Wall Street Journal recently published an article detailing how older Americans who were planning on selling their homes to finance care in assisted living and retirement communities have seen those plans disappear amid the housing crisis. In How to Fund Retirement Living, Victoria Knight describes different strategies people are using to help fund their retirement, including using a reverse mortgage.
For the majority of Americans who don’t have long-term care insurance, the financial hit to pay for care can be hard. According to the article, the average cost of a private room at a nursing home runs $76,500 per person annually, while a one-year stay in a one-bedroom unit in an assisted living facility costs $36,000 and periodic care from a home health assistant at $18,000 or more per year.
Many of the newer independent living and assisted living facilities that embarked on ambitious expansion plans when the economy was good, are offering specials to help boost occupancy rates.
"Many facilities are offering to defer rent until seniors can sell their homes or are offering lower introductory rates for the first six months" as sweeteners, says John Temple, chief operating officer at A Place for Mom Inc., a national senior-housing referral service.
To read a copy of the article click the link below.
