When your elderly parents choose to downsize their home and ask you to help them choose the right house for them, there are many things you need to consider. You want them to live independently without the worry of having too much house to take care of. Here are things to look for when you are searching homes for sale for your older parents.
Ease of access
You want to look for houses that have easy entry both in and out of the home. Houses that have built-in ramps at the front and garage doors are ideal for helping elderly people get in and out of their homes easily. Make sure the interior of the home is free of steps into main areas, such as the living room or dining room, to make getting around the home easier. If either of your parents use a walker or a wheelchair, you want to choose a home with an open floor plan and wider hallways to make moving from one room to another simple.
Simple landscape
Choose a home that has curbing around existing trees and the driveway to make mowing the lawn and handling weeds less of a chore. If your parents want a large yard, choose a home for sale that has an existing garden area with sheds so they don't have to do a lot of manual upgrades to their new landscape. Sidewalks should be free of uneven areas and cracks to prevent falls.
Large bathroom
A large bathroom is much easier to modify to fit the needs of your elderly parents than a smaller one is, so make sure any home you are considering has a lot of space between the toilet, sink, and bathtub or shower. This way, if you have to put in special railings to help prevent falls, you don't have to expand the bathroom or create tighter quarters in order to do so.
Outdoor patio
If your elderly parents aren't very mobile but they love to enjoy the outdoors, choose a home for them that has a large front or back patio that they can enjoy so they don't feel constrained within their home. Make sure the patio is completely surrounded with supportive railings and overhead shading so they can safely enjoy the outdoors without fear of falling or getting sunburned in warmer weather.
You want your aging parents to live independently, and helping them choose a home they can comfortably live in is a great way to do this. Look for homes for sale with a realtor, like Stacy Sells, that can keep them safe and help reduce home maintenance, and you can feel more confident leaving them to live on their own.
Share