When a parent becomes too ill or injured to care for themselves the alternatives can be expensive, far away, or perhaps too close. AARP estimates that 23 million adults have brought a parent home to live with them. This option can be difficult as mom and child both lose some independence and privacy. If mom is just starting to need help, the average assisted living facility in California costs around $3,750 per month. 1.3 million Seniors are currently cared for in nursing homes, but the fees average over $6,000 a month for a semi-private room or almost $7,000 a month for a private room. Most kids have to dissolve mom’s assets first paying for her care before she would qualify for Medicare to cover her long term care expense. If mom has $300,000 in equity and her home sells for $500,000 she would be left with around $265,000 after realtor fees and expenses. This would only cover her expenses for A little over 3 years. After that, the kids would have to use her remaining assets to cover the costs until she were to qualify for Medicare (consult a Medicare professional for details).
There is a wonderful option for those that don’t want mom to be in a nursing home, but also do not want to lose their privacy or hers by bringing mom under their own roof. Elder Cottages, Granny Pods, or as I like to refer to them, independence cottages, are modular units with a bedroom, bathroom, small kitchen, and can come equipped with plenty of high tech safety features; video cameras at ankle level to monitor but give privacy, grab bars, defibrillators, lighted floorboards, automatic medication dispensers and first-aid supplies among other options. These pods can be installed in your backyard and linked to your home so that you can know mom is safe and close-by if she should need anything. Plans start at under $300, or if you wish to purchase a modular unit they can range from $40,000 to $125,000, which may be less than the cost of a year in a nursing home (www.medcottage.com or http://www.betterlivingexpress.com/granny-pods/ ). These pods can be used in conjunction with long term care insurance, or Medicaid or Medical to cover the cost of nursing visits (consult your long term care professional for details). If you have an extra room and bathroom you may also look to converting it into an in home Independence room. The nursing home option will typically deplete all of mom’s assets and the children’s inheritance, while not getting the care she would if she were in your own backyard. Adding a granny pod in the back should not only preserve mom’s assets longer but add value to your home. How much more would you pay to purchase a home with a granny pad already installed?
Many will sell mom’s home in order to pay for her independence cottage. Or you may consider a reverse mortgage on your home to cover the cost of mom’s Elder Cottage. If you own a home worth $500,000 with a $100,000 mortgage and are 62 years old, you would qualify for roughly $150,000 on a reverse mortgage line of credit (RM LOC) that could be used to finance the cost of your home improvement. The great thing about a RM LOC is that any unused portion of the funds you qualify for are not charged interest, in fact it grows, compounded annually; the growth rate is currently around 5.5% annually and goes up and down with current interest rates. To see how much you can qualify for click the link for our reverse mortgage calculator today https://www.funds4seniors.com/reverse-mortgage-calculator/ or if you prefer you can talk to one of our friendly reverse mortgage professionals at 877-567-7476.
Robert Snow Krepps, NMLS #255191, at HighTechLending Inc today to discuss how a reverse mortgage may be able to help you (877) 567 – 7476 or rkrepps@hightechlending.com .
HighTechLending Inc, NMLS # 7147, is an Equal Housing Lender. Licensed by the Department of Business Oversight under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act.
