Hooray for Rev. Dupin, Inventor of MEDCottages

Look at what Rev. Kenneth Dupin of Salem, VA, has been up to. He invented a portable cottage that gives elderly loved ones a new home.

The occupant of a MEDCottage gets 12X24 of living space plus a built-in system to transmit vital health signs offsite to medical personnel and to family members.

Given that zoning regulations are adhered, a MEDCottage can be installed in the backyard of a single family home.

For more on homes and housing options, check out 50somethinginfo.com

House-Sharing, A Housing Option For Boomers and Seniors

Journalist Sarah Mahoney related how some single women (often newly-divorced or widowed) have decided to house-share to lessen some of their financial burdens. Much to their delight, many of them have found that living with a friend or even a stranger has also increased their quality of life.

The home or condo owner needs to run a credit report and ask for a security deposit. With the help of an attorney, the owner needs to clarify all the rules and conditions so each party is protected by law.

The renter should interview former lodgers and check on zoning or association rules. In addition, there should also be an agreed-upon trial period.

Rental income is taxable but depreciation is a tax-benefit for improvement and repairs.

If you want to know more about housing options, visit 50somethinginfo.com

HUD Helps Very Low Income Seniors With Housing

The Obama Administration and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced that more than $550 million will help very low income elderly and people with disabilities find affordable housing.

The funding will provide interest-free capital advances to non-profit developers so they can produce accessible housing, offer rental assistance and provide supportive services for the elderly and persons with disabilities.

The grants are provided through HUD's Section 202 and Section 811 supporting housing programs and will fund 169 projects in 36 states.

Age-Restricted Communities Appeal To Seniors

Journalist Steve Brown (Dallas Morning News) reported that aging boomers will greatly impact the housing markets. At least that's what home builders are betting on.

By 2014 one quarter of the population in the United States will be 55 or older. And 40% plan to explore alternatives to their current home.

New 55-plus-restricted communities hold a lot of appeal especially if the houses are about 1,900 square feet and are located closer to other family members.

But baby boomer buyers are unpredictable. Builders are taking a wait-and-see attitude as to what boomers want in new homes.

For more on housing options and universal design of homes, visit 50somethinginfo.com.

Minnie Mouse? No, Mini-House: Boomers And Seniors Downsize

As children are leaving the nest, parents give thought to downsizing.

Many are dispensing with clutter and monstrous utility bills and opting for smaller spaces.

Dianne Carlson, Community Service Directive at Area Agency in Aging, reported that as boomers age, they prefer smaller homes situated in urban vs. suburban areas. They look for open floor plans, single stories or master suites on the first level.

The Tiny House Company designs homes that are as little as 300 square feet, costing $100-200 square feet.

Tumbleweed Tiny House Company's tiny houses range from 65-140 square feet. The extra small one costs about $39,000. They are on wheels and do not require a building permit. Then the company also offers plans for homes of greater than 120 square feet which you can build yourself!

You, too, can join the new socioeconomic housing movement that reduces the world's carbon footprint. Emily Pilloton presents her "Top 5 Tiniest Prefab Homes." These homes are well built and versatile and they can even be plopped on a rooftop or squeezed between two urban dwellings.

For more on housing, visit 50somethinginfo.com.

Floor Plans For Your New Home: Making It Barrier-Free

Many people who really know me say I have my share of quirks.  One of my more harmless ones is that I love to read floor plans.  I'd buy books of well,...just floor plans and read them in my favorite reading room (I'll leave that to your imagination).

Big is over-rated I've now decided.  Who wants to be responsible for cleaning extra rooms?  Not me.

Just provide me with functional rooms that should last me throughout the rest of my life.

So when I was teased by AARP featuring New Millennial Homes' Freedom (universally- designed) model, I quickly put mouse to pad and scurried over to the site.  Here I found an affordable barrier-free home, reminiscent of California Craftsmen, that incorporated concealed ramps,  a no-step shower, pull-out drawers, even a turn-around area in a hallway.  The walls have already been prepped for handrails should you ever need them.  Take the virtual tour and see how well the architects divided the space.

If you have any mobility challenges (or think you might grow into one), consider the Freedom or a similar home.   

Boomers Downsize to Green, Universally-Designed Homes

At least one builder knows what empty-nesters want.  Steve Romeyn and partner Mark Carruth have built single-story detached homes in Georgia that are both green and universally-designed. 

Jenny Sullivan reported that these homes feature "wide, no-step doorways with options for exterior ramps, lever handles, and abundant natural lighting (via windows, skylights, and sun tunnels)."  

Comfort and design are also factored in with wide porches and traditional architecture. Storage accommodations, including expanded garages and oversized pantries, are disproportionately high thanks to  years of accumulated stuff.  

Even though the average buyer is 65 years old, I would think the appeal of these homes might very well extend to the younger set too.  

For more about home design, comfort aids, and everything else for 50somethings, visit www.50somethinginfo.com.  

One Source That Helps With Housing Options

Seniors For Living does a fine job of providing useful definitions, tips, tools, and articles about different housing options for the aging.  

Here you can learn and differentiate: 

Assisted Living

Independent Living

Alzheimer's Care

Continuing Care

Retirement Living

Home Care

Should you conclude, however, that there are few housing options in your area, do not despair. Seniorsforliving appears to mention only a fraction of the actual numbers. Whether this is because the website owners have not yet accumulated the information or whether they promote only licensed facilities that advertise with them, I don't know. 

Be aware that certain websites appear to promote certain products and services at the expense of better ones.  Before making decisions as life-altering as housing, do your homework.    

 

Starting a New Life in a Retirement Community

I have flashbacks to when my kids entered kindergarten.  Their reluctance and anxiety had shown on their faces.  I had hoped my expression exhibited excitement rather than the trepidations  I was experiencing at the moment.

How would this new adventure play out, I wondered?  Would they make friends?  What if they were bullied?  Would they fit in?  Were they ready for the new challenges?

Those days are long gone.  

Now, unexpectedly, similar sensations are creeping into my head.  Mom is settling into a new retirement community.  I am witnessing her sadness at leaving the comfort and familiarity of her home of 40 years and her discomfort of trying to fit into a new situation.

Someone told her it would take 3 months to feel at home.  I hope that isn't so. I don't think I can last that long! 

Senior Housing Options, A Real Puzzle

What's the difference between Assisted Living Facility, Independent Living, Adult Day Care, Adult Foster Care, Congregate Housing, Continuing Care Retirement Communities, Life Care Communities, Nursing Homes or Facilities, Residential Care, Respite Care, Senior Apartments, Senior Housing, Personal Care Facility, and Skilled Nursing Facility?   

Some are different names for the same thing.  Some are poles apart in the level of care.

You're not alone if  senior housing options and the vocabulary that accompanies them make you want to jump off a bridge.   

Check out The Senior Living Guide.  What definitions are lacking there , you can find in The Senior Housing Net.  This excellent link:

1. Helps to evaluate your needs in terms of mobility, nutrition, hygiene, housekeeping, dressing, toileting, medications, mental status and behavioral status,  

2. Provides you with appropriate housing options, including services, costs, regulations, payment options, and level of care,

4. Supplies helpful checklists to evaluate each housing option, 

3. Finds the right community depending on your city and state.

Don't fret.  Help is only a mouse-click away. 

Benefits You or Your Parents May Qualify For

Feel like the middle of an Oreo cookie? Congratulations. Welcome to the sandwich generation.

Our kids may still need our help but so does mom and dad. The free time we anticipated is slipping through our fingers. Hobbies and travel are thrust to the back burner replaced by time-consuming dilemmas concerning parents' housing issues, medical conditions, and caregiving. And to make matters worse, funds stashed away to cover these impending expenditures are shrinking at a frightening pace.

We don't know where to begin to seek the assistance. We are justifiably anxious that our retirement funds will be in jeopardy should we accept this daunting financial burden.

Here are a few places to begin your search:

AARP has an internet tool which finds low or no-cost state and federal public benefits programs for qualifying older Americans, private prescription drug programs offered by pharmaceutical companies or Medicare RX extra help.

To target specific benefits, use the Benefits Quick Search. You may even tap into some of your state government's offerings to see if any program is applicable and available.

Be aware of the top 10 signs that indicate if a senior is in need of housing assistance.

The Housing and Urban Development provides financial assistance resources and guides. Should you opt to speak to a HUD-approved housing counselor, one is only a phone call away.

Medicare Interactive is a one-stop source for federal and state information about health care rights, options, and benefits.

There may be extra help from Medicare to help reduce the costs for prescription drugs or consider tapping into 475 public and private programs which offer assistance to patients who don't have prescription coverage.

AARP provides information on low-cost public loans which include reverse mortgages, deferred payment loans, and property tax deferrals.

The Department of Veterans Affairs provides a booklet which states eligibility for healthcare, home loans, education, life insurance, mental health, and memorial and burial, etc.,benefits for veterans and dependents.

These are just a few places to begin getting the help you need. I wish I had the magic wand to answer all your questions. If you let me know precisely what you want, I may be of further assistance.