Is your current home retirement-friendly? What does retirement-friendly even mean?
If you own an older home where you have lived for years, the answer to the first question is most likely no. As to the second, retirement-friendly describes a home in which you can live comfortably and safely as you move out of the workforce and into your retirement years.
As certified Senior Real Estate Specialists®, Greenwald and Gerke created our groundbreaking Senior Stay or Go™ program to help older adults navigate their next steps, meticulously research their options, and decide the best path forward. If you are or soon plan to be retired, or assisting your senior parents plan for their future, you want to make sure the home is ready for retirement.
Things to Consider
· Is your home already paid for (if so, congratulations!) or will you carry a mortgage, and if so, at what rate?
· Do you plan to stay in your home forever, or at least as long as possible?
· Have you contemplated downsizing and/or moving closer to family?
Aging-in-Place Accommodations
If you plan to remain in your home, you will want to install these features BEFORE you need them.
· A first-floor bedroom and bathroom, in case going up and down stairs becomes difficult or impossible.
· Balance bars in the shower and elsewhere.
· Speaking of the shower, instead of a step-up configuration, level it with the floor, install slip-resistant flooring, and make sure there is room for a chair.
· Lever-style door knobs, easy-pull cabinet hardware, and upgraded faucets make life much simpler for people with arthritis.
· Replacing light bulbs with LED bulbs means you won’t have to climb a ladder frequently.
· In addition to these more modest adjustments, you may have to undertake a major remodel to ensure wheelchair access and other costly accommodations.
We’ll Help You Do a Cost-Benefit Analysis
When deciding whether to stay or go as your retirement years progress, you will want to weigh costs vs. benefits. Remodeling a bathroom is not cheap. Creating a whole-house renovation can be prohibitively expensive. In addition to the physical challenges of getting older, smart retirees consider the emotional challenges of increased isolation and decreased socialization if they stay in their current home, especially if they give up driving.
With so much to consider, please consider relying on your compassionate, knowledgeable Greenwald and Gerke team. We have your back!
Should You Stay or Should You Go? Call us at (844) 782-9674 for a complimentary initial consultation.
