Whether you’re a baby boomer approaching retirement or a senior citizen facing health issues, you will eventually question whether your current home will continue to work for you as you age. Are you able to get in and out easily? Can you manage the steps up to the bedroom or down to the laundry easily? If you need to use a wheelchair, can you maneuver into rooms with your mobility device? When the answer to one or more of these questions is “no,” you might consider whether to modify your home to age in place, or whether to move.
The High Cost Of Transforming Your Home
The ideal location for many people who have mobility or other health issues is a home with a first-floor master bedroom, a bathroom, and laundry. If your current home does not have these amenities, you may consider adding them if you love your home and don’t want to move. Unfortunately, adding on what makes a home easy to manage for seniors requires a large outlay of money.
Take, for example, what is required to create a bedroom, bathroom, and laundry facility on the first floor. If you have space on your main floor that you can convert to a bedroom and a bathroom, your cost may be minor, but when you’re talking about adding an addition, your project can cost thousands. You may be talking a minimum of $25,000 for a bedroom addition. Converting existing space to make way for a new bathroom might cost a minimum of $3.000, but if you’re adding an addition to your home which includes a bathroom, the cost is much more.
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Moving the laundry to the first floor can make your life easier, but ensure you have enough floor space for your washer and dryer. The cost to do the plumbing might be a minimum of $2,000, but the figure can rise if you are moving the laundry up to the second floor. If you have room to put laundry appliances on the wall adjacent to a bathroom where there is already plumbing, your costs might be less than if you had to run water lines up a flight or two.
Other Issues To Consider
Remodelling projects are expensive, but the high costs are just one thing that you have to think about. You also need to ask:
– Is there enough room on your lot to expand your structure?
– Will the city approve your plans for expansion?
– Will expanding and renovating make your home too costly for the neighborhood?
When you count these costs, you may realize that looking for another home is a smart idea. Your Realtor® can help you find a place that has the main accessibility features you need already included for the price you can pay, without the hassle of major construction, zoning board hearings, permits, and lots of cash. Before you decide to remodel, carefully count the cost.
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Roy Thomas SRES® (Senior’s Real Estate Specialist) is a REALTOR® with Sutton Group Professional Realty. Since 1991, Roy specializes in helping retirees with their later in life real estate transactions. Call Roy at 902-497-3031 or contact Roy here
