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 What Type of Roof to Put Over Your Head
Ok, so you have found a great community to move to--amenities galore, great weather, friendly people, and prices that meet your budget. So what kind of a place do you want to actually live in? We hear a lot these days about "down-sizing." Conventional wisdom holds that baby-boomers are tired of heating, cooling, cleaning, furnishing big houses, and are moving into smaller places. But that is not entirely true. A certain segment of the boomer population is trading up--they now have the income to afford it, they want a place big enough to entice their children and grandchildren to visit, they enjoy space, and they want to show off a bit. It's the same reason retirees have bought Cadillacs for decades--they are bigger than necessary but they say: "Look at me, I deserve this!" And for some there is a practical reason: they want a place where their aging parents can live under a watchful eye.
So whether you up-size or down-size, you will have company either way. Regardless of the size, let's look at some practical considerations.
When choosing a place, besides location, location, location, the issue is also, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance! Smaller houses, condominiums and apartments typically require less maintenance. But be careful: an older place, poorly maintained by the previous owner can be a nightmare compared to a newly constructed mansion. And don' t forget to assess your own aptitude for maintenance--a place requiring a lot of work can be a do-it-yourselfer's dream!
And pay attention to the layout of a place. If you crave privacy and are going to share a place with your spouse or significant other--or have relatives that are likely to visit often--is there a nook that you can retire to where you can work, read or meditate?
Other architectural details can be very important. For example, many of us are forecasting, accurately too, that stairs will become a problem. Arthritis, back problems and other conditions make it painful to trek up and down stairs several times a day. Two solutions have emerged: put the master bedroom on the ground floor, or build an elevator. Yes, you heard right. Many home-builders (and condo builders, too) are including elevators, or at least leaving space somewhere for a future elevator shaft.
Home-builders are of course only responding to what buyers are asking for. In this case baby-boomer home-buyers are reflecting the growing desire of all of us to remain at home and be taken care of there rather than in a nursing home or some other kind of facility. We see our aging parents trying to do this now--and we see ourselves in the same boat in another twenty years or so.
For the same reasons, when it comes to full-sized houses, separate apartments, so-called "mother-in-law" suites, are also popular these days. For some baby boomers these apartments provide space for aging parents. For others it provides rental income, but those boomers are expecting that sometime in the future they will move into it, and turn the rest of the house over to one of their children.
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