeah. So it looks like aliens landed
or something.
David (02:46):
There we go. Yeah. The neighbors talking.
Mike (02:48):
Yeah. And then you've got that option where maybe the
local neighborhood boy mows theline after that. I mean, you've
got flexibility of it. Right?But you're taking on a
responsibility that you have towant.
And then the third option, whichis the hybrid between the two,
is you might buy a propertywhere it's basically taken care
of for you. So the lawns aretaken care of. They're
beautifully manicured and all ofthat, but you've got less say
(03:10):
over what you can do in theproperty. You're paying HOAs, so
that's like paying a partialrent. You might own the house,
but you're paying a small rentthat will probably increase over
time to take care of thelandscape, to take care of the
local pool or whatever it is.
David (03:25):
Yeah.
Mike (03:26):
So there's no way to get out of a maintenance less
property, because you're eitherpaying for the maintenance,
whether you own the property ornot, or you're putting in for
your time. Like, it's just ablend. And what is right for you
is gonna be different than whatis right for someone else.
Downsizing or maintaining yourcurrent house, that's another
conversation. Knowing you maybewanna live in this house until
(03:47):
you can't live in this house,and then do you move in with the
kids?
And if you move in with one ofthe kids, are they gonna be
compensated for the extra workthey're putting in for
maintaining you now from thatpoint on? Do you go to a
retirement community? Is that aone time payment for a certain
period of time, or is that rent?These are things you need to
talk about that will affect howyour plan is curated. And by the
(04:07):
way, if your plan is built onfixed income, not bond income,
though I guess you could arguethat that's kind of the same
thing, or lifetime incomeannuities, be very careful about
how all of these options, all ofthese factors are subject to
inflation.
And will it get more difficultto maintain rent payments or HOA
(04:31):
payments and other associatedmaintenance or your house
maintenance with rising costswith this flat income stream? So
just proceed with caution as youexplore the options. There's no
such thing as a risklessretirement. There's no such
thing as a perfect investmentproduct or strategy, but slowing
down and asking these questionsand how you want to paint your
(04:53):
picture can really help put theright plan together and then put
the right portfolio together.Remember, the portfolio should
support the plan.
The plan is not supposed to bebuilt around the portfolio. Plan
first, explore the strategysecond, then pick your
investments and products tobring it all to life. That's all
(05:13):
the time we've got for the showtoday. If you enjoyed the show,
consider subscribing to itwherever you get your podcast.
Just search for how to retire ontime.
Discover if your portfolio isbuilt to weather flat market
cycles if you're missing taxminimization opportunities that
you may not even know exist.Explore strategies that may be
able to help you lower youroverall risk while potentially
(05:34):
increasing your overall growthand lifestyle flexibility. This
is not your ordinary financialanalysis. Learn more about Your
Wealth Analysis and what itcould do for you regardless of
your age, asset, or targetretirement date. Go to
www.yourwealthanalysis.com todayto learn more and get started.
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