Older and Wiser

With age comes wisdom, or so it's been said. I'm not sure that's so true. While any of us can have a fall, break a bone at any time, as we get older, we become more frail and with that frailty, anything can happen.

As our bodies change and we notice these changes, we should start planning how we wish to live as we become incapacitated. Sure, we all want to age in place, and we may be able to do so if, yes if, we take the steps, make necessary alterations in our homes or perhaps even move to someplace better suited to our needs.

I am endlessly told by seniors that they do not want to be burdens to their children, but more often, it's because we don't want to make changes to our lifestyles. Those changes are going to happen whether we like it or not, so why not control some of it by choosing how/where we want to live. Plus, I know from personal experience that when parents and children live cities and states away, it is far more burdensome for the children with concern for the parent and the frequent trips for checking on them, often times because of medical necessities.

All I am trying to say is "make a plan". Not sure what your options may be? Then talk with me, a Seniors Real Estate Specialist to learn what options are available for planning for your extended living situation. We'll discuss your wishes with your family. I'll provide professionals who can answer questions on tax or legal issues to help sort through potential ramifications of your wishes. It's not always about selling one's home, but knowing what can be done at the onset is much better than waiting until one is past a point of being able to choose and having the "state" or someone else make choices for you.

Call anytime for a free consultation.

Boomers changing this last phase of life

I met with an individual at our senior center today that is wanting to change the living arrangements for our older population. She would like to be able to build a cottage on her property to house her parents with an upstairs space for a live in caregiver. Problem is our zoning. When I inquired about doing so through the "granny flat" legislation, she informed me it has to be an attached addition, cannot be detached. She's unable to build the cottage because of land use, zoning restrictions. What? I thought the granny flats were to help our parents and grandparents.

Anyway, while it's a slow process changing city hall and of course there are concerns about housing here, because of the possibility of additional areas being overtaken by students (being as we have 2 universities and a community college) and while I love the students for their help in our local economy, I understand homeowners concerns with renters and cars and noise and oh my, you get the picture.

Still, I applaud her desire to change things. We all hear that we, the baby boomers don't want to ultimately be in nursing homes, or even assisted living, we want to change the environment to something else that works better for us. Question is what is that? This person is wanting to take the steps to do that, change how we age. It starts slowly and with momentum from us, those boomers, we will get it changed for when we get there. How do you wish to live in your old age? If you think you know, email me. We'll all be part of the momentum!