The sheer magnitude of the numbers had government agencies in a near panic.

• 78 Million Baby Boomers began turning 60 in the year 2006!
• 10,000 Boomers turn 55 every day.
• A Boomer turns 50 every 7 seconds.

Stats are still flying and everyone is trying to figure out what Boomers will really be like as we age.

Will we really be healthier? Will we ever retire? Where will we want to live and how? Will we demand more services and which ones?

Universal Design is one way builders and developers are addressing the needs of aging Boomers. I found a great description of Universal Design at the AARP web site. Here’s an edited excerpt:

What makes a home “Universal”? It’s simple. Everyone can use Universal Design! It doesn’t matter if you are young or old. You could be short or tall, healthy or ill. You might have a disability, or you may be a prize-winning athlete. Because of Universal Design, people who are very different can all enjoy the same home. And that home will be there for all its inhabitants even when their needs change.

Common universal design features include:

• No-step entry. At least one entrance without stairs to gain entry to the home’s main living areas.
• One-story living. Places to eat, use the bathroom and sleep all located on one level which is also barrier free. The house itself does not have to be a one-level home.
• Wider doorways to let wheelchairs pass through. They also make it easy to move large items and furniture in and out of the house.
• Wider hallways to allow everyone and everything to move more easily from room to room.
• Extra floor space. Everyone feels less cramped and people in wheelchairs have more space to turn.

All of these universal design features can be accomplished using a wide variety of stylish products and designs to create beautiful homes that will work for the rest of your life. Nothing about the finished product will scream “old people live here!” if incorporated into the original building or remodeling project before the need arises!

What have you done to your home so that you can age in place?

As more and more Boomers enter their 60s, another type of home inspection is highly recommended. This inspection will evaluate every aspect of the home, inside and outside, to determine how well the home will accommodate your needs as long as you live there. By now, most people understand the value of a first floor master bedroom and bath and some even consider the option of total first floor living. Beyond that, most of us have no idea what belongs on our checklist.

AARP and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) came to this realization several years ago. The Remodelers™ Council  in collaboration with the NAHB Research Center,  and AARP developed the Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS) program to address the growing number of consumers that have a strong desire to remain independent and to live in their own homes regardless of age.

What does this have to do with the purchase of a new home? Making sure a home will be able to accommodate you in the future is up to you. A CAPS professional is trained to help you evaluate a home and make specific recommendations for improving the home’s livability. For about the same cost as that of a traditional home inspection, the CAPS evaluation will focus on areas of the home that may require modification to remain livable as you age.

New construction is popular with the relocating Boomer who doesn’t want to bother with updating an older home. Many new homes being built today, however, would not rate high on the “livability” scale. Some popular floor plans do have more open space in the main living areas, but they often fail when it comes to bathroom design, width of doorways and number of steps.

When you consider that even a new home will require some modification to age along with you, it makes sense to look at existing homes that may need some work but that are in desirable areas. For example, you might be able to buy a home that needs updating close to town. In addition to location, this option will allow you to remodel a home to your exact taste. An older home may be better built and there is little difference between ripping out and replacing an old bathroom or a new one that just doesn’t meet your needs.

Imagine that you have just purchased a new home – your dream house with expensive upgrades. Then imagine that you or your spouse has an accident that puts you in a wheelchair for the next 6 months. When you arrive home from the hospital, it hits you – you cannot get into the house. Even worse, you realize you cannot access the bathroom!

If you bought a home 40 years ago there was no such thing as a home inspection. Today, no one would think of purchasing a home without one. CAPS professionals believe that the same will be true of a CAPS Evaluation in the future. In Delaware, Bill Bell of Gotcha Covered! has been CAPS certified since 2003.

Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can plan for today. Add a CAPS Evaluation to your new home purchase checklist. To learn more about what a CAPS Professional can do for you and to locate one in your area, visit this page of the National Association of Home Builders web site.  

But some facts are indisputable. We are all living longer and our parents are likely, at some point, to need our help. Let’s assume that our children have been educated, are gainfully employed, and can pay their own expenses. Now let’s focus on the “Open-Faced Sandwich” scenario in which we, as Boomers, have only to worry about caring for a parent or other older relative.

For Boomers who have grown up here with parents living nearby, the first step is to have a plan. While everyone is in good health, have your parents talk about their plans for the future and how they would like to live as they age. Some options to consider include:

1. CCRC – Are your parents interested in moving into a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)? There are now several to choose from in our area. A CCRC is defined as “a residential community for the remainder of one’s life, with a choice of services and living situations. Residents can move between Independent Living, Assisted Living, and Nursing Home Care based on changing needs at each point in time”.  Cadbury at Lewes is a local CCRC.
2. Stay where they are – Are they determined to remain independent in their own home? If yes, can that home age well with them and be accessible if one or both parents become temporarily or permanently impaired? Now is the time to begin planning and making some modifications so that at least one entrance will be barrier free and one bedroom and one bathroom are on the first floor. Sometimes fairly simple modifications will allow your parents to “Age in Place”.
3. Move in with you – At some point, will one or both parents be moving into your home? How will that affect your life and that of the rest of your family? Do you have the room or will you have to consider buying a new home with multiple living areas?
4. In-law Suite or Granny Flat – At least in Sussex County, there are very few homes that include a totally separate suite and even fewer that are zoned properly to allow a Granny Flat to be built. Ellendale is one town that does allow the construction of an accessory dwelling on your property as long as you live in either the primary residence or the Granny Flat. Maybe it’s time for more cities and towns to add this provision just as many other parts of the country already have.

If your parents live thousands of miles away, all of the choices above become even more challenging. You may be perfectly willing to care for your aging parents but you’re not willing to move to do so. Maybe you just retired and finally moved to your dream home at the beach or into that new Active Adult Community. What will you do if your parents refuse to move closer to you? Thinking and talking about these issues with aging parents before decisions become urgent can save everyone a lot of unhappiness over the long haul.

Boomers will live long past the historic retirement age and so will our parents. The question is how will we live and take care of those who took care of us.

Some of the choices depend on where you live or where you want to live, and some reflect the current trends in marketing to this growing population. What’s the difference between an “Active Adult Community” and a “55 and Better Community” or an “Age Qualified Adult Community”? What happened to Retirement Communities? When should you consider a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC)?

Several years ago we visited two different Active Adult Communities in Florida, one with other members of the Seniors Real Estate Advisory Committee and one to visit friends and play a little golf. It was a tough assignment, but someone has to do it! We drove and drove, and twenty miles South of Disney World we finally came to an oasis, a relatively new Active Adult Community with golf, fitness, classes and a hometown atmosphere. Lifestyle is the buzzword to describe living in an Active Adult Retirement Community and they were then selling homes as quickly as they could build them.

My husband and I visited friends for several days at a much larger, more mature community about an hour North of Disney World that was expected to become home to at least 100,000 residents. Golf is the game with a wide variety of Executive Courses that residents can play for free at any time, and several excellent championship courses that are available to residents for a nominal charge.

When we toured the model homes at both communities, however, we were surprised to find that none of the homes included the Universal Design features we had expected to see. The doorways were still a narrow 30” or 32”. Bathrooms were still being designed with narrow shower entrances and curbs.

We had truly expected to see some great ideas we could bring home, some innovative designs and concepts in housing designed for the aging population. Just because a home is single level does not make it truly accessible. As Active Adults become less agile, many will have to engage in substantial home modification or be prepared to sell to the next generation of retired golfers and tennis players.

Developers of these Active Adult Communities pointed to extensive research indicating they are providing what the market is demanding. But did they ask the right questions and offer the right choices? Did they ask prospective buyers if they would like a house they could live in as long as they so desired? Ask most Baby Boomers if they ever plan to move into Assisted Living and hear the resounding “No!”

Active Adult Communities are really being designed for Active Adults only. If you are the kind of person who wants to move at retirement and stay in that home forever, is this your best choice? All over the country, developers are building new Active Adult Communities targeted to the current wave of retirees – the Baby Boomers! In Delaware we’ll never see communities the size of The Villages, but we are starting to see a variety of housing options all designed for the leading edge of Boomers who are already over 60!

When you are ready to begin evaluating your options and planning your next move, start by visiting www.seniorsrealestate.com to locate a Seniors Real Estate Specialist.