Think the transition to retirement living is an easy one? Let me tell you, you can make it easiER, but it’s NOT easy. My mom made the transition with my help, so I can tell you from personal experience how hard it was for her. As a licensed Realtor® with my Senior Residential Real Estate Specialist Designation, I’ve also helped numerous seniors sell their homes as part of the transition to move to a senior living community.

It’s my hope today to help you with things that you should consider when moving to a retirement home, in whatever form that is. Then, towards the end, I’ll be addressing what I believe is the single most important tip and I’ll also be sharing some additional resources that I was able to find that may be helpful for you.

First, it’s important to EMBRACE this time of life, don’t fear it. Look at it like a new opportunity to live life better than ever before. It’s sometimes looked at as a dreaded time, and depression is sometimes associated with this stage of life. But there doesn’t have to be anything to be sad about. The retirement community that my mom went to was a WONDERFUL place. She made a lot of friends. My only complaint was that she often didn’t take my calls because she was with her friends.

They even had Happy Hour there. I always knew to never call mom on Wednesday nights after Happy Hour. Sometimes she complained about the food, but she was often going out to eat with some of these friends, so it wasn’t a huge deal. Plus, she kept all sorts of food in her room. She really had no worries here and she’d come visit us on weekends, holidays, and whenever she just missed us.

However, this time of life is associated with A LOT of change. As such, it’s important to ensure you’ve got the appropriate emotional support. My mom dealt with all sorts of stress, and it was evident in her decision making. Maybe you’ve got a family member, or a good friend, but identify someone that you can share your feelings with for emotional support. My mom and I did a lot of praying for strength during this time, and I spoke with her several times each week.

Maybe you don’t have a family member to help in this area, so look for other options. Maybe some sort of counseling could help? Maybe you’ve got a long-time friend that you trust. If so, tell them your concerns and how you value them and their insight. They may be grateful to be a pillar of strength for you.

Step one of the planning is to start planning early. I’ve heard it said that failing to plan is like planning to fail. For my mom, she didn’t start early with a plan and when she realized it was time to make the transition, it was already too late. Given that she hadn’t planned, there was an additional layer of stress for all of us during the transition. This stress can cause anyone to make bad choices.

Maybe you’ve already waited too long. Don’t fret though. It’s important that you take your time during this process. Identify someone that you know and trust and get their insight to develop a plan. In the best scenario, plan a year or several years in advance. You’ll understand why this is so important later in this video as I address some other things to consider.

Next, meet with a financial advisor and an attorney for help with a plan NOW. Get your finances in order and get clear on any debts that you may have. Consider consolidating bank accounts and any IRA’s or brokerage accounts. Make sure that you can afford the new setting in retirement living today AND 20 years from now. Prices in retirement communities often increase, so develop a plan for how to deal with these increases today.

Our days are numbered and only God knows when He’ll take us home, so planning here is vital. Living with a family member years down the road may be a good thing, but wouldn’t you rather have A CHOICE in the matter? Maybe you’d want YOUR CHILDREN to have a choice.

That attorney could help with a will and estate planning. Maybe this planning could help to pay for retirement living in some way that you haven’t considered. I’ve worked with customers that had elderly parents pass without any planning and their family was in a very bad place because of the failure to plan by their parents. Of course, the will is not necessarily planning for a transition to retirement living, but I do believe it is something that you should be considering at this stage of life.

Maybe you’ve already got this legal stuff taken care of, so let’s address something more practical, that I’m betting is something you’ll want to do. Consider downsizing some of that “stuff”. Don’t worry, we’ve all got it. Some of us have WAY more than we need, and we KNOW it. Many of our belongings have sentimental value that is hard to part with. Retirement communities typically don’t have room for all that stuff, so minimizing is an often-overlooked component when preparing for retirement living.

Ask yourself tough questions like “will my heirs ACTUALLY want that”? Yes, your great, great grandmother’s hand-carved armoire is made of the finest Italian wood, and it’s been handed down for generations, but if your children don’t ACTUALLY value it, get rid of it. Failure to do so might just make it harder for your children or other heirs in the future.

They may face guilt or feel the need to store it somewhere so that THEIR children will have to deal with it. Consider taking the time and asking around to identify who may want it today. Perhaps a yard sale or estate sale would be another option.

Let’s suppose that your new living arrangement in a retirement community DOES have space. If that’s the case, consider hiring a moving company. Now, this is a tricky thing. Like every other industry, there are GOOD and BAD moving companies, so do your homework. Ask around to friends and family and check online reviews.

Yes, you could have your family move you, but if you have the financial ability to have someone else do it, then do it. I’m sure your family and friends would be happy to help, but that time with them may be better spent enjoyed with them, not sweating and stressing hauling furniture downstairs and all that.

Meeting with an experienced Realtor® to determine the value of your home in TODAY’S market can be a wise thing to do at this time. If you need a local Realtor®, I’d be happy to help, just give me a call, text or email.

Knowing the value of your home, minus any mortgage debt, should be part of that financial planning I spoke of earlier. Maybe a reverse mortgage or home equity line could be an option for you. The point here is to know what you have and share that with that trusted person or financial advisor I spoke of earlier in this video to increase the likelihood of making sound decisions at this time.

I’m currently preparing to sell a couple’s home in Deland that has been in their home for 47 years and they had no idea of the value of their home before we met. Don’t just get some online valuation of what some computer based in California thinks your home is worth here in Florida, speak to a local professional. Meeting with a local Realtor® can help give you insight as to whether you should consider upgrades or maybe address any deferred maintenance.

A local Realtor® may be able to provide reputable, local contractors to help with necessary maintenance and can even provide alternative selling options if the maintenance is overwhelming. This knowledge gives you options, and options are important as you consider the transition to retirement living.

Next, get a health checkup. Some retirement communities have health services on site, or they may have connections to them; however, it may be wise to check with YOUR doctor. Maybe you’ve already got a relationship with a medical professional that you trust. These years we’re often faced with declining health. Now, maybe that’s not you, but sooner or later we’re ALL going to have health issues. Having confidence of your current health situation is a vital component of the transition to a retirement community so that you can determine the right setting for you.

Next, do your homework. There are all sorts of online resources that can tell you much about all sorts of retirement home options and I’m betting that every retirement home has a website of some sort. You can find reviews and find some retirement living options that you may not know even exist. If getting online isn’t the best option for you, get with that trusted family member or friend I spoke of earlier and enlist their help. Try to identify several options, and then contact them and ask to come and tour their facility.

They’ll be happy to help and show you what they have to offer. Different facilities can offer VERY different services and their costs can vary widely, so take your time here. For my mom, it was Heidi. Heidi was the person that she met at her facility that made Mom feel right at home and Mom reached out to Heidi quite a bit early on. When you’re in these facilities, pay attention to the smells of the home and pay attention to the people living there.

Are they busy doing activities? Does their activity level resemble yours? It’s very important that you feel comfortable in your new home, that you feel welcome there. Remember, this should be a GOOD situation that you should ENJOY, so don’t neglect this vital piece.

Once you’ve identified what you believe to be the RIGHT home, ask to have a meal there, perhaps you could sit with some of the residents. This may be the single most important thing you can do during this process as failure to do so could land you in a bad situation. It may feel awkward, but the people selling rooms in these places will work to meet your needs, so don’t be shy here! As you’re walking through the halls introduce yourself to current residents and ask how they like it there.

Like anywhere else, there will be complainers and those that are happy with life, but asking several people should give you some insight about what’s really going on. Don’t commit to any specific place until you’ve given it significant thought and discussed it with those that I’ve noted earlier, this will help to alleviate any pressure from someone trying to sell you on their facility.

If you’re considering a retirement community here in Central Florida, feel free to let me know as I’ve got some connections in the area. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be able to help find a good place for you. Of course, if you’ve got real estate needs anywhere here in Central Florida, simply give me a call. Here’s some good Independent Living Resources for Florida.

Published on July 02. 2024 / no comments.