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Originally Posted by WoodyWW
Is this true even with a medicare supplement plan? Could you elaborate a bit?
My situation: age 72, in pretty good shape so far (knock wood!), having some more trouble with stairs. I live in a nice 2 story house, with basement, so 2 sets of stairs. The basement stairs I've given up on: very steep, & only one handrail, & I don't know who to hire to install a 2nd. My big issue is the shower: on 2nd floor, & a tub/shower combo. About a year ago I just didn't want to climb in & out of a tub to take a shower any more. Thinking of getting it replaced with a walk-in shower, but of course that's a major reno, & it's still on 2nd floor.
Also the R.E. market around here (S. NH) in any nice area is a raging seller's market, w/o a lot of single story houses, & the ones there are either horrible, or sell instantly. I also just moved here in 2015, & that was such a massive effort that I don't know if I could do it again.
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The market for single story homes is pretty hot around here as well. A third to half of all home sales in this area are straight cash. I would bet good money that the percentage of homes suitable for aging in place that are sold to cash buyers is higher yet. I can't tell you how many times I looked at a place that would work that sold within 3 weeks of being listed. Got to be cash. Mortgage takes twice that long.
Decent weather, good medical services, nearby airport, ... lot of people want to retire here, and now, remote workers are discovering they can earn a good living, and still go biking out their back door after work, ... Lot of competition for any home, but single story ones are gone in a heartbeat.
I was 73 when we moved, and I would not recommend it. I'm glad we did, as has worked out well for us. But getting a house ready to sell, finding a new place, sorting through and moving our stuff, dealing with all the paperwork, ... it was a lot.
I did it because we needed a home that we could live in as long as physically and cognitively possible. We do not have the incomes/assets to pay $5K/month for more than a few years. While my husband could turn to the VA, I am out of luck. Income is too high to qualify for government subsidized programs, and who knows how long those will survive the next economic downturn anyway, and not high enough to self-pay for more than a few years.
If you like where you are living, I would suggest you explore how to make your home work better for you. Would it make more sense to remodel the first floor to include a bedroom and a bathroom with a walk-in shower? Or would getting a pneumatic lift or a one of those seats that runs up the side of the stairs work?
We are already appreciating our new shower with the double grab bars and the non-slip tile floor. But it was a lot of work to get bids, develop plans, pick out fixtures, work with a contractor and his crew, ... Glad I'm dealing with all that now rather than 10 years from now.