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Better Ideas for Aging: Multi-Generational Housing

We are moving furnitures, offices, pets, and all our worldly goods from Dallas, TX, to Ann Arbor, Michigan, this week.  We have lots of new insights about moving in middle age, but we are also pretty distracted.  So, some other authorities on aging are supplementing our “Better Ideas for Aging” archive.
This one is from NBC Nightly News and features reports from Dr. Nancy Snyderman from NBC and Amy Goyer from AARP.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world… More

Relocate While You Are Able, Part 2

Rehab the New One Before Move-in
Moving into any new house will incur some costs.  Our “new”1973 condo is in good shape but the paint, carpet and tile probably have not been changed since it was built.  Flooring and painting need to be replaced before we move in the furniture and all our junk.  Ca-ching! 
I have been a creative real estate investor for 24 years.  In most cases I just moved in and rehabbed the rooms one by one as I found the money.  This the first… More

Relocate While You Are Able, Part 1

Retirement Dream(ahead)
If you are not living where you want to retire, think about moving there sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until you are old and doddery before  moving to that idealized retirement place.  Moving in middle age or beyond just isn’t the same experience as getting your first apartment, buying a first home, or upgrading to “more house” when your fortunes allow you to do so.
Two weeks ago we closed on the purchase of a home in… More

Reverse Mortgage as Financial Planning Tool

Financial planners have viewed taking out a reverse mortgage as an act of desperation for  people who are down to their last asset.  Now they have found a way to help retirees retain home equity and some financial assets.  The key for lenders is to give reverse mortgages early to people with other assets rather than late to people with none.
Financial Planning Tool
According to the Journal of Financial Planning, retirees may use a reverse mortgage as a way to increase retirement… More

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING AND THE BRIDGE

SUPPORTIVE HOUSING FOR HOMELESS
As a followup to my tour of The Bridge last week, I contacted Jay Dunn, President and CEO, to learn how The Bridge transitions the homeless in Dallas into supportive housing.
Supportive Housing is affordable housing that is subsidized.  It is not institutional housing. Supportive housing provides a safe place to live with a full continuum of supportive services to help a resident manage his/her day-to-day living situation.
AN ENVIABLE RECORD… More

WHAT IS SUPPORTIVE HOUSING?

Supportive Housing for the homeless has lessons to teach us as we work on better ways to house seniors without assets or family, especially those with depression or dementia.  Supportive Housing creates a safe place to live with a full continuum of supportive services to help a resident manage his/her day-to-day living situation.
This video focuses on supportive housing in San Diego, but it covers the basics of supportive housing in any location.… More

THE BRIDGE: HOPE FOR THE HOMELESS

 
WHEN I FIND A GOOD IDEA, I STEAL IT
This week I met with Judy Noble, Director of Community Development, at The Bridge here in Dallas, TX.  I made an appointment because I have heard about the The Bridge’s success in getting the homeless off the street and into supportive housing.
I wanted to know if the model for The Bridge could be helpful in figuring out how we are going to provide affordable housing for all the seniors who will need it as the aging population continues… More

ASSISTED LIVING IN HOUSTON TX (Special Perks)

Sometimes I get a bit loopy from writing so much about serious topics as aging, death and dying, elder abuse, affordable housing, senior jobs, and all the challenges that face me and my fellow greying Baby Boomers.
If this seems a bit off topic, forgive me.  Sometimes I need a giggle.

Kudos to “Baylor” and “Tupelo” in the elephant assisted living facilities at the Houston Zoo.
 … More

COHOUSING AND THE INTENTIONAL COMMUNITY

COHOUSING IS COLLABORATIVE
Cohousing is an option with wonderful possibilities for those of us who wish to maintain our personal privacy and independence while enjoying the benefits of a close knit community.  For me and my fellow 78 million baby boomers, it meets the needs of an aging demographic that rejects traditional senior housing.  It is a type of collaborative housing designed and operated by the residents, who are consciously committed to living in a community… More

ELDERLY IN CARE HOMES: WAREHOUSING MOM

YOU CAN’T MISPLACE MOM IF YOU VISIT REGULARLY
How often do you suppose this happens?
Some one “puts their mother in a home” and doesn’t check on her for months–literally.
No phone calls or personal visits were made during the time between “before Christmas” and the first week of March to speak to her mother or check on her welfare with a call to the facility staff.  By the way, the daughter has several siblings also living in the area.  None of them checked… More