Real Sage Advice

Minnesota Senior Linkage Line

I promised I would start including resources for seniors in Minnesota to continue living in their homes for as long as possible. If you've cared for an aging loved one, you know how impossible it can feel to get answers to your questions about housing and healthcare (when you're aging the two are inter-connected).  The first resource I'll encourage you to keep in YOUR Golden Rolodex is the Senior Linkage Line. They provide information on in-home care, caregiver planning, support and training; medicare, prescription drug options for all ages, long-term care insurance, and forms assistance. It's no surprise that 56% of threir calls in 2005 where regarding presrciption drug assistance with the debacle of Part D.  In 2005 they answered over 7,000 calls PER WEEK!  They've even referred a few callers to me for the Cells for Seniors Program. Add the Senior Linkage Line to your list of resources for seniors!

Senior Linkage Line
1-800-333-2433
www.MinnesotaHelp.info

How long will it take my house to sell?

If you're developing a move plan, you'll want to know how long it will take for your house to sell.  It's usually one of the first questions I get asked. Especially now, as it's taking longer to sell a home than it did one year ago.

You should be able to use the following tables as a general guide if your house is in Minneapolis or St. Paul if the following are true:

• The house is priced correctly for the location and condition,
• The marketing plan is targeted at the likely buyer for the house,
• It's easy for buyers to find you on the internet,
• You're flexible on the terms of the sale of your home,
• Your home is close to the average price for your neighborhood

This data is taken from the Regional Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and reflects the average days a property was on the market over the last 90 days and includes single family homes, condominiums, and townhomes.

Minneapolis
	Avg. Days on Market	Avg. Sale Price
Calhoun	80.7	351,566
Camden	98.5	142,062
Central	91.8	296,092
Longfellow	70.3	233,911
Nokomis	71.8	236,598
North	101.9	34,185
NorthEast	71.5	176,986
Phillips	77	155,240
Powderhorn	76.1	178,997
Southwest	75.8	148
University	129.1	260,281

St. Paul
	Avg. Days on Market	Avg. Sale Price
Riverview/Cherokee	81	156,361
Homecroft	70.3	160,940
Crocus Hill	90.2	243,891
Downtown	187.1	226,181
Central	80.3	131,824
Como	64	205,602
St. Anthony/Midway	58.5	200,471
Meriam Park	67.4	353,000
Mac/Groveland	82.5	288,285
Highland	70.3	256,265
Phalen	97.4	169,635
Dayton's Bluff	90.1	158,003
Southeast	114.3	222,022

Who are the renters in senior housing?

The National Association of Home Builders wrote a summary of the American Housing Survey of senior consumers and what they want from housing and/or senior communities.

In the single-family detached housing market, 55+ customers on average looked at 10 homes before deciding upon a unit, about the same as younger households. However, single-family customers in the oldest age bracket (75+) only look at about four homes before making their final choice. Customers who chose multifamily housing looked at considerably fewer units (about five) before moving in, possibly because those who rent spend less effort on finding a unit than buyers.

I'd like to suggest a couple of other reasons those looking at multifamily housing look at fewer units:

1. If the consumer is looking at a rental senior housing community, it's often because they are older (buying a condominium for equity doesn't make sense for them, so they are choosing to rent-plus the average age is about 80+ in independent rental communities!), and if they are older, they are likely looking for a community that can offer them some health care services (such as assistance with meals or bathing).
2. If they are looking for a community with services, there may have been a life-event that short circuited their ability to spend a lot of time looking (such as the death of a spouse, or change in health status).
3. Trying to navigate the maze of senior housing and health care services is a daunting task. Who would have the energy to look at more than 5?!?

This phenomena of renters not looking at a lot of different communities has much more to do with whether the consumer is renting or buying.

A note to Minnesota Senior Housing Communities: The consumer has already narrowed the list of the number of communities he/she is considering. Vacancy rates for these rental communities are climbing everyday and your competition continues to increase.  Therefore, when you have a consumer who comes to you looking for a home, you had better dazzle them with a friendly tour, a clean-up to date building, a spacious apartment that you're willing to adapt to meet the consumer's needs, ample storage, and plenty of opportunities for transportation to get groceries and prescriptions. Listen to what your consumer wants and figure out a way to give it to them!

Senior Housing Glossary

This glossary is a document under construction! If you see something missing, don't hesitate to leave a comment and let me know!

Accessory Apartment: A completely separate living unit inside a single-family home. Imagine a finished lower level with a bedroom, bath and kitchenette. These have also been called Mother-In-Law Apartments.  This is a popular housing option for Seniors who want to stay in their homes. This housing option provides an opportunity for convenient caregiving, but still allows for some privacy for both the caregiver and the senior.  In addition, the rent from the mother-in-law apartment can be an additional source of income to landlord and low rent for the tenant.

Accreditation: Accreditation signifies a senior housing community or service provider has met certain requirements by the governing body offering the accreditation. As a consumer, it's important for you to understand what is required to receive the acreditation, and how often the senior housing community or service provider is audited to be sure they continue to meet the requirements of the governing body.  Examples of some accreditations available for senior housing communities are: Continuing Care Accreditation Commission (CCAC), Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Faciities (CARF) and the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).

Activities of Daily Living. Often referred to as ADLs. A term used in the medical and social work communities to denote the level of independence of an individual.  If a senior needs help with ADLs, this might include; bathing, dressing, feeding, transferring into or out of a chair or bed,  and toileting.

American with Disabilities Act (ADA): A law passed by Congress in 1990 wich established prohibition of discrimination on the basis of disability. The law requires equal access to public building ans places of employment for people with disabilities.

Administration on Aging: Office of Human Development Services: the principal federal agency responsible for administering most provisions of Older Americans Act. Works with state and local agencies, concentrates on interests of elderly.

Adult Day Care Center: A place that provides activities and meals for Seniors plus interaction with peers and resources.

Adult Foster Homes: Licensed family-oriented homes that take in older people who pay for room and board. usually fewer than four seniors live in one home.

Attorney-in-Fact: An individual empowered to act on behalf of another according to terms of a power of attorney or durable power of attorney

Assisted Living Facility: A residential facility not licensed as a nursing home that provides personal care and support services to elderly who need help with daily activities.  These communities go by a variety of names and are often affiliated with independent living communities or nursing care facilities.

Board and Care Home: A living arrangement, usually a house in a residential neighborhood, or private or shared sleeping rooms and bathrooms, with meals and housekeeping included.  Some homes provide supervision, personal care services, transportation, and outings and others offer nothing more than a bed.  Board and care homes cater to people with varying disabilities, including Alzheimer's and related dementia: the physically disabled; and those who are just old with nowhere else to go.

Caregiver: Some who takes care of another person.

Certified Senior Advisor:Offered by the Society of Senior Advisors, this is a professional who has a specialty working with seniors in the respective field.  This may be an insurance agent, financial planner, real estate agent, or any other professional service organization who has invested the time to learn about issues important to seniors, and make their business senior friendly.

Cognitive Impairment: The inability to think systemically and make the decisions most functioning adults make on a day to day basis.  Someone suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's or a brain injury likely also suffer from cognitive impairment.

Community Spouse: A term used by Medicare to refer to the spouse not in the nursing home, but living in the Community.

Condominium: A legal real estate term to refer to the type of ownership.  When you own a condominium, you own the air between the walls of your particular unit.

Continuing Care Retirement Community: A housing option which promises to provide one or more elements of care for the duration of  a resident's life. Provisions to subsidize residents who become unable to pay their monthly fee is often provided.

Conservatorship: The result of a court proceeding which declares an individual unable to take care of a decision-making and legal matters. The court will appoint another individual to make the decisions, and that person is the court-appointed conservator, or guardian.

Cooperative Housing: A legal real estate term to refer to the type of ownership.  Residents are stockholders in a corporation which owns the building in which they live.  Residents have occupancy rights for their individual units, they don't own the individual units.  Prospective buyers often must be approved by a board prior to closing.

Custodial Care: Ongoing care required to maintain an individual's daily needs. It is not rehabilative nor designed to facilitate improvement in one's condition.

Department of Housing and Urban Development: This federal agency provides housing assistance for low-income persons and enforces the nation's fair housing laws. Check their web site www.hud.gov for information in your state.

Durable power of attorney: A document permitting an individual to designate a third person to act in his behalf. This is a useful device for management of on's personal and financial affairs in the event of mental or physical capacity.  The person setting it up can include instructions, guidelines, or limitations as he wishes.

ECHO (Elder Cottage Housing Opportunity): A complete, small house temporarily on the same lot as a single-family home. This encourages informal support enabling an older person or couple to remain close to others, yet retain most of their independence.

Estate Tax: Levied on the things you own or valuables on any amount exceeding $1,000,000.  The amount is subject to congressional action so stay tuned to the news.

Geriatric Care Management: Programs to facilitate and coordinate services to the elderly, such as referring them to legal and housing services.

Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA): A branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concerned with the financing and delivery of healthcare to aged, disabled, and poor.

Healthcare Proxy: A document permitted in some states allowing one person to designate another to make health care decisions in the event he or she becomes incapacitated, also called a durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.

Independent Living: A multi- unit senior housing development that may be an apartment, or town home development available as a rental, condominium or cooperative.  Most independent living communities offer social and recreational opportunities, and some even offer services such as meals, housekeeping, and some home health care services.

Joint Tenancy: A form of co-ownership between two or more people who own real property (real estate). upon death of one of the owners, the deceased's interest passes automatically to the survivor(s).

Living Will: A document that allows you to spell out your medical treatment wishes (usually about life support) if you are unable to speak for yourself.  Witnessing requirements vary from state to state and should be followed to the letter. It is part of an Advance Health Directive and differs from a Health Care Power of Attorney.

Long-Term Care:  any type of support and care a person may need over an extended period of time. It includes assistance with bathing, and dressing, meal preparation, shopping housecleaning, transportation or a stay in a facility up to a skilled nursing facility.

Long-Term Care Insurance: A specific type of insurance written to help cover costs of long-term care within a nursing facility or other type of facility, and a variety of home healthcare situations.

Medicaid: A welfare program jointly administered by the federal and state governments to provide healthcare to the aged, blind, and disabled, and to poor families with dependent children.  Medicaid will provide benefits for eligible individuals who require long-term custodial care. Benefits vary among states.

Medicare: The principal healthcare program of the federal government, which is supposed to provide healthcare insurance for those over 65.  Part A is hospital insurance; Part B, supplementary insurance, is optional, meaning that you pay. The latter provides additional coverage to pay for physicians' services. We all know the system's due for an overhaul, and although it provided s extensive benefits for hospital outpatient and physician care, Medicare in its current state pays for very few benefits for the elderly requiring long-term custodial care.

Medigap Insurance: Designed to cover the deductible, co-payments and other gaps that exist under Medicare.  These Medigap policies don't pay benefits for long-term care. These policies are also called Medicare Supplemental Policies.

Nursing Home: A facility licensed by the state that provides 24-hour nursing care, room and board, and activities for residents.  Residents of a nursing home are often those with chronic and/or long-term illnesses.

Real estate agent: Someone who holds a real estate license and is authorized by the Minnesota Department of Commerce to see real property.

REALTOR: A real estate licensee who is a member of the National Association of REALTORs and is bound by the Code of Ethics.

REALTOR Senior Advisor: A certification bestowed upon REALTORs by the Minneapolis Area Association of REALTORs.  The recipient of this designation has studied local issues important to Twin Cities Metro area seniors, as well as a senior housing tour with the goal of effectively serving seniors.

Retirement Community: A broad catch-all term referring to a type of housing usually designed for and marketed to older people.  Units can be purchased or rented, and there are often recreational and social activities on the premises.   Supportive services are offered in some,

Reverse Mortgage: A form of loan arrangement under which an elderly homeowner may access the equity in his home. With the home pledged as security, there may be a line of credit against the home that the owner taps by writing a check. A second option of for the senior to receive a regular amount from the lender, with each check increasing the amount of the debt against the house.

Revocable Living Trust: A legal instrument established during the life of the grantor which permits him to change any or all of the terms at any time. A living trust is also known a s  an intervivos trust. may older people set up revocable living trust sot that there is someone to mange their financial affairs if they became unable to do so.

Sandwich Generation:A cohort not defined by age, but by caretaking for an older parent or loved one, and also taking care of younger children.  They are "sandwiched" between two other generations.

Senior Apartment: Age-restricted housing  for older adults who are able to care for themselves. The age restriction may be 55+, 62+ or 65+.  Additional services such as meals or transportation may or may not be provided.

Skilled Nursing Facility: Can stand alone or be pare of a larger community.  Registered nurses provide 24 hour care, and Medicare pays some benefits for the elderly in a Skilled Nursing Facility. see Nursing Home

Senior Real Estate Specialist:A designation offered by the California Board of Realtors

Subsidized Housing: Housing that receives financial assistance through a federal, state, local, non-profit or for-profit program.  Assistance can be through rend subsidy, interest subsidy, or contributions toward capital cost. Subsidized or assisted housing usually has a public benefit, such as for low- or moderate-income or special-interest individuals.

I don't want to live with old people

I was at a client's home tonight ( a 72 year-young widow) and we were talking about her moving out of the home where she raised her family, and into something smaller.  I asked her about senior communities, she wrinkled up her nose and said "I don't want to live with a bunch of old people with creaky bones! I want to be somewhere where I can see regular people."  This is a common sentiment.  How will the builders in Minnesota respond?

When households in the 55 to 64 age bracket were asked by the American Housing Survey (AHS) to rate their communities on a scale of one to 10, with 10 representing the best, 48% gave them a nine or 10, and that favorable response climbed with age, reaching 57% for households age 75 and older. More than three-quarters of the 55 to 64 group responded with a rating of eight or higher.

Perhaps Senior Housing developers should invest time and money on thinking about how to change the current idea of segregated-by-age housing and come up with an idea that's more appealing, both to the baby boomers and the older generation of seniors. Quit spending your marketing dollars trying to figure out how to fit our seniors into a mold they don't want. Time to re-ceate the mold.

Perhaps the idea of age-segregated housing has itself become antiquated.  Will the current configuration of independent senior living apartments go by way of the dinosaur?

Tags: minnesota realtor, senior housing, senior real estate specialist, certified senior housing, senior indepedent living, senior housing

Trip down memory lane

Just for fun, check out this nostalgic website with flashes from the past.

No more senior abuse

I was going to write today about resources for seniors to stay in their home, but I have to pause for a public service announcement. We'll resume our normal programming following this message.

I read about 80 blogs a day, some real estate and some boomer/sandwich generation/elder blogs.  One of my favorites, GenBetween wrote about a disturbing scene she witnessed regarding an older couple and what appeared to be somone hired to be with them and help them through the store, likely somone from a licensed agency. Instead of being attentive to her charge's needs, (DINNER!) she sat at a table talking on her cell phone, oblivious to what was going on around her.

The home health care agencies in Minnesota I work with are all very good at what they do.  They are conscientious and they care.  Their shortcoming is that they cannot supervise their employees while working with their clients.  So, unfortunately, occasionally scenes such as those described in this GenBetween post do occur. 

Thanks to Elizabeth at GenBetween I now KNOW what I'll do when I'm out in the community and come across a senior who is being mistreated or neglected.  Here's my plan:

1) Find out the name of the company the nursing assistant/home health aide/hired person works for.

2) Get the name of the hired person or one of the elderly people.  This can happen through casual conversation by approaching one of the seniors and asking them in a  non-confrontational way, or you might get lucky and the hired person might have on a name tag.

3) Call the agency directly to report the incident, and get the name of the person I've reported it to.  Then call a couple of days later to see what's happened. 

4) Depending on the circumstances, make a report to the county.  Each county in Minnesota has a phone number you can call to report abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult.  (Definition of a vulnerable adult: A person 18 years of age or older who: is a resident or impatient of a facility, receives services from a licensed facility or a licensed home care provider; however, regardless if they are receiving services or reside in a facility, they possess a physical or mental infirmity or other physical, mental, or emotional dysfunction that impairs the individuals' ability to adequately provide for their own care). 

Hennepin County 612-348-8526 TD 612-348-6725
Ramsey County 651-266-4012. after hours 651-291-6795.
Dakota County 651-554-6424
Washington County 651-430-6484
Anoka County 763-422-7168
Scott County 952-445-7751

Here are some other examples that would warrant a call to your local county adult protective services:

• An elderly person with Alzheimer’s disease who is about to have their electricity shut off because they forgot to pay the bill
• A person with a developmental disability whose roommate misuses their Social Security funds so there isn't enough money to buy groceries, pay bills and cook meals.
• A confused and physically disabled person who refuses medical care despite urging from friends and relatives.
• A person with mental illness being cared for by a friend or relative who is not receiving adequate food, clothing or necessary medical care.
• Children “borrowing” money from an elderly parent, who then lives in a cold house to save money.
• A person who has become disoriented and cannot manage the tasks of daily living, with dirty dishes, filthy clothes and other debris piling up and becoming hazardous to their health.

There's a psychology to not reaching out and helping others in need when it's in a public space.  We're likely to think "someone else will do it."  The problem is, everyone else is thinking there's a "somone else" and there's really no one else.  I've decided I'm going to be the someone else, if for no other reason that I would want someone to be the someone else for my parents.

Powered by Qumana

Seniors stay at home

I had a conversation with a fellow REALTOR(R) about offering resources to Seniors to help them stay at home (he had read my Cells for Seniors article). This post is for him:

How odd that a REALTOR would help someone NOT move!

I hear this all the time. Why would I do this? It's simple, really. Real estate is a service industry. My job is to have both the knowledge or resources to help people reach their real estate goals. Tell me the why, how, when, where, and what you want to move and I'll get you there.  In the senior housing and senior healthcare arena,  finding accurate, helpful, timely information is like playing the shell game (which is crazy because the twin cities has an abundance of really exceptional senior services) -- at a time when you and your family feel the most vulnerable is when it's the most important to have good information.  If I can be a resource for a family when they need help, what do you think the chances are that they'll call me when they need real estate services? If history repeats itself, and it usually does, I can tell you the chances are more often than not!

To put my money where my mouth is, I'm starting a new category for this blog: Resources to help Seniors stay put.

Cells for Seniors

The Cells for Seniors program celebrates it's first anniversary this week. To date 37 cell phones have been delivered to metro area seniors. Because so much of my business involves working with seniors and helping them move, I'm intimately aware of the financial, social, physical and safety considerations that need to be made during such a move. I am often contacted a year or two before the actual move occurs.  I'm contacted by the senior to help them plan their move, and they tell me their goal is to stay in their home for another year or two.  I often find myself making referrals to other senior professionals to help my clients stay in their homes safely until they were ready to move.

The "Lifeline" kinds of services (think back to the "I've fallen and I can't get up" commercial) that offer emergency communication services are an ideal solution to help seniors stay safe in their homes.  Unfortunately, some of the clients I come in contact with are making decisions between groceries and prescriptions. They simply don't have the means to purchase those kinds of services.  Many of these seniors live alone at home and if they fell, or got into some type of trouble, they wouldn't have any way to call for help.  Perhaps because I'm a REALTOR(R) and my cell phone *is* my lifeline, I launched Cells for Seniors.

The FCC requires cell phones to have the ability to make 911 calls, whether or not there is a paid subscription.  Now we have a FREE resource for seniors to use to reach emergency services.  In addition, it's a very green thing to do!  Within the next three years, Americans will discard about 130 million cell phones a year; 65,000 tons of trash including toxic chemicals. How tragic that this valuable resource for seniors will be sitting in landfills!

If you know of a senior in the Twin Cities Metro area, you can get more information at my web site.  Leave me a message with their name and phone number, and I'll arrange for a cell phone to be delivered, as well as a few minutes of instruction on how to use the phone.

If you'd like to donate a working gently used cell phone, please mail the cell phone, battery and charger to:

Lisa Dunn
Edina Realty
735 South Cleveland Ave
St. Paul, MN 55116

Please be sure to disconnect your service and remove personal information from your phone before sending. You can find instructions on how to remove information from your phone here: http://www.wirelessrecycling.com/home/data_eraser/default.asp

Powered by Qumana

Happy St. Patty's!

Enjoy this Word Search.  I tried not to make it too hard so it could be worked on even in a green-beer-fugue.