We all put off making decisions that take us out of our comfort zone. Imagine a decision as important as moving from your home that you’ve lived in for the last 35 years! In my survey of my senior clients, the average time lived in their last home before moving to senior housing was 34 years. This same survey pointed to fear of change as the number one reason my clients were not moving when a change was needed.

When procrastination takes center stage, we find reasons not to move forward. One main excuse not to improve our housing situation is convincing ourselves that we don’t need to make a change. One way to avoid a move is to convince ourselves that we live in our homes for free. In most or all cases, that is not reality.

I work closely with senior financial planners so that my customers have all of the financial facts before making an important decision such as moving to condominiums, apartments, or senior communities. These trained professionals will interview my clients and point out the costs to live in their homes. Utilities, taxes, insurance and maintenance are a few of these costs. Another major consideration is the cost of (more…)