At San Diego Reverse Mortgage Loans, we recently had a conversation with a client regarding “Aging in Place,” which is defined as adults remaining in their homes and communities as they age, rather than relocating or moving into an institutional setting.
Our client has decided to stay in his home for the remainder of his life as opposed to the traditional path of entering assisted living and then a full-time care facility. We discussed the benefits of aging in place.
As his parents were aging, they were reluctant to live on their own. They first moved to an independent living community with a costly buy-in fee. After his mother died, his father’s health began to decline, and he couldn’t safely live independently. He then moved into assisted living for a short time and eventually required full-time care. None of these additional costs were included in the initial buy-in fee.
Because the family hadn’t considered a Reverse Mortgage, they chose what seemed to be the natural course of action for aging adults. Looking back on what was spent buying in to “independent living” and all the high costs for assisted and then full-time care, the other options were never considered.
How a Reverse Mortgage can help you Age in Place
With a Reverse Mortgage, their father could have remained in his home and hired caretakers. He also could have sold his home, bought a smaller home and continued to hire caretakers. Unfortunately, they were not aware of the benefits of a Reverse Mortgage Loan.
Did you know that in addition to refinancing, you can purchase a home with a Reverse Mortgage Loan?
Steps to age in place successfully:
- Start planning now and take specific steps to ease into aging in place. For instance, The Seniors At Home Futures Program is designed for healthy individuals anticipating that their needs will change as they age. By signing up now you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing who to call if a crisis occurs, or if it is time to consider a little extra help at home. There is no cost to enroll for this program.
- Do a home safety check to reduce your future risk of an accident or fall. AARP has identified easy modifications that will ensure your home is safe. Enable personal alert systems to call for help in an emergency.
- Overcome your reluctance to ask for or pay for help.
- Make a plan for transportation. It’s important to get out in your community and driving yourself is only one option. Talk to friends and family about how they may help with rides and familiarize yourself with ride sharing services like Lyft and Uber.
- Befriend technology. You don’t need to become a computer whiz to stay in touch with friends and loved ones from all over the globe. Getting acquainted with your smartphone or digital tablet’s messaging and video screen sharing programs can help keep you connected from the comfort of your living room. You’ll also find out what’s going on in your community and access helpful services such as grocery delivery from your favorite store and ordering just about anything you need from Amazon .
- Look into long-term care insurance. Most of us who age at home will ultimately need some form of long-term care. Currently, Medicare does not pay for ongoing long-term home care, so looking into alternatives such as long-term care insurance may be a good option. This type of insurance helps pay for the cost of care generally not covered by health insurance or Medicare, and it will make a big difference when the time comes to consider a caregiver at home.Look into long term
Start with our Reverse Mortgage Calculator or call the professionals at San Diego Reverse Mortgage Loans today.
