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Home ownership, renting, and maintenance

Owning a home in retirement brings freedom and a steady list of work: roofs, furnaces, plumbing, and yards do not retire when you do. Renting trades some of that work for rent increases and less control. Either way, the costs land on a fixed income, and small problems grow expensive when they wait.

The guides here help you plan for big repairs before they become emergencies, keep a simple seasonal list of home tasks, and decide which jobs to hire out. You will also find renter rights basics, how to ask a landlord for safety fixes, and when selling or moving to a smaller place starts to make sense on the numbers alone.

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Care costs — See what care costs and how families pay for it.

Free local help

Three national programs connect you to help in your own community, at no cost:

Eldercare LocatorFind your local Area Agency on Aging and aging services near you.BenefitsCheckUpA benefits check from the National Council on Aging.State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)Free, unbiased help with Medicare questions from trained local counselors.

More in Your Home

Preparing the home for changing needsRoom-by-room changes that make a home safer and easier to live in as needs change.Housing choices and downsizingStay or move? Compare housing choices and downsize at a pace that works.Emergency and unexpected-event planningContact sheets, outage plans, and backup care for the days things go wrong.

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