It’s OK for property owners to consider their retirement-housing options, but they also should keep in mind that things could change drastically before they finally get their gold watch.

Q: My husband and I live in the Northeast and are both 58. We plan on retiring at 62 or 63 and then moving to a retirement community in Arizona or California. With home prices soft, we were thinking about buying the retirement home now and renting it out to tenants until we’re ready to move into it ourselves in four or five years. What do you think of our plan?

A: Prices in some popular retirement markets out West now are down as much as 15 percent from a year ago, so I can see why you might be tempted to purchase a place now instead of waiting a few more years.

But your plan also has a lot of drawbacks, so it probably would be best to wait until your retirement date draws closer before making a purchase.

Though prices in the West are soft now, there’s no guarantee that they’ll be any higher when you finally get your gold watch. The overall housing market likely will be better than it is today, but local prices also can be adversely affected by building trends and a variety of other factors. Simply assuming that the value of your retirement home will climb in the years ahead is a risky proposition.

Remember that being a “long-distance landlord” can be a real pain. Trying to find a good tenant to occupy and maintain your home out West from your current residence in the Northeast could be difficult. You certainly could hire a property-management company to do the job, but then you’d likely be stuck paying 10 percent or even 20 percent of your annual rental income for the company’s services.

Finally, a lot could happen in the next few years that you just can’t foresee. For example, your plans could change if you decided to work until you’re 65 instead of 62, or simply came to the realization that you just couldn’t bear the thought of leaving your relatives or longtime friends in the Northeast behind. And, of course, your housing needs might change dramatically if one of you becomes seriously ill, incapacitated or even dies.

In short, the drawbacks to your plan outweigh the potential benefits. Play it safe by waiting at least two more years before fully committing to a retirement-housing plan.