Photograph by Paul Myers

(From left) Lois Fry, Mary Lou Raymond, Saki MacFarlane and Helen Burke, residents of The Terraces, await their ride to the supermarket, one of the many planned activities offered by the Los Gatos retirement community.




Housing options for older residents

By Jean Newton

As baby boomers reach retirement age, there's more to consider than signing on the dotted line for Social Security benefits. Professionals in the retirement and real estate industries urge seniors not to wait until it's too late to explore retirement housing options.

"When you start to think about retirement, you should also review housing options. My advice is not to wait until you are very old, but rather to do it while you can, so you can make the decision yourself. Don't let someone else make the decision for you," said Lee Ann Wolfe, co-founder of Retirement Living Advisory, a consulting firm designed to assist seniors and their family members in choosing appropriate living destinations.

Wolfe, a Monte Sereno resident who is also the co-author of four guidebooks describing retirement residences in California and the West, will lead a short course on Retirement Housing Options sponsored by the Los Gatos Senior Program on Saturday, Nov. 3, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., at the Neighborhood Center in Los Gatos. Her goal is to get people to educate themselves about their choices to help them make better decisions about the future.

Income levels, health status and socialization needs are different for each individual, so the workshop will bring together a group of experts to help answer questions on a variety of topics. Guest presenters will offer their expertise in dealing with the physical aspects of moving from a longtime residence into a new environment, preparing an older home for resale and what kinds of housing options are available from active older-adult communities to continuing-care communities.

"We try to define the key words they will need to know to clarify the levels of care offered by different retirement communities," said Wolf. "We also try to talk about what those levels of care really mean. We encourage seniors to ask a lot of questions to make sure they know what they are getting into and exactly what they are paying for."

According to Pamela Bancroft, the sales, marketing and community relations director at The Terraces of Los Gatos, demand is at an all-time high with seniors flocking to retirement communities. The Terraces is a continuing-care community that offers licensed programs for increasing levels of assistance to meet the changing needs of residents, from independent living, to assisted living, to skilled nursing care. The Terraces currently has a waiting list for all three levels of care.

"We are seeing a trend for younger seniors who are looking ahead 10 to 12 years," Bancroft said. "If you want to stay in the Los Gatos area, you need to plan way ahead. If seniors wait too long they won't be able to get on a wait list in time, so they need to do something about it now."

As one of the guest presenters at the workshop, Bancroft will talk about the benefits of retirement community living. "Many older people don't want to live alone, especially when times are uncertain. They want to be with other people and come out from behind the TV set to put daily events into perspective," Bancroft said.

For seniors, making the decision to sell their homes and move can be a traumatic experience. That's why, in addition to workshops, Wolfe also provides personal counseling. She has been known to take seniors by the hand to visit different places to see what options are available. In the last year, Wolfe said she has also received many calls from Realtors asking her to advise clients. "I get calls from Realtors who are compassionate and want people to have a place to go. I will go out and talk to people who don't know what they want themselves," Wolfe said.

Wolfe finds that many seniors in the area are often owners of homes that have appreciated a great deal in value since their purchase many years ago. As neighborhoods change and younger families with children move in, however, seniors can begin to feel isolated. When mobility becomes an issue and seniors can no longer drive or take the bus, they must either rely on their families or often house-bound.

"So many people are living alone, living colorless lives, losing touch with their peers. That's why I think people should look around and consider making a move," said Wolfe.

Realtors who specialize in the mature population and have earned the designation of SRES, or Senior Real Estate Specialist, take special classes and training to help seniors make wise decisions about selling the family home, buying rental property or managing the capital gains and tax implications of owning real estate. The SRES designation is one of the fastest-growing in the industry according to Carmen Lostetter, whose company, Training and Broker Services, specializes in real estate education and specialization. Lostetter is the author of the training module for the SRES program and provides workshops through the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors.

With the over-55 market being the largest demographic group and the most powerful economic segment, Lostetter sees a trend in the real estate market for larger homes that can accommodate aging parents as well as returning adult children. Since it is the "grandparent" generation, she also sees age- restricted communities being replaced by multi-generational housing.

"Reverse mortgages are becoming more popular for the seniors over 62 who want to convert their equity, but don't want to move. For seniors who do move, they usually want to be close to the same neighborhood and familiar surroundings," said Lostetter.

Realtor Nancy Goldcamp of Coldwell Banker in Palo Alto, a Seniors Real Estate Specialist, sees a trend for seniors leaving the area to take advantage of lower prices, bigger homes and active communities.

"I have worked with seniors who are over 55, but under 70, who completely leave the area. They want activities and actually end up in a larger home than the one they are leaving because they can get so much more in other areas. They finally get to have the dream home while they are still young enough to appreciate it," said Goldcamp.

Taking a look at all the available retirement housing options is one way seniors can be smart about the future. Finding a knowledgeable Realtor is another. For more information on the Retirement Housing Options workshop, contact the Los Gatos Senior Program at 408.354.2360. To find a Senior Real Estate Specialist, log onto www.siliconvalley-realtors.org on the Internet.

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