At 64, when an 800 square foot manufactured home he’d seen in Plant City, a Tampa suburb, became available for $21,500, he purchased it with a credit card to am

At 64, when an 800 square foot manufactured home he’d seen in Plant City, a Tampa suburb, became available for $21,500, he purchased it with a credit card to amass frequent flier miles. He then sold his New Jersey home for $180,000, kept what he needed to quickly pay off his credit card debt and divided the rest among his children so they’d have down payments for their own homes. Selling the house was smart, but dividing the rest and giving it to his children was a terrible move. Homes in the US are used a proxy savings accounts - sold at retirement or later to gain retirement funds, or used as a (hopefully) no-rent living space.