Finding the Right Path in RI Real Estate for Senior Homeowners
No matter what your career may be you are bound to be touched by certain people’s lives and struggles …for me in real estate it is my senior clients who are alone and who need to find that right path. So seniors who are 
straightforward about their current lives I will go the distance for in assisting them with transitions in real estate.
straightforward about their current lives I will go the distance for in assisting them with transitions in real estate.
Right now I have two single senior women who present a problem to themselves. What I have found out with dealing with the State Department of Elderly Affairs is that not too much is done to help these women who have significant health issues. Local senior center services will help with Meals on Wheels (the food is
fair and it is nutritious) and guidance but stop there. They are encumbered by state and federal laws. Wellness checks are done but many senior homeowners lie about their condition. They are so afraid of going into a nursing home. It comes down to that the women are still of sound mind (Parkinson’s disease & macular eye degeneration aside they are a danger when they drive a car) and choose not to take help or advice that will put them in a better living and housing situation. There is no court order to be imposed to make any changes on their lives unless they are incompetent or can not care for themselves at all.
One of my client’s has a son faraway and he can’t get his mother to move down with his family (tried it with him for 2 weeks and she said hell no this weather is not for me). The other homeowner has no one in this country since she’s from the United Kingdom (an elderly sister there). Choices to be made that are difficult for both whether it’s to move into assisted living (one even tried that and came back home after a month) or senior apartment housing. Oh by the way, they’ve made some choices which are not healthy since both smoke even though they’ve been told they need to quit. Assistance from me is appreciated but not honored and why should it be…it’s not my life that’s being dealt this hand yet. Finding that right path to another family member’s home or to an apartment will just not be tolerated by either of them yet. I can cajole and be concerned but they’ve decided the time is not now.
I’m not sure how these situations will sort out yet but I do see how I will deal better with my loss of freedom in elder years. My goal is to try to assist them in dealing with life decisions that are hard…very hard. Setting your future path up with an elder attorney is crucial for any homeowner that is of ‘senior’ age (it seems to be over 65 years old as the benchmark). When you do not have the financial resources it is a tough transition anywhere because your home is your financial bank to draw from (reverse mortgage can be a possibility). But more than that it’s the place they had with loved ones and it’s security of a known place. So finding the right path in real estate for senior homeowner clients is a journey that requires some guidance, care and respect because a path always reaches an end.
My suggestion to all families is that the discussion starts firmly and early in a senior’s life.
Dovetail the discussion into the senior homeowner’s signing up for Medicare (all must do this at age 65 or be penalized) at the latest.
Bring the discussion on by involving your younger children, nieces/nephews into the mix so all are exposed that this is a ‘caring’ discussion.
Bring the alternatives to the mix here (staying in place if one becomes incapacitated in some way (monies to do that with outside care coming in), senior apartments, moving into a family member’s home if possible or senior living complexes (from apartments to transitional assisted living).
Are there living wills, living trusts, durable power of attorneys, etc. in place that are done with an elder attorney and if not time to establish them.
What becomes of the house when the senior homeowner needs to move? Is it sold to be the nest egg draw for their next step in life? These are questions that need to be answered.
Setting up a succession of events is important for all homeowners too, not just seniors! If I can give you some RI real estate guidance or direct you in the right direction within RI real estate please reach out to me, Ginny Gorman, at 401.529.7849 .
Finding the Right Path in RI Real Estate for Senior Homeowners is what this RI real estate agent does well.
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Waterfront, oceanfront, luxury and coastal Rhode Island real estate are my specialty but all of RI is my backyard. When you are in need of a knowledgeable North Kingstown RI real estate specialist for your buying, selling or relocating needs and a savvy marketer who sells RI houses in this real estate market, call Ginny Gorman at 401.529.7849 or email her at RiByTheBay@gmail.com today.
