National Association of Realtors stats show that Boomers now represent 42 percent of today’s buyers and 53 percent of the sellers. If you’re not focusing on this niche, you’re ignoring almost half the sales and listings that will occur in 2026.
Unfortunately, most agents are unaware of the minefields their boomer clients face when they move, but also what can happen after the transaction closes. Here’s a snapshot of the good, the bad and the ugly about what they may face.
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In 2007, my husband and I built our beautiful 4,700 square foot custom-built “dream house” with all the bells and whistles. By 2008, the Great Recession left us owing more than the house was worth, property taxes were over $20,000, and those 35-foot-high ceilings and open spaces left us with enormous heating and air-conditioning bills.
Desperate to get out, we hung on until the market finally turned in 2014.
The good
We discovered a 55+ community that advertised “Resort Living for Active Seniors.” The subdivision has about 250 residents split between traditional apartment-style condos, townhomes and freestanding “villas.” The clubhouse, pool, spa, gym and pickleball court are on par with those of many major vacation resorts. There are also six golf courses within 15 minutes of our home.
We liked one of the villa’s floor plans, the luxury finishes and loved the idea of a “lock and leave” lifestyle. Best of all, our property taxes this year are $8,500 vs. the $40,000 they would have been in our former home. Furthermore, our utility bills are about one-third of what we were paying before.
When my brother decided to sell his 1950s house in California, he was able to purchase the last new condo in our subdivision. He got a great price, lots of upgrades and was happy about the move. He loves where he is living, not having to do all the yardwork and living in a beautiful unit in a beautiful building.
The bad
The good things above far outweigh the bad, but have come at a major cost. Across the country, HOA costs have soared due to insurance, inflation, and increased maintenance and replacement costs. This is especially true here in Central Texas, the hail and flash flood capital of the world.
What the heck do we own?
The villas in our subdivision look like this:
Courtesy of Bernice Ross
While this looks like a typical house in a platted subdivision, it’s actually a “detached condominium.” This style of ownership is widely used in Texas, California, Florida and many other states. I first wrote about detached condominiums in 2023. If you see “unit” or “condo” on the legal description, even if it looks like a free-standing house, it’s probably a detached condominium.
While there are tremendous benefits to this type of ownership, the MLSs, the title companies and even lenders continue to misclassify this type of ownership, creating appraisal, mortgage and title problems. Realtors and MLSs add to the problem by quoting “lot size.” There is no single lot size — all 250 of the residences where we live are on a single lot.
As “detached condominium owners,” we own the surface of our land, the structures, 200 feet above the land and the systems, tree roots or anything that supports our home. The HOA owns the rest.
Not really ‘lock and leave’
To be “energy conscious,” the developer cut a deal to use recycled water for our landscaping irrigation. What the developer didn’t disclose was that two local golf courses had priority over our subdivision for water. Given the major drought we’ve been facing, our residents have had to hand-water our landscaping for much of the year.
Stuck with outdated technology
The developer also negotiated long-term deals for our cable system, which was included in our HOA dues. We ran on refurbished cable boxes that were 10-12 years old until the beginning of this year.
The really ugly
While our house is great, the developer cut corners in numerous other areas.
While we were under contract for our lot, the developer decided to lower it by one foot. There was nothing we could do about the fact since we didn’t own the property. Here’s the video of the result:
I fought with the developer for almost five years and got part of the problem fixed after involving the city. Still, the main issue was that the underlying drainage system was inadequate to handle runoff from three sides pouring into our lot.
We finally decided to do the job ourselves. It cost us $17,000 to install new drainage, redirect the gutter runoff away from the house and install artificial turf to reduce ponding and eliminate the need for hand watering. Sadly, there were numerous other drainage issues throughout the subdivision, even worse than the ones we faced.
A challenge we’re seeing all over the country
Across the country, many condominium HOAs are struggling with inadequate budgetary capitalization. Insurance, maintenance and building costs have soared nationwide.
Sadly, that’s the case with my brother’s condo, which I jointly own with him. I recently learned that the Lofts HOA had mismanaged the HOA budget for the past five years and that we didn’t have the minimum reserves required by law.
What’s even more outrageous is the board’s solution. They decided to saddle us with a $10,000 special assessment due by January, and they raised our HOA dues by over $200 per month.
In other words, current owners are paying for five years of the Board’s mismanagement, while also funding reserves for future owners. This is a hefty amount for condos priced in the $300,000 to $400,000 range, which will likely force some current owners out of their homes.
Tensions are running high, and there’s an effort to oust the entire board. The December Annual meeting should be interesting, to say the least.
When an ongoing problem can’t be fixed
To make matters worse, the elevator contractor has failed to keep the elevator in one building operational. When the HOA withheld payment because the problem hadn’t been repaired, the contractor filed a mechanic’s lien against the entire subdivision.
Even though the contractor was forced to remove the lien, it took over two months, which caused one owner to lose a $500,000 all-cash deal. They’re now suing the contractor.
Even more concerning, one of the residents on the third floor of that building cannot climb stairs, leaving them trapped in their units for weeks. Since my brother also owns a third-floor unit, what happens if the elevator is out in his building, and he can’t use the stairs?
Where agents can add real value
Use the following strategies to help your boomer clients make the right decision about their next move.
1. Free-standing home with or without an HOA?
While many platted subdivisions have HOAs for the clubhouse, pool and other shared amenities, the real issues arise with traditional condo-style units, where the HOA is responsible for insurance, property maintenance, utilities, etc. Your clients need to understand the risks and benefits of both ownership styles.
2. Is your client on a fixed income?
This can be a huge issue not only because of soaring insurance and maintenance costs, but also because of appreciation, which can result in significantly higher property taxes, causing longtime owners to sell. Encourage every one of your buyers and sellers to discuss their plans with their tax professional before transacting to see how these factors may impact the home they purchase.
3. Developers are opting for detached condos rather than a platted subdivision
Be sure to carefully review the legal description and plat map of the property being purchased. Suppose you see the word “unit” or “condo,” even if the property is a free-standing house. In that case, it’s probably a detached condominium, especially if the plat map shows a single lot for the entire subdivision.
4. Vet the HOA’s financial health
Always make your offers on any type of condominium-style ownership subdivision subject to your clients’ approval of the reserve studies, current insurance policies and the last two years of board meeting notes, which can reveal looming cost spikes.
5. Help your clients plan for aging in place
When selecting a property, how near are emergency services? How accessible is the property during a power outage? Is the property ADA compliant? Also, encourage your clients to investigate the cost of long-term care needs (and purchasing an insurance policy to cover these costs). Two of our neighbors are paying $16,000 per month for 24/7 in-home nursing care.
Using the information in today’s column, create a simple pre-move checklist addressing these issues. When you proactively work to uncover hidden ownership risks, long-term costs and what it will be like to live in a specific community before they move in, you’ll not only be their trusted advisor but also their go-to expert to refer their friends and family with the same concerns.
Bernice Ross is president and CEO of BrokerageUP and RealEstateCoach.com, the founder of Profit.RealEstate and a national speaker, author and trainer with over 1,500 published articles.
