My retirement plans are not so much as to when I want to retire but when the company that I work for will retire me. You see the economy and some poor management decisions have put the company on hard times and the short term outlook does not look good. Lay offs are happening a lot and some day my number will be up. I am very surprised that I have not been let go already.
I have my late mothers home that I have been trying to sell for two years and have had no luck. This is a great starter home for a young couple or single person to buy and start building equity but no one can get a bank loan unless they have a big down payment and excellent credit rating. The price has been reduced 20K and still nothing.
People that can afford to buy in my area are very demanding. My next door neighbor is 85 and wants to sell his 3BR / 2 1/2 B all brick ranch that is perfect in every detail and is located on a private lake for $179K and has had some lookers but no offers. The house is worth every penny of that. He has replaces all the kitchen appliances with new and still nothing. One couple liked the place but wanted everything else replaced in the kitchen and all the baths completely redone. They said do that and we may offer you $130K. Dream on.
Jobs in this part of the country are very hard to come by. A recent job fair for JM Smucker drew over 2000 people. Good luck finding anything if you are in your 50's or 60's and looking for a job.
The economy says it all.
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