An often cited perk of home ownership is that you have a source of cash when you need to sell it. As you age, you may realize that your home no longer provides a convenient, affordable place to live. When you own a home, you have options that you can rely on to obtain the housing you need.
Senior Living Can Be Costly
For some seniors, modifying their home to make it safe and accessible is an option, made possible by taking out a loan from the equity in the hands. In many cases, however, renovations are not feasible or not cost-effective. In that case, your best option is moving and having a house to sell can provide you with the funds you need for your new housing. According to the senior living specialists A Place For Mom, housing options can be costly, especially if you need care in addition to living space.
In Canada, the national average for renting a one-bedroom apartment or studio in a facility that includes one meal per day is $1,995, in a price range of $1,400-$3,500 per month. For supportive living, retirement homes and senior lodges, the costs paid in $1,500- $5,000 per month, while residing in a center that provides care for dementia or Alzheimer’s averages $3,477, with the range of $3,000-$7,000.
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Paying For Senior Living
All of these options are private pay, which means that even after Old Age Pension, Canada Pension, other pension income, and savings, you may be in need of a source of funds to meet your housing needs.
In addition to current income, many people find themselves needing to take other measures such as selling off life insurance policies or relying on support from their families to cover the costs of senior living. Unless you have a long-term care insurance plan in place, selling off real estate may be the best place to start to provide funds for the next stage of life. There are several advantages to taking this approach:
– The expenses of homeownership, such as taxes and home-repair, improvement, and upkeep costs immediately end.
– You do not have to immediately exhaust other resources such as savings accounts or life insurance policies.
– Even if you have a mortgage on your home, you will reduce debt and pull out the cash equity from your home.
– The new home you select can have all the services you need in place, rather than you or your family having to piece together home care, meal delivery, and a visitation schedule to provide for you.
If you are ready to sell your home for maximum value, the best place to start is by clicking here and scheduling an appointment.
Looking to sell your home? Give me a call today.
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
