Retirement comes with several decisions. Some of those can include how to make retirement money last.

One of the biggest decisions can be housing.

When approaching retirement, it may be a good idea to ask yourself some questions. Do I need to move out of my current home? Would it save on taxes? Do I want to live somewhere else? Is downsizing a good idea?

It can be good to discuss these questions with a financial advisor. They will help examine your financial situation objectively and go over all the options. Roan Capital Partners, a fee-only financial advisory firm in Johnson City, works with clients to understand their personal preferences and offers advice tailored to them.

“We want to get to know our clients and their wants before we offer any advice,” said James Ferguson, Managing Partner of RCP.

A common occurrence seen by RCP is spouses not necessarily being on the same page when it comes to housing. This is because people’s preferences on where they want to live changes all the time and people do not discuss it that much. One of the first questions James likes to ask a client is what the spouse’s thoughts are on where to live in retirement.

These type of questions helps financial advisors understand what a client is looking for and then they can investigate the analytical side to determine if it would be in the best interest of the client long-term.

One thing the advisors at RCP hear a lot is, “I want to move to another state, but I don’t know how.”

A good recommendation is to go to the city or state you would like to retire in and stay for an extended period of time, maybe a couple of weeks to a month. Get a feel for the area, how the day-to-day would operate, and decide if you’d like to live there full-time.

“I had one client who rented a place on the coast for three weeks and ended up hating it,” James said. “They would have never known that if they had not tested it out. They had the resources to move, had sold their home, and were looking at moving there. Then they figured out they really didn’t like it that much.”

Another option retirees need to look at is whether to downsize from their current home. Say a person lives in a two-story home but decides it may be too much to take care of as they age. What should they do?

Joy Garland, Managing Partner of RCP, said upcoming retirees should examine all options and what may suit them as they age. Maybe look at a one-story home instead of two-story home or move to a place that takes care of yard work for you if that’s something you feel you could not handle as you get older.  

“Something I always tell clients is you want to move while you can and not when you have to,” Joy said.

After the initial plan is together, it is time to figure out how to execute it. This can sometimes be complicated, because it may involve selling your old home and selling a house takes time.

“It’s not something you want to rush into and there are moving pieces so you have to really figure out in advance, if you are serious about it, how are we going to do this and what’s the best way to do it,” James said. “Then try to help the process as quickly as you can while understanding some things you can’t control.”

Roan Capital Partners can help you figure out retirement. Give them a call at 423-863-5512.

Roan Capital Partners (“RCP”) is a registered investment adviser offering advisory services in the State of Tennessee and in other jurisdictions where exempted.  Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The presence of this website on the Internet shall not be directly or indirectly interpreted as a solicitation of investment advisory services to persons of another jurisdiction unless otherwise permitted by statute. Follow-up or individualized responses to consumers in a particular state by RCP in the rendering of personalized investment advice for compensation shall not be made without our first complying with jurisdiction requirements or pursuant an applicable state exemption.

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