I have moved my fair share of families with kids over the years. But if you think it gets easier to move as as we grow older, sometimes it doesn’t. Moving from where you raised your family can be difficult for Seniors too. So if it’s time for you or an older family member to start a new chapter in life, an SRES can help with the transition with knowledge, empathy and a slow but steady hand. Call me at 616.292.3712.
Category: Moving Insight
Senior Lifestyles
There are condominiums available in the Grand Rapids Metro area ranging from $100,000 to over $1,000,000. Depending on your needs and your budget this could be a great option if you want to leave exterior maintenance behind you and live in a community with like minded neighbors. Some offer amenities such as swimming pools, community centers, walking paths and exercise facilities with their association fees.
There are all types of architectural styles. Top left is a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo in a manageable 1,050 sq. ft. setting. Priced in the $150’s it’s a good alternative to apartment living in that you still own your own home.
Top right is a totally different choice of lifestyles. It’s for social people who would love to live where things are happening downtown. Walk to restaurants, Broadway Grand Rapids, events in DeVos Center, concerts in VanAndle Arena and museums. This particular condo has 1 bedroom and 1 bath and under 1,000 sq. ft. and priced in the $250’s.
The one in the middle on the right is new construction, townhome style in the suburbs with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths and over 1,500 sq ft. It has an attached 2 stall garage. It may not be your choice if aging in place is your top concern, since bedrooms are upstairs, but a great choice for newly empty nesters that travel and don’t want to worry about a home while they are away. Prices starting in the mid $320’s
Finally, the lower home is a stand alone condo, which is much like single family living without exterior maintenance. This is a popular option for many of my senior clients. They like the idea of their own home, with neighbors in the vicinity to form friendships with, and still have beautiful landscaping that they don’t have to be concerned about. This particular home is $414,900 with 2 bedrooms, 2 baths in an open floor plan with a 4 season room for gatherings. The lower level is unfinished so if you frequestly entertain family that stay overnight, you can finish that so that they have their privacy, but all of your living is on the main floor.
my home makeovers
You don’t always need a huge bank account to make a big change. This is my guest bathroom with globe lighting, dark woodwork and cabinets and an old drab vinyl floor I painted the walls and all of the old dark cabinets, doors and trim with KILZ followed with several coats of paint, changed out the light fixture, the door knobs, and cabinet hardware, and had someone install some new waterproof engineered hardwood flooring and it turned out great. It’s much brighter and ready to welcome guests.
Bringing in a New Year/ Evaluating “HOME” in 2023
Let’s talk about what “home” means to you. Over the years most of us senior citizens have had many homes. Some of us have grown up in one home, others moved one or more times while young. After high school some of us went to college, some of us went into an apartment to begin adulthood. Then some of us married and moved one or more times as we raised families. Well, now we have somehow fast forwarded to 2023 and we are not alone. The Alliance for Aging Research asserts that by 2030, over 71 million people will be over the age of 65, and over 33 million will be over the age of 75. We are finding ourselves making decisions on retirement, downsizing or preparing to age in place in our current home.
In this series of articles, Part One has me talking to fellow Seniors about getting your home ready so you can “age in place”. I encourage you to do this in your EARLY senior years so that you can formulate a plan BEFORE you need to make a snap decision. I’ve worked with Seniors who delay and delay this step, then out of nowhere they or a spouse have a health crisis which they are unprepared for. So, this is designed for healthy individuals anticipating that their needs will change as they age. Is your home going to be Senior friendly as you age? How do you decide? If you live in a 2 story home with your main bedroom on the second floor, really put some thought into evaluating if this is where you want to age in place. As you age, you very well may have difficulity managing the steps every day. Check into an elevator or a stair lift now BEFORE you need it to see if it’s a possible fit for your home. Stair lifts are the less expensive choice especially if you have a straight stairway to the second floor. If you have a curved or stairway that has a landing and a turn half way up it may be a bit more involved requiring structural changes. There are also small elevators that require less space than you’d think. They use a pressurized air system, and remind me of a much gentler, vertical system that we use at a drive up bank. In the bathroon, adding grab bars in the shower or tub is a somewhat easy fix. Make sure you have handrails on stairs both inside and outside where needed. Check out Seniors at Home to get other ideas. If your current home isn’t adaptable, you might consider choosing a different lifestyle for your older self. In Part 2 we will cover selling your home and downsizing into another single family home with one level living
preparing for a out of state retirement
Are you still living in the family home you purchased in the 70’s 80’s or 90’s to raise a family and you are beginning to think it’s time to spread your wings and enjoy your life? What are your options? Where would you go to live a simple life, one that requires less maintenance, that fits your budget, and in a location that you want to be? Do you want to live near family, and they are in another state? Let’s explore that option. My friends Barb and Dave decided they wanted to move closer to their family in Savannah Georgia . They started by visiting the “kids” and grandkids and exploring their options near Savannah, found a 55 and over condominium community they loved, with 2 pools, a gym and clubhouse and used some of the equity in their home and personal funds to purchase. This was a new build, so they had time to pack, purge and donate, sell their existing condominium, use temporary housing for the interim, then finish their move to Georgia. The best thing about their move? Barb said it’s living near their grandkids, helping with getting them to dance and gymnastics. Other benefits are maintenance free living, having an extended growing season for her flowers, lemon and lime trees.
If you have family living elsewhere in the States, take the first step and explore that option. Let’s see what your home equity situation is like in this real estate market, and if you decide to go forward, I can help with preparing your home for sale, consulting with your family and a qualified real estate agent in another state, assist where needed with my sources of financial advisors, real estate attorneys, mortgage companies, arranging help with your physical move with home organizers, and estate sale contacts . Let me help you put the pieces together.
try this condo on for size …
Located in a really convenient location in Grand Rapids NW side, just off the expressway with restaurants, LMCU baseball, shopping just minutes away there is a beautiful condo development. The main floor has about 1,500 sq. ft. depending on model, 2 bedrooms, 2 full baths and laundry area. If you want room for guests there you have additional space on the daylight or walk out level. Prices are in the high $300’s to mid $400’s depending on choices. Monthly association fees as of this date are $250.
My Friend & Client Lynn moved here, into her new condo at the end of last year in time for the holidays. She moved from a ranch style home but her laundry was in the lower level and she had a pool. She wanted a condo where outdoor maintenance was done for her and she had everything she needed on one floor. Her biggest bonus? She has walk in closets and doesn’t have to move seasonal clothes around anymore. Love this, and congratulations again Lynn!!
Oh, The Places We’ll Go
Where do you want to retire? Have you had enough of the wintry weather and a week or a month in Florida just isn’t enough anymore? Let us focus occasionally on a part of the South, maybe WAY South, which is “Senior Friendly” and that has communities with amenities for a lifestyle you might enjoy. We’ll start with Florida. So, what are the positives of retiring in Florida? No more shoveling snow, no more bulky coats, boating and gardening year round, sunshine, your family has a place to get away in winter, school age grandchildren can come down over spring break, you can travel north in the hottest months and visit them! To kick off this series of posts I found a video just for you. Consider Ocala and become a “cool kid”.
January 2022 _ Home Statistics
Thanks to Dave Veldkamp from RE/MAX of Grand Rapids for being a numbers cruncher to the rest of us. In January there were …
389 Active Listings in the GR area.
674 Homes Sold YTD (with an average sale price $305,940)
53% of those sold over their listing price with an average of $4,700 above asking price
This is the slowest start to our real estate market since 2015, and a great time to sell!!
Is Winter the new Spring in Real Estate?!?
Are you waiting for the “Spring Market” to sell your home? Think again! The Grand Rapids area has been a global relocation market for quite some time with corporate transfers coming and going from the East side of the state, other states, and from across either ocean. Ask any Human Resource Manager if they are furloughed in January, February and March and you will hear a resounding “NO” and an occasional “I WISH”. People still transfer because of their jobs, accept new career moves and positions, and retire during the Winter. Home inventory, already low, is even lower during the Winter so there are less homes to choose from, and viewing homes that are warm and cozy allows potential buyers to get a real idea of what their home life could be like for them in any given home. As a seller you have less casual lookers and more serious buyers who mean business. Leave summer pictures on your kitchen counter from summertime with green lawns and beautiful flowers, because they obviously liked the looks of your home with the Winter pictures and this firms up their feelings with what is coming when the weather breaks. We currently have a shortage of homes on the market, it’s a great time to get top dollar for your home. 1,829 homes & condos were sold in January through March of last year. This means that they were shown and under contract during or shortly after the holiday season, in WINTER.
Rightsizing for Seniors
I have been selling real estate for over 35 years and since I am over 65 considered by most to be a “senior citizen” myself. The words can sting for a minute until you change your mindset and start appreciating the fact that hey, I’m alive and I deserve this title and the freedom that comes with it. Things are not the same as when my parents were reaching this milestone. I am not needing nor wanting to retire but intend to live like my heroine, Betty White, so I have many years to plan for. I choose to enjoy my career, my home, friends and clients, and travel. Seven years ago, my husband and I sold our 2-story home in Ada and moved into a ranch in the Crystal Springs golf community. I wanted my space, but also wanted a main floor master suite. My daughters called this “flattening out” not downsizing and when they used this term I laughed for a week. While still helping first time and relocating buyers, I have decided to devote the majority of my time to helping seniors, or soon to be seniors, plan for the next chapter of their lives.
So, if this scenario, or a variation of this, may be weighing on your mind, let’s start really looking at your house and to see if it’s time for you to “RIGHTSIZE.” Have you lived in your home for a long time and have rooms that you never use? Is your lower level or basement starting to accumulate cobwebs because you don’t use any of the extra space? Are all your bedrooms on the second floor, maybe even your only full bathroom? Do you have boxes and tubs filled with “stuff”, unused small appliances and gadgets, old cookbooks, dishes, vases and car parts taking space on your shelves? It’s time to let some of that go and rightsize your life NOW while you can. Don’t put it off and have an event happen in your life whereby you must make an unexpected move quickly. It doesn’t mean you can’t have a walk out or daylight basement if you want, it just makes sense to have all your main living area on one level.
Begin by having a heart to heart talk with whomever is most important in your life, be that a spouse, your children, or a friend you’ve had for many years and start envisioning where you’d like to live when you rightsize.
- CONDOMINIUM Many decide to move to a condominium to free up time and energy with outdoor maintenance. There are many varieties such as stand alone, duplex style, no steps and no basement.
- SMALLER HOME Maybe condos are not your vision. Moving into a ranch style home where you can live on one floor, with a lower level that could be finished or unfinished may be more suited to you. You can always hire private lawn maintenance and snow removal.
- APARTMENT Moving to an apartment could be an option if you want to free up your cash and not have the burden of a house to maintain
- RELOCATE Are you wanting to make a long distance move to be near your children or south to a warmer climate?
- SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY living with other seniors could give you a sense of connection and offer you endless options of involvement, especially if you don’t have an extended social network.
Envision yourself in a space of your choosing and let’s start planning on how to get your there step by step. Follow my blog and I’m going to give you one assignment a week to start helping you arrive at the splendid next chapter of your life .
