How to Help an Aging Parent Solve Their Housing Problems from a Distance
Watching a parent decline and become unable to continue living in the family home alone due to age-related health issues is heartbreaking for any child, but when you are forced to watch this happen from a distance of hundreds or thousands of miles, it is even more troublesome. If you must live in another area, yet feel the need to assist your aging parent or parents with their housing situation, the following tips can help you find the best possible solution for all parties.
Find a trusted person to live in the home as a caretaker
If your parent or parents are insistent about remaining in the family home, finding a reliable caretaker to live in the home around the clock can be an effective way to solve the problem. In addition to assisting your parents with caring for the home, they might also provide assistance with meal preparation, light household tasks, and transporting your parent or parents for medical appointments, shopping, and other outings.
To ensure that any applicants you are considering for this position are reputable and dependable, make sure you check their references thoroughly and insist that they submit to a full criminal history check before hiring them. In addition, make sure that you choose a person whom your parent or parents have met and feel comfortable with to help avoid potential personality conflicts later.
Encourage the parent to move into a rented townhouse in your area
If you and your parent would like to spend more time together as they get older, even though you live in another area, consider suggesting that they sell or lease their current home and move into a rented townhouse in your area.
By doing this, they would still have a home where they could be independent for years without the worry of maintaining a yard or the exterior of their home. Be sure to point out to them that living near you in a townhouse would allow you to spend more time with them and, depending on the location of the townhome they choose to rent, allow you to get to them much more quickly in the event of an emergency.
To determine if your parent or parents would feel comfortable moving into a townhouse rental, consider bringing them to your area for a visit and having your real estate professional meet with them while they are there. Encourage them to view a few available rentals near you during the visit to help them understand how much simpler and convenient townhome living would be for them.
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