Posts Tagged “Sutton Group”
Falls in a home can result in minor injuries or may even become fatal, but a fall in the bathroom is a commonplace where people can get hurt. Take the necessary steps to increase bathroom safety for seniors who want to live independent lives. A few simple and inexpensive changes to your bathroom can decrease your chances of injury and make it a safer place. It’s also advisable to bring your cell phone or emergency alert gadget to the bathroom with you in case you fall and require immediate assistance.
Some medical conditions like diabetes make your skin less sensitive to water temperatures so ensure you turn the cold water on first and off last when having a shower and be sure to check the water temperature in a bath before climbing in. Do not grab onto the tap when entering the tub but hold onto a grab bar for better balance. Some seniors find it difficult to get into and out of the tub without assistance so it will become necessary to follow the tips listed below to prevent serious or fatal falls.
Improve Bathroom lighting
Place a nightlight outside and inside the bathroom to keep it well lit. Poor visibility due to inadequate lighting can also increase the risk of a fall so ensure the bathroom is well lit and the path from the bathroom to the bedroom has adequate lighting.
Non-slip-mats and bath mats
Use a non-slip mat that has a rubber back in your tub to prevent slipping. Rinse off your bath mat regularly as soap buildup will prevent it from securing snugly to the tub. Add a nonslip rug or mat on the floor in front of the tub, toilet, and sink to minimize the risk of falling on a slippery wet floor. Ensure your bathroom floor is free and clear of towels, face cloths and clothing, and other items to prevent tripping.
Install a Shower caddy
Install a shower caddy for holding toiletry items that can be accessed without stretching or bending. Install it at arm’s height so it’s easier to grab shampoos and soaps. Wall-mounted shower caddies are easy to refill and you don’t have to worry about shampoo bottles or soap falling out of your hands and into the bathtub or shower.
Install Grab bars
A wet slippery surface can be a hazard in your bathroom, so install grab bars in the shower, by the toilet, and other places in your bathroom but make sure they are installed properly and do not pull away from the wall when force is applied. A properly installed grab bar is essential for seniors who have difficulty getting into and out of a bathtub and provide assistance for better balance. Grabbing onto a towel rack for balance is not advisable and is not designed to support your full weight and could come to loose from the wall resulting in a fall.
Shower chair – transfer bench or walk-in tub
A shower chair or bench provides a place to sit and rest while showering as some seniors have difficulty standing and staying balanced. Purchase a chair with rubber tips on the legs to prevent slipping and sliding in the tub.
Raised toilet seat or install a taller toilet
A taller toilet with a grab bar nearby anchored to the wall will give a senior something to hold onto while raising and lowering themselves onto the toilet. Traditional toilets may be too low for a senior who has problems getting up and down. Also, a raised toilet seat provides better access by a few inches and provides assistance for getting up and down. Again ensure a grab bar is handy to reduce falls.
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
Most likely your home is your biggest asset. It’s also your biggest expense. Unfortunately, when it comes to retirement planning, the family home is often last on the list of later in life changes.
There are many reasons for this delay
Emotionally it’s difficult to let go of a home filled with memories. Moving can be a big process. For these reasons, many retirees delay for years moving into a smaller house, condo or apartment.
“Preparing to Downsize” please click here
However, in many cases, the benefits of downsizing sooner rather than later can be significant. The financial benefits may seem small, but they can extend the life of your retirement savings.
Cost of staying in your home
You may have a hesitation to sell a mortgage-free house and move to an apartment with a monthly rent payment. However, with a home, many of the expenses are hidden.
It’s the ongoing maintenance such as roof, furnace, windows, grass cutting and landscaping, snow removal, etc. Not to mention the annual costs of heat, electricity, and taxes on a large older home. These costs add up to a substantial amount.
Selling your home will eliminate any mortgage or other debt, reducing monthly expenses. Add in the income you will earn from investing the equity of your home and the savings from no home maintenance. Compare that to the monthly rental payment of an apartment.
Trading the variable and hidden costs of homeownership for the visible cost of a condo or apartment can help with planning and budgeting. You know what your fixed costs will be.
Let’s do some math
Even without a mortgage, housing often accounts for 30% of retirement expenses. You sell your $300,000 home and move to an apartment that rents for $1500 per month. This allows 10% of the selling price to cover all moving-related expenses. This leaves $270,000 to be invested.
That $270,000 could produce an additional $16,200 of income per year. On top of that, the savings from lower housing expenses could easily be $3000 per year. A total of $19,200 additional income to pay $18,000 in total annual rent.
Besides the financial benefits, this is simply the practicality. Many people fail to consider how the aging process makes it harder to move. The process is exhausting at a young age. It’s much more daunting for retirees.
As we age, illness or death can unexpectedly force a move upon you. Situations like this create stress and havoc for the entire family. In many cases, the bulk of the responsibility falls upon the children.
Making the move before one spouse dies can help prevent the surviving spouse or your adult children from having to empty and sell a big house.
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
Need a change in your life?
Consider downsizing with less space and fewer possessions. You can spend less time and money cleaning, organizing, and maintaining things and focus on other priorities.
10 Tips for Downsizing
1. Boomer and senior need less space. Large homes with multiple levels and a big yard represent your past, while a smaller house, condo, or apartment is the present.
2. You want space, so be selective downsizing. Choose a large master bedroom, but fewer secondary bedrooms. An open-concept kitchen but not a big dining room.
3. A smaller home or condo may cost less. If the space is right for you, even paying an equivalent or higher price may be worth it.
4. If you have less space, your utility cost should be less.
5. Moving to a smaller home usually means ridding yourself of some furniture. Some pieces won’t fit the space, so splurge on new pieces that are perfect for the new space.
Preparing to Downsize Report
6. Consider the move a fresh start cutting down on clothes, kitchen gadgets, hobby equipment, and other things you don’t use. Reducing the volume of “stuff” will make your move easier and help you get settled in your new home.
7. As the items that won’t make the move pile up, use Kijiji, garage sales. Donate all or part of it to an organization or a needy familiar.
8. If you have collectibles, jewelry, household goods, or other treasures you want to give to your kids or grandkids, distribute them as you downsize and reclaim the space.
9. If you discover you still have more than you need to move into your new home, don’t be afraid to continue the purge as you get settled to make sure your home stays uncluttered.
10. Though you might feel sad as you let go of your big house and stock of possessions, revel in the fact you are downsizing on your own terms.
Downsizing is a process but a rewarding one. It can be an opportunity to right-size your life and move onto the next chapter with more independence.
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
In our era of identity theft, title fraud costs Canadians $300 million annually. It’s a serious problem that often impacts older adults.
What is Title Fraud?
Title fraud occurs when someone other than the lawful owner transfers the property to themselves or obtains a new mortgage to pull cash out of the house. This leaves the true owner with a mortgage registered against the property.
Scammers are attracted to higher-value properties that are already mortgage-free. These are easier for the thieves to perpetrate the fraud against. Typically the scammers will place a fraudulent mortgage against a property and disappear with the money.
No payments are ever made on the mortgage and months down the road, the mortgage company begins to attempt to collect on the delinquent mortgage and this is when the homeowner becomes aware they have been defrauded. While the homeowner is trying to prove they didn’t take out the mortgage, the mortgage company is starting to go thru the collection and foreclosure process. If you suspect that you have become a victim of mortgage fraud, contact your local police department right away.
Seniors can be popular targets for several reasons:
– Many seniors have their homes paid off, making it easier for thieves to place a mortgage on the property.
– If you are a snowbird and winter down south, having your home vacant for months makes it a target. Take precautions to ensure your home is regularly checked in your absence.
– Relatives or caregivers can take advantage of people suffering from a loss of mental capacity and forge a power of attorney to gain control of a property and then sell or mortgage the property.
With so much personal information available on the internet, it has become even easier to commit title fraud and some people have lost their homes to this crime. Do a property search at your province land registry office to ensure that the title to your home is in your name.
Protecting Yourself from Title Fraud
There are a variety of legal actions a person can take to recover from fraud, but what can be done to prevent title fraud in the first place? Everyone, especially seniors, must be vigilant.
Have a Lawyer review your real estate documents when purchasing and selling your home. Be clear about what you are signing. Legal language is confusing to anyone. Acquire title insurance when purchasing a property.
Title insurance is an insurance policy that protects your home from title fraud as well as other title problems. Buy it at the time of purchase but can be added at a later date. It is good for as long as you own the property, so it only needs to be purchased once. The cost is as low a few hundred dollars and I recommend all my clients invest in title insurance.
If you plan on living in your home for the next few years it can be worthwhile protection. There are several different title insurance companies that offer policies.
Don’t be the victim of title fraud! Your home is perhaps your largest personal asset. Don’t let anyone take it away.
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
In our era of identity theft, title fraud costs Canadians $300 million annually. It’s a serious problem that often impacts older adults.
What is Title Fraud?
Title fraud occurs when someone other than the lawful owner transfers the property to themselves or obtains a new mortgage to pull cash out of the house. This leaves the true owner with a mortgage registered against the property. Scammers are attracted to higher-value properties that are already mortgage-free.
The scammers will place a fraudulent mortgage against a property and disappear with the money. No payments are ever made. Months down the road, the mortgage company begins to attempt to collect on the delinquent mortgage. This is often the first time the homeowner becomes aware they have been defrauded. While the homeowner is trying to prove they didn’t take out the mortgage, the mortgage company is starting to go thru the collection and foreclosure process.
Seniors can be popular targets for several reasons:
– Many seniors have their homes paid off making it easier for thieves to place a mortgage on the property.
– If you are a snowbird and winter down south, having your home vacant for months makes it a target.
Relatives or caregivers can take advantage of people suffering from a loss of mental capacity and forge a power of attorney to gain control of a property and then sell or mortgage the property.
With so much personal information available on the internet, it has become even easier to commit title fraud. People lose their homes to this crime.
Protecting Yourself from Title Fraud
There are a variety of legal actions a person can take to recover from fraud. What can be done to prevent title fraud in the first place? The first thing is to be vigilant.
Before signing real estate paperwork, it is good practice to consult your own lawyer. Be clear about what you are signing. Legal language is confusing to anyone.
Acquire title insurance
Title insurance is an insurance policy that protects your home from title fraud as well as other title problems. Buy title insurance at the time of purchase, but it can be added later. It is good for as long as you own the property and only needs to be purchased once.
The cost is as low as a few hundred dollars. I recommend all my clients invest in title insurance.
If you plan on living in your home for the next few years it is worthwhile protection. There are several different title insurance companies that offer policies. Don’t be a victim of title fraud! Your home is perhaps your largest personal asset.
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
As you get older, you may realize that surrounding yourself with a lifetime of memories has a cost to you. Your home may be so cluttered that downsizing to a smaller house, senior apartment, or assisted living facility is an overwhelming project. Even if you want to stay in your current home, you may need to clear space so you can move through your home in a wheelchair, or you may need to accommodate a live-in caregiver. When your home is overloaded with too much furniture and clothing or too many knickknacks and treasures from the past, you may find yourself feeling stuck.
The Challenges of Decluttering
When you try to approach the clutter yourself, you can find plenty of resources that suggest how to plan a decluttering project. Start with a room at a time, the articles say, or do little work each day until you have a manageable amount of possessions. Call in a relative to help make the job easier. For seniors, these suggestions might not be workable, especially if you are not in good health, if you have no relatives able to help, or if you need to make a quick move.
For most people, one of the hardest things in parting with possessions that DIY approaches do not address is that “things” acquire emotional value beyond their monetary worth. While looking over boxes of old memorabilia that chronicles your life or the early life of your children can bring closure, the decluttering process can be time-consuming and not extensive enough.
Hiring The Pros Can Get the Job Done
One of the most effective ways to whittle your possessions down to size is to obtain help of professionals who specialize in decluttering. As an objective third-party, the professionals do not have the same attachment to your possessions as you do, so they can move through your house quickly and help you decide what to keep, what to throw out, and what to donate. A good decluttering firm is respectful of your memories while getting the job done. Whether you are trying to make more room in your current location or you need to move to a smaller space, the pros have the experience to know exactly what will fit. They can do the job quickly and at a reasonable price.
Request Your Complimentary Copy of My “Preparing to Downsize” Report
Who to Call
While you could run a classified ad in Kijiji one of the safest ways to obtain the help is to hire a professional organizer. There are several local firms that specialize in decluttering in Halifax. When you hire a firm, they will take care of arranging to have your unneeded possessions hauled away.
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