Senior Living and Transitions Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Senior Housing Options | Raleigh NC

Top 10 Tricks of the Trade When it Comes to Selling Your House – Part I

June 25, 2014 By Your Next Move

Consider these strategies from HGTV when putting your elderly parent’s home on the market to get the best sell price.

Tips to Selling Your House for the Most Money

1. Price it Right to Begin With.

How many houses have you driven by with a “Reduced” sign slapped over the For Sale Sign. The best approach is to start out with the right price – a price 5% to 10% less than what your house is valued, which attracts hordes of buyers. A bidding war will ensues, driving the price over what it’s worth, which means more money in your parent’s pocket. It’s a risk all too many sellers aren’t willing to take, but right now, it’s your best strategy.

2. Create the Illusion of Storage Space.

We all want more space because no matter how many times we declutter and throw things away, we end up with more ‘stuff’. Buyers look for big closets, expansive attics and more cabinet space. To create the appearance of more space, pack away half the items in closes, shelves and cabinets, and then tidy the remaining contents.

3. Stage to Impress.

Rearrange furniture to make the rooms look larger, pack away personal affects, add fresh flowers and candles, repaint walls in a neutral color, etc. And it’s important to have the staging complete just before you list online, where 90% of buyers look first, according to Realtor.com.

4. Let there Be Light.

Buyers want lots of light – natural or otherwise. It makes a room seem more open and airy. Make sure all the light bulbs throughout your house are working, dust lamp shades – replace them if they’re dense and dark. Remove curtains, wash windows and keep window blinds open. If you have trees or shrubs obstructing windows, trim them back.

5. Find the Right Agent.

You want someone experienced, especially experienced in your particular neighborhood. Select an agent that uses all the social media and technical tools of the trade to help get the most exposure for your parent’s house. Your Next Move specializes in senior relocation and transition and matches you with two Realtors in your area who will provide you with a price opinion on your help, then review the price options with you to help you select the agent who best suits your needs.

Top 10 Tricks of the Trade When it Comes to Selling Your House – Part II

If you are interested in further information you may contact us below. LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the most current communication on the subject of senior relocation. Please join our mailing list.

Your Next Move, Easing Your Senior Transition
Julie Kopetsky, President
www.yournextmovenc.com
919-601-8203
Julie.kopetsky@yournextmovenc.com

Downsize or Relocate with a New FHA Reverse Mortgage Program

June 16, 2014 By Your Next Move

Just this year, a new Federal Housing Administration reverse mortgage program can help retired homeowners relocate or downsize to a new home without paying closing costs twice or giving up all their savings, even while they’re still in their existing property.

For the past several years, reverse mortgages have become an invaluable tool for seniors with limited income to be able to stay in their homes by turning their equity into cash to cover basic monthly living expenses or even healthcare. But now homeowners can get reverse mortgages to downsize or buy a new home, allowing them to bypass the need to ever have a forward mortgage, according to NewRetirement.com.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage

This type of reverse mortgage, called Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM), is new legislation enacted by the US Federal Housing Administration to allow seniors to get reverse mortgages on properties they haven’t purchased yet. The FHA created the HEMC program because seniors were selling their homes, downsizing to smaller ones, then taking reverse mortgages on the new homes, paying closing costs twice – on the new real estate purchase and then when they switched to a reverse mortgage.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development explains that the program is designed to allow seniors to purchase a new principal residence and obtain a reverse mortgage within a single transaction, and is also designed to enable senior homeowners to relocate to other geographical areas to be closer to family members or downsize to homes that meet their physical needs.

How it works:
If you have a sufficient down payment, you can buy your new home without monthly payments. With the HECM for Purchase program, instead of getting the reverse mortgage on your existing home, you inform your reverse mortgage lender that you want to purchase a new home using the reverse mortgage. Your lender will calculate the amount of loan you qualify for as if you already owned the property.

Not everyone qualifies for a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase transaction, so work with a reverse mortgage counselor or financial advisor to see if the HECM will work for you.

To Downsize, or Not to Downsize…5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Help Make an Informed Decision

June 2, 2014 By Your Next Move

Determining whether or not to sale your family home and move into something smaller in retirement is difficult. And with so many mixed messages out there when it comes to downsizing, it’s enough to make even the most well-prepared logical person question their choice. The easy answer is, not everybody should downsize. Location, priorities, health, and financial obligations are important factors to consider. So, should you downsize or stay put? Ask yourself these questions to help you make an informed decision.

5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Help Make an Informed Decision

Is the location of your family home ‘healthy’?

Consider your future physical and medical needs as you age and whether or not you’ll be able to navigate the house for daily activities. Do you have stairs to climb? A large lawn to mow? On-going house maintenance? How about your proximity to medical care? Are you close enough to family and friends so you won’t feel isolated? Even though you may be fit and healthy now, your future health is definitely something to keep in mind when thinking about downsizing.
Do you need to stretch your nest egg?

Reducing housing costs – mortgage, taxes, utilities and maintenance – by selling your home is one the easiest ways to increase your funds. If you’re falling short on your projected retirement budget, then downsizing may be a great option.
Should you downsize for emotions?

Life changing events like divorce, the death of a significant other, or new grandkids can prompt an abrupt desire to sell your family home and move. These events aren’t necessarily a reason to throw caution to the wind and move. After all, downsizing is an important decision, and it deserves some soul searching. Most real estate agents suggest waiting at least a year and then revisit the decision. What if you downsized and moved to a new city or state to be close to your new grandchild, and after a few months of relocating, your son gets promoted and moves his family away. So take a step back and leave the emotions out of the decision to downsize.
What’s does the housing market look like in your area?

The real estate market is improving across much of the country, new construction is rising, and inventory is decreasing. Zillow, an online real estate database, named Raleigh-Cary metro one of the top 10 hottest American housing markets for 2014. Location still very much matters in real estate and before you make the decision to sale your home and downsize to a smaller house, condo, or apartment, do your homework, especially if you still owe on your mortgage. You want to make sure you have money left over after paying off your mortgage, commission, fees, and covering your moving costs. Always work with a professional real estate agent who specializes in your area. She can help you determine the right time to sell and the right price for your family home should you chose to downsize.
Have you factored in lifestyle costs?

You’ve picked the perfect city to retire to. You got a good price on your family home. You packed up your belongings and move away…Only to discover you’ve moved away from your family, friends, and well, your social existence. Now you’re spending a lot of time and money traveling back to the old homestead to socialize. The money you thought you were going to save by downsizing goes to travel expenses. When choosing to downsize and move – whether across the city or across the state border, keep in mind the importance of lifestyle costs. What you get from downsizing may not be saving you anything.

Caregiving Under Pressure: How Do Your Coping Skills Measure Up in a Crisis?

January 28, 2014 By Your Next Move

The best approach to a crisis is being prepared before one ever happens. As a caregiver for your elderly loved one, it’s essential to have a plan of action, especially if you don’t deal well under pressure.

To thrive in a crisis means you have to react based on what’s happening at the moment, rationally, without emotion. Take a few minutes to fill in this Caregiver Crisis Preparedness Worksheet created by Viki Kind, author of The Caregiver’s Path to Compassionate Decision Making: Making Choices For Those Who Can’t, and see if your coping skills are up for the next challenge.

1. Think of a time when you handled a difficult situation really well. What did you do that made it easier? Better? More manageable?

2. Now, think of a time when you panicked, mishandled a situation, or when you didn’t make the right decision. What got in the way of thinking clearly enough to cope with what was happing?

3. What can I do to calm myself down so I can think more clearly?

How to Prepare for the next crisis
Get ahead of the game by gathering everything you need before a crisis happens.

1. Paperwork and Medical Information. Work with your parent or loved one to get copies of their personal information, including:
• Power of attorney, living will, trusts, access to safe deposit boxes, birth and marriage certificates, military records, drivers license, social security number, cemetery plot information and address book.
• Medical history, doctors’ addresses and phone numbers, prescription information, advanced health directives, Medicare and Medicaid information.
• Life insurance policy, automobile titles and insurance policies, long term care insurance policy, mortgage information and home owner’s insurance.
• Monthly bills, bank account information and other records of financial accounts.

2. Pack a Kit. Before you have to run out the door on a second’s notice, know what you need to take with you – better yet — have a kit already packed and ready to go that you keep in the trunk of your car. Here are some things you should include:
• A change of clothes, including night clothes.
• Phone/computer chargers.
• Books, magazines.
• Bottled water, snacks
• Your own medications
3. Contacts and Calls. Should a crisis occur, have a list of contacts and stand-bys to help you out.
• If you have children, have a designated person set up who can watch them at a moment’s notice.
• Call your spouse and siblings. Alert your loved one’s friends and neighbors if necessary to look after their house, pets, etc.

So, when the next crisis happens.
1. Calm down
2. Make phone calls
3. Grab your kit
4. Bring the paperwork
5. Did we mention, calm down

Your Next Move can help you locate the perfect senior housing for your aging loved one. Our team of relocation specialists are also with you through every step of the transition process including downsizing, estate sales, moving household goods, and home sale.
This blog post is brought to you by the team at Your Next Move. If you are interested in further information you may contact us below. LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the most current communication on the subject of senior relocation. Please join our mailing list.
Your Next Move, Easing Your Senior Transition
Julie Kopetsky, President
www.yournextmovenc.com
919-601-8203
Julie.kopetsky@yournextmovenc.com

Are Nursing Homes the Right Option? Understanding the True Cost of Caring for Seniors

January 14, 2014 By Your Next Move

Most of us do not truly understand the financial side of caring for our aging loved ones until forced too. In a survey conducted of more than 18,000 long-term care nursing centers and in-home senior care providers, In-home senior care costs $16-$26 per hour, 24-hour live-in care costs $280-$552 per day, while nursing home care can cost $180-$400 a day.

Not only are nursing homes a long-term care option, but they often become places for rehabilitation after loved ones are discharged from hospitals. But it’s important to know that Medicare does not cover long-term care costs after 100 days. While Medicaid will cover most of those costs, it varies from state to state, and is contingent on a minimum annual income.

Here’s a breakdown of elder care costs in North Carolina, according to a 2011 MetLife Market Survey of Long-Term Care Costs:

• Average cost for a private nursing home room in North Carolina, in the Triangle area, is $242 per day, keeping in mind whether a short-term rehab stay, or long-term living option, Medicare does not cover the costs of nursing home long-term care after 100 days.
• Average cost for a home health aide is $19 per hour. If you assume five hours per day, three days per week, that’s $1,140 per month. In addition, there are still household expenses like rent or mortgage, utilities, property taxes and insurance, food, home association fees, home repair and maintenance fees, and social and entertainment expenses. Not to mention making home modifications should your parents be confined to wheelchairs.
• Average monthly cost of assisted living in North Carolina is $3,605 per month (fees cover basic living expenses including rent, utilities, meals, security, housekeeping and laundry, case management and monitoring, transportation, and entertainment and social activities.

This blog post is brought to you by the team at Your Next Move. If you are interested in further information you may contact us below. LIKE us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to get the most current communication on the subject of senior relocation. Please join our mailing list.

Your Next Move, Easing Your Senior Transition
Julie Kopetsky, President
www.yournextmovenc.com
919-601-8203
Julie.kopetsky@yournextmovenc.com

5 Reasons Not to Feel Guilty About Placing Your Aging Parent into a Senior Living Community

December 31, 2013 By Your Next Move

It’s natural as adult children to feel a sense of guilt for moving your elderly parent into a senior living solution. You’ll question whether you’re doing the right thing – Will they be happy? Will they be well cared for? The most important thing is to remember, it’s in the best interest of your parent. With all the advantages that assisted living has to offer, here are 5 reasons to stop feeling guilty, and maybe even feel a bit jealous!

1. Social Circle. If your parent was isolated at home, at a senior living community they’ll revitalize their spirit with a social network of their peers, group activities, games, outings, moving screenings, plays and picnics. Your loved ones may have more of social calendar than you!

2. Home Sweet, Almost Home. Senior communities are built with comfort and independence in mind. They look more like apartments or condominiums, making it easier for your loved one to move into.

3. Onsite Health Care. While senior living communities are intended for those residents are don’t require a great deal of medical care on a daily basis, they have onsite nursing and other healthcare staff, and promote healthy living solutions so residents can continue to prosper and prolong their good health through healthy eating options and exercise classes, to name a few.

4. No more Chores. Most senior living communities offer a variety of meal plans, housekeeping and laundry service. While the idea is for your parent to still remain as independent as possible, these services assist them in the daily activities they may have been neglecting at home.

5. Your Loved One is Safe and Sound. With security systems and onsite personnel, your parent doesn’t have to worry about neighborhood break-ins or unwanted solicitors. Senior living facilities provide 24-hour safety and security so day or night, help is only a phone call away if your parent needs assistance.

Your Next Move can help you locate the perfect senior housing for your aging loved one. Our team of relocation specialists are also with you through every step of the transition process including downsizing, estate sales, moving household goods, and home sale.

Your Next Move, Easing Your Senior Transition
Julie Kopetsky, President
www.yournextmovenc.com
919-601-8203
Julie.kopetsky@yournextmovenc.com

Tips to Selling Your House for the Most Money

1. Price it Right to Begin With.

2. Create the Illusion of Storage Space.

3. Stage to Impress.

4. Let there Be Light.

5. Find the Right Agent.

Home Equity Conversion Mortgage

5 Questions to Ask Yourself to Help Make an Informed Decision

Is the location of your family home ‘healthy’?

Do you need to stretch your nest egg?

Should you downsize for emotions?

What’s does the housing market look like in your area?

Have you factored in lifestyle costs?