Senior Housing
There are senior housing options for every reason to move: finances, family, health, safety, climate, community…
You may need to sell your home to free up equity to fund your retirement. You may want to be closer to family, or make it easier for your family to care for you as you grow older. Declining health may make it necessary to live in a community, whether a shared home or a nursing facility. The allure of warmer weather may inspire you to look for senior housing in a balmier state, or senior housing may be an opportunity to be part of a community of people with similar age and interests.
The following list breaks down some of the major options to consider:
- Age Restricted “Retirement Communities”: A senior community can be like any other neighborhood or community except restricted to people usually 55+, or 62+. To attract residents, this seniors housing option often comes with attractive amenities and services. Many retirement communities cater to an active lifestyle, and may offer golf, tennis, swimming pool and spa, exercise rooms and a variety of clubs and interest groups.
- Seniors Only Apartments: Selling your house and moving into an apartment complex can free up equity, as well as freeing you from home maintenance, and give you seniors housing that puts you in the company of other seniors, while still being more private than senior communities.
- Share your Home: there are professional organizations that can help set up a good match, which can bring in supplemental income, and provide the safety and company of a housemate.
- Assisted living: this senior housing option allows you to retain the privacy of your own home, while getting help with non-medical aspects of daily life that have become difficult to manage on your own.
- Skilled Nursing Facilities: nursing care can be added to many of the above senior housing options for those requiring a high level of medical help, including help with understanding Medicare.
This list is only an overview of the many senior citizen housing options out there. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development offers information about some of the legal requirements and protections around senior housing (such as reverse mortgages) – click here for more information.
