Retirement in Your 50s

Over the next few weeks, we're going to explore some of the things you need to be doing to get your finances in shape for eventual retirement. Today, we look at what you should be doing if you're in your 50's, and hoping to retire some day with any kind of lifestyle like you enjoy now.

Money Talks editor Stacy Johnson explains… (video runs 1:37)

Over the next month or so, we'll examine what you should be doing to prepare for retirement if you're in your 40s, 30s, and 20s. Keep reading (and watching).

Are You Sick of Bad News Yet?

We don't know about you, but we're absolutely sick to our gills here hearing about all the bad news regarding the economy, and more directly, the real estate industry.

Zogby AOL released a poll recently showing that over 50% of Americans believe that home ownership is still attainable for everyone. Other interesting facts in their survey showed:

• 31% of participants feel their home is worth more than it was a year ago
• 56% do not think their home will be worth less in five years
• 69% of Americans seeing real estate as a viable investment
• If forced to sell their home today, 50% would buy another home rather than rent
• Almost 50% of Americans would seriously consider purchasing a home through a foreclosure listing
• 67% of Americans surveyed turn to the Internet first when looking for a home

These numbers are consistent with other recent findings. However, the disconnect is the trust in the American economy seems to still lag. So what comes first?

Other interesting findings: What are the Key Factors when searching for a home?

• Communities with low crime
• High-quality schools
• Recreational facilities
• Easy commute to work

One interesting take is that there is a significant percentage of respondents that indicated that they would pay a premium for a home if they could cut their drive time by half.

Where do you rate with these questions? We'd love to hear your opinion. Just click the comment link below and sound off. Your email address will never be published on this site to protect your identity and your email from spamming.

Filing Bankruptcy to Stop Foreclosure?

Some homeowners facing foreclosure are considering filing bankruptcy. Even though this might be an option for some people, there are a lot of other things you should try before filing bankruptcy to stop foreclosure.

The first thing you need to do is contact your mortgage lender. The sooner you do this the better. It's best to contact your lender as soon as you realize you might miss a payment. not after you've already missed one or two. Then your mortgage lender will be more likely to negotiate other options with you so you will not have to consider filing for bankruptcy.

Some of the possibilities you can try to negotiate with your lender would be reinstatement, forbearance, or a repayment plan, all of which are options if your money problems are temporary. If your money problems are not temporary, before you can try to negotiate with your lender to get a mortgage modification or a partial claim.

If none of these solutions will work for you and you won't be able to keep your home, before filing bankruptcy to stop foreclosure you should try to sell your home, or see if the mortgage company will allow assumption, a pre-foreclosure sale or short sale, or the deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.

All of these options require you to work with your current mortgage lender. If your mortgage lender is not willing to negotiate with you, you can try calling a HUD approved foreclosure counseling agency to get some assistance going over your options. These are usually free.

If at all possible you should avoid filing for bankruptcy as this will impact your credit rating and make things difficult for you in the future. Filing bankruptcy to prevent foreclosure is also not an option for everyone, and not all types of bankruptcies actually stop foreclosure.

A Chapter 13 Bankruptcy can stop foreclosure, so if you are thinking of filing bankruptcy, you should check to see if you quality for this type of bankruptcy, as not everyone does.

Be advised that filing bankruptcy to stop foreclosure won't mean you no longer have to make any payments on your house. A part of Chapter 13 Bankruptcy is a payment plan to pay off at least part of the money you owe to creditors such as your mortgage lender.

Remember, don't wait until you've already missed a payment or two before talking to your mortgage lender. Do it early!

Finding Money to Save

Trying to figure out ways to offset all the things you have to pay more for than you used to, but your paycheck is just not keeping pace?

Saving an extra couple of hundred dollars each month is easier than you think if you follow some of the ideas from Money Talks editor Stacy Johnson in this short (1:43) video…

What do you think? Any other ideas you've come up with to save a few dollars each month? Share them with us… we'd love to hear from you. Just click the comment link below and sound off. Your email, although needed to post a comment, will never be published here to protect your privacy.

Home Prices Down 7.6%

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported recently that 'Nationwide, the median existing single family home price plunged 7.6% to $206,500 in the second quarter, down from $223,500 in the same period of 2007. The median price represents the point at which half of all homes sold for more and half sold for less.'

A record number of foreclosures helped drive down prices, according to NAR. In fact, foreclosures and short sales accounted for about one third of all existing homes sales.

Now we seem to be getting into a time when the real economy is starting to affect housing markets more. It's a little bit of a contest now.

What do you think? Will lower prices stimulate home sales, or will the slowing economy slow down sales? We'd love to hear your opinion. Just click the comment link below and tell us what you think.