The New “Nesters”: Not Empty, Not Full, Just Right

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In the past, granny units weren’t typically inhabited by grannies. Most such units served as an income source for the homeowner, and were rented out to twenty-somethings who were getting their feet wet in the job market. Or, in more recent economic times, to people of all ages who need an affordable place to live. 

But now, tiny houses may become a new senior destination, lending a whole new meaning to the term “downsizing”.

Bill Thomas, MD, who created The Green House model, a new standard in long-term care, envisions these “granny pods” as either accessory dwellings, or actual homes for seniors who want to remain independent, yet near family or other loved ones.

Tiny Houses with a Big Purpose

While the tiny home concept has been around for years, Thomas’ prototype includes smart home features and universal design elements to make the tiny home safe and secure for seniors.

Although a tiny house likely won’t qualify for a reverse mortgage due to its portability — and probable lack of comps for an accurate valuation — a HECM client can use part of their loan to invest in a senior-suited tiny house, and potentially use this “turtle shell” for retirement travel.

Thomas originally developed his prototype, the Minka, for his adult daughter, who requires round-the-clock care due to a neurological disorder. Throughout 2018, the University of Southern Indiana has been testing a version of the dwellings on campus as a multigenerational community housing model, uniting health professions with other disciplines, such as social work and engineering, in an effort to change the way society perceives aging.
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The year-long pilot program, known as MAGIC (Multi-Ability, multi-Generational, Inclusive Community) which also garnered support from AARP, is helping Thomas and his team develop a model framework for building multi-generational, inclusive communities where students from a variety of disciplines work, live and study in close proximity with older adults, with a focus on fostering what he calls “independence together” through social and physical activities and healthful eating.

While we’ve explored how students in the Netherlands live free in nursing homes in exchange for befriending elderly residents, as well as the cohousing model that has even been adapted specifically for the senior market, tiny homes that address multiple abilities is a truly visionary concept.

Nesting with Independence

In fact, Nest, Google’s smart home automation division that is renowned for its “nested” thermostats that can be remotely adjusted from anywhere in the world, and home security systems that allow family members to check in on loved ones, is exploring how best to tweak its products for aging in place.

Because many older adults prefer not to use products specifically targeted to them, but rather mainstream consumer products that are easy for them to use, moving into the aging market after seeing success with a general population is a promising approach, say aging experts.

Will tiny homes someone can nest into fill a role for empty nesters who seek a living environment that’s adaptable, comfortable, and portable? Keep an eye on this evolving trend. If nothing else, Thomas’s Minka may become the granny unit grannies rent out to others in their cohort group who want to stay in a supportive, cozy, affordable environment when they travel.

**A Note from the HECMWorld Staff:** Tiny homes are still a relatively new phenomenon, and traditional lenders are still adjusting to this recent trend. Mortgage professionals should contact their underwriting department to see if a ‘tiny home’ would meet the requirements of a Home Equity Conversion Mortgage.

Space, The Final Frontier: Seniors Living Apart Together



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People choose not to cohabit for various reasons. They may live far apart geographically, and love their respective homes too much to move. Or they want to remain near kids/grandkids. A huge issue for older adults is lifestyle, and feeling that each partner’s long-standing habits might not mesh well under one roof.

How we choose to live is as personal as our food and clothing preferences — perhaps more so. And while marriage or living together is still the norm for most couples, there’s another living arrangement that’s raising interest, if not eyebrows: LAT, or living apart together. The relative oxymoron may be especially appealing to seniors — and to reverse mortgage professionals, for whom one couple could yield two potential HECMs.

Screen Shot 2017-08-20 at 2.43.06 PMTo share or not to share, that is the question

As someone who once conceived the idea of side-by-side houses conjoined by a Great Room where a couple might meet for a meal, or when both decide they want to spend time together, LAT appeals to me as one creative solution to being partnered without necessarily sharing the same dwelling 24/7.

Such an arrangement might have been viewed askance a few decades ago. But now it’s gaining currency, particularly with those who say they’re “set in their ways”, yet are in a long-term relationship. And by the time people retire, many care a lot less about what others think than they did in their younger years.

Janice Handler, a retired lawyer in her late 60s, and husband Norman Ilowite, 85, have been LAT since they married in 1978. Ilowite spends most of his time aboard a 40-foot yacht; his wife lives in a two-bedroom apartment she purchased in 1993. They spend weekends together on the boat and winters in her apartment and, while Handler doubted the arrangement would work well at first, she now says she’d choose it again in a heartbeat. With an eye on her husband’s age, however, Handler avers they may need to rethink their LAT arrangement in the near future.

Another couple, in their 70s, has always been avant-garde: after meeting at a youth group 48 years ago, they finally wed in 2007. And while they’ve been happily LAT the entire time, as they age they say they might consider a single roof if one of them becomes seriously ill.

Key factors that affect the LAT decision

“U.S. society has yet to recognize LAT as a legitimate choice. If more people — young and old, married or not — saw LAT as an option, it might save them from a lot of future heartache,” says Jacquelyn Benson, assistant professor in the College of Human Environmental Sciences at the University of Missouri. Discussions about end-of-life planning and caregiving can be sensitive to talk about; however, LAT couples should make it a priority to have these conversations both as a couple and with their families. Many of us wait until a crisis to address those issues, but in situations like LAT where there are no socially prescribed norms dictating behavior, these conversations may be more important than ever.”

While it’s true that many older adults who’ve already been in a long-term marriage and are now divorced or widowed may not want to merge their lives so completely again at this stage, for some, the issue may be as simple as not wanting to change your surname if you remarry.

A 93-year-old Australian woman consistently refused her beau’s proposal for two decades, thinking taking his surname would be disrespectful to her deceased husband. When she learned she could keep her own last name she finally said yes, much to her longtime love’s delight. And since she had already convinced him to move to her town so the pair could be together, it’s a safe bet their years as a LAT couple might conclude with the wedding.

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Smart Enough for Seniors



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The Housing Shift: Part 1

While the majority of seniors hope to age in place, especially given the plethora of services and technologies available to make it easier than ever before to remain safely at home, some people will need or choose to move into a senior living community, whether for companionship, prepared meals, or because one partner needs some assistance. And while the options have broadened in recent years, technology now makes senior living smarter, safer — and customized.

Consider Avanti Senior Living, which offers resort-style living with concierge services. The word Avanti means “forward” in Italian, and the Texas-based company turns on innovation. Along with the expected range of senior living options, from lifestyle to assisted living to memory care, Avanti offers the unexpected, such as an onsite restaurant that prepares individual meals to order, and the “A” crew: a program that allows young friends and visitors, including residents’ grandchildren, to spend time with the seniors, co-creating activities, games, and events that are fun for everyone involved.

Perhaps most importantly, Avanti maintains an up-to-date medical history on each resident, with personal notes available via electronic health care records that can be updated in real-time.

Keeping Seniors Connected

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A Lifespace Community

As we’ve discussed before, the aging Boomer cohort, 76 million strong, is fueling much of this technological foray into ways to enhance the aging experience. Housing, of course, is the foundation of everyone’s future, whether someone chooses to apply for a reverse mortgage loan to help them remain in the house they love, downsize to a more manageable space, or relocate closer to family.

Like Avanti, Lifespace Communities is at the forefront of the senior living movement, focused on CCRC (Continuing Care Retirement Communities) which offer the full array of housing options that may be needed as someone ages.

What’s new is the focus on technology. In 2016, Lifespace expanded its network bandwidth and implemented campus-wide WiFi, so residents can be connected in their apartments as well as in common areas — something unheard of just a few years ago.

Explains Lifespace VP of IT John Coulture, “Only a certain percentage of our residents use mobile devices, but more and more children and grandchildren are getting residents iPads or smartphones as gifts, so we wanted to start to implement technologies to encourage use of these products.” 

Let There Be Light!

For those intent on remaining at home, small techno-tweaks can make a big difference.

We discussed how something as simple as changing light bulbs, easy enough to manage in our younger years, can be potentially life-threatening for an older person if they fall off a ladder. The Office of Chronic Care Advocacy president William Fralin discovered a brilliant workaround you may wish to share with your reverse mortgage clients, prospects, and their families:

“Last weekend I was on a mission to obtain some sort of ‘task lighting’ for a specific area of my house. While perusing the lighting department at one of the local home centers, I came across a package of three puck lights, LED, and…battery-operated. No wiring! Easy to install: you have the option of either an adhesive disk or using screws. Just figure out where you want it and, within a minute, violà!

“How does this factor into aging in place? These little lights can be utilized in an endless list of places that an individual would need a bit more lighting: inside kitchen cabinets, closets, under counters, and cabinets under the kitchen and bathroom sinks. They don’t get hot like some ‘puck’ lighting fixtures do. Most likely the only expense over the years of life for a LED is the cost of batteries, which is less than the cost of one of the bulbs in the other ‘puck’ lights.

“Along with replacing traditional round doorknobs with the lever style, lowering light switches, and reflective tape on outdoor steps…installing these handy lights make aging in place easier and safer for all of us. Your relatives will rest a bit more easily knowing that their loved one is living in a well-ordered environment.”

All-Access? Matching Building Design to Elder Needs

When you’re discussing aging in place with your reverse mortgage clients and prospects, seek to discover what areas may need special attention if they’re to remain safely in their long-term home — or, especially, if they’re considering relocating and choosing a HECM for Purchase.

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