If you are approaching or just crossed the line into retirement, then congratulations! After a long career working and providing for your family, you are finally ready to rest back and enjoy what life has to offer outside of a fruitful career. At retirement, you likely have a good diverse portfolio of assets that you will slowly drain as you continue to age to fund your lifestyle. One of these assets is likely your house, which you may be considering selling. But hang on, it might be a good idea to continue owning your home in retirement. Here are three reasons you should hang on to your house in retirement.

Protect Yourself from Rent Increases

Many retirees will choose to sell their home at retirement and transition back into a renter’s mindset. Many retirees like the freedom that is granted with renting, allowing you to move wherever you want basically whenever you want. But there are some risks that come with renting as well. First and foremost, there is the risk of rent increases. Every year, unless your unit is rent controlled, your rent is likely to go up. This can be a major problem for retirees who have a finite amount of money to spend on living expenses. When housing costs go up, it can put strain on your retirement finances.

Use Your Equity

Another thing that you can choose to do with your own home in retirement is to use your home equity for regular cash payments to supplement your retirement income. You can convert your home equity into retirement cash with a reverse mortgage. A reverse mortgage is the opposite of a traditional mortgage, where you are selling the equity in your home to a bank in exchange for regular payments. You slowly sell down the equity in your home while the bank pays you every month. This can be a great way to supplement your income while still living in your home.

Enjoy Your Life in Comfort

The best thing about owning your own house is that you get to set your own rules. Even when renting in an apartment building, you must answer to someone else, the owner. While you may not have to deal with some of the maintenance when renting, you won’t have complete free reign in how your property is managed and handled, nor will you have complete control over what you can and cannot do in your home when renting. If personal freedom is important to you then owning at retirement is a good plan.

Many retirees rush into selling off their home when they retire. But there might be more advantages than you realize in owning your home during retirement. Consider these three upsides to owning your home in retirement before you sell your house.

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