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SRES - Seniors Real Estate Specialist
What is the SRES Client Assurance Seal? For seniors researching online for their home buying or selling, there is now an added resource to assure they locate a qualified expert. The SRES Client Assurance seal of verification can instantly display that the REALTOR is licensed, SRES certified, and has an upstanding track record.
When you see the SRES Client Assurance seal on a REALTOR website, you can be sure they are not only trained and certified, but also proud to share the details and status of their professional real estate license.
The SRES Client Assurance Seal it s the best way to create trust and confidence with customers. It s really very simple trust is everything. - Wendy Furth, 2004 REALTOR of the Year Southland Regional Association of REALTORS
The SRES Client Assurance Seal gave me confidence in working with my agent. I saw that my agent was free and clear of disciplinary action, and that she had been practicing for quite some time. - Michael Berger, satisfied client
The Client Assurance Seal is a dynamic link to current Department of Real Estate records, updated automatically by SquareTrade , a national mediation firm specializing in consumer protection and cyber law.
Why Use SRES Realtor?
A Seniors Real Estate Specialist is experienced and knowledgeable in meeting your specific needs. And that can make all the difference in the world.
As we age, we demand specialists in our health needs, so why not in our housing and equity needs as well? An SRES brings:
A customized approach to your situation; an SRES works with how your living situation fits into your overall plan.
Expertise and patience without condescension.
An awareness of options and solid, reliable referrals for specific situations to explore those options.
A variety of choices to reduce out of pocket expenses, gain cash, or create or defer income streams to either stay independent or finance assistance.
How Can a Seniors Real Estate Specialist Help Me?
An SRES designee can help you make wise decisions about selling the family home, financing, buying rental property, or managing the capital gains and tax implications of owning real estate, among many other issues. Seniors Real Estate Specialists offer clients relevant information on current trends in senior real estate transactions, and can refer you to other professionals such as attorneys and C.P.A.s who also have specialty interest in senior clientele issues.
A national program since 1998, the council now has Seniors Real Estate Specialists in all 50 states and Canada and adds hundreds of new members every month.
SREC members are not qualified to give legal or tax advice and SREC does not guarantee the accuracy of its member’s information. All clients are strongly urged to contact a real estate attorney or certified public accountant to obtain legal or tax advice.
Ten Smart Tax Moves to Maximize Deductions, Minimize Pain
As you gear up for the holidays, keep the tax man the IRS in mind and make plans to minimize your tax hit when April 15th rolls around. A few smart moves before the end of the year could save you a bundle come spring. Qualifying for many tax benefits depends on individual circumstances, so it’s always wise to consult a qualified tax preparer. Here are some issues to ponder while you’re preparing your 2006 taxes.
1. Early mortgage and property tax payments
Pay your January, 2007 mortgage in December, 2006 and the mortgage interest for that January payment can be deducted on your 2006 taxes. Check with your local government to see if it’s possible to pre-pay property taxes and claim that deduction on your 2006 tax return.
2. Energy-efficient renovations
If you’ve modified your home with energy efficient products, such as solar panels, windows, and geothermal heat pumps, you may be eligible for a tax credit. The maximum credit is $500. Be aware that the rule has a few wrinkles. For instance, only $200 of that $500 can be taken for windows. Check to see whether your state has additional tax breaks for energy-efficiency improvements.
3. Investment Property
Tally up the receipts associated with your investment property. Repairs--things to keep the property in good working condition--are deductible during the year you pay them. More significant investments, such as a kitchen or bathroom overhaul or a major renovation, get depreciated over 27.5 years for residential real estate. Major improvements on non-residential investment properties are depreciated over 31.5 years.
4. Points and refinanced mortgages
If you paid points when you refinanced a home mortgage, points are deductible in full in the year paid, if the proceeds of the loan were used to improve your residence. If they were used for something else (new car, vacation, etc.) they’re deductible, but only over the life of the loan. “If this is a second refinance, and the taxpayer was amortizing previous points over the life of the loan, the remaining points not previously deducted are allowed in full, but only if the new loan is with a different lender,” says Cindy Hockenberry, an enrolled agent and a tax information analyst at the National Association of Tax Professionals, Appleton, Wisconsin.
5. 1031 Exchanges
Profits on the sale of rental property are treated as a capital gain and you’ll have to settle up with Uncle Sam. One option to defer paying that tax is to re-invest the proceeds in a like-kind exchange. “To the extent the proceeds are reinvested, the gain is deferred until the replacement property is sold,” says Deborah Rood, a CPA and senior tax manager with Chicago-based Blackman, Kallick, Bartelstein.
6. Vacation property
Carefully track how much time you spent at a vacation property. When you own and rent out vacation homes, expenses are generally allocated between rental use and personal use, based on the number of days of each use. If you use the home for 14 days or less, or less than 10% of the time it is available for rent, the expenses are all allocated to, and deducted from the rental income. If you meet this limited-use test, the vacation home is not considered used as a personal residence. Use by family members is counted as personal use by the owner, unless family members pay fair market rent.
7. Tax-free gifts
If you’re looking to reduce your taxable estate for heirs, one option is to gift money to children, grandchildren and others. Individuals can gift up to $12,000 (or $24,000 per couple) per year to anyone without tax consequences. Another option is to gift appreciated assets, such as a piece of real estate worth $12,000. “If I give a piece of real estate, it could be worth $15,000 in a few years and $30,000 down the road. It’s a way to legally give more than that $12,000 per year to someone,” comments Rood.
If your grandchild has a 529 college savings plan, you can contribute $12,000 per year and avoid any gift tax return filing requirement or gift tax liability. “That’s a great way to shift money to a grandchild and get money out of your estate,” says Hockenberry
8. Parental dependent care
If you’re supporting a parent and provide over half of his or her support, such as nursing home and medical expenses, you may be able to claim him or her as a dependent. Rules are stringent, so check with your tax preparer to determine whether your parent meets the dependency requirements.
9. Charitable donations
Those 70½ or older can designate up to $100,000 of their IRA directly to a charity. “It’s a neat tool for Seniors who might have a lot of money and are worried about estate tax issues. …a great way to give to their charity of choice and save some estate tax down the road for their heirs,” comments Hockenberry.
10. Tax advisors
Find a good tax advisor and tax return preparer. Rood recommends getting referrals from trusted friends, bankers and attorneys. Both Hockenberry and Rood advise seeking out someone with expertise in estate planning and senior issues, so the person can offer long-term tax strategies versus just focusing on annual tax preparation.
MORTGAGE FRAUD IS EQUIVALENT TO PAPER TERRORISM
Con artists who perpetrate mortgage fraud against seniors aim to steal people’s home equity or even snatch a house away. Frequently it’s done by convincing victims to sign over ownership via phony home loans.
Paper terrorism is one way Bill Denny describes mortgage fraud. Denny, Senior Deputy District Attorney for Alameda County, California, specializes in prosecuting perpetrators of mortgage fraud. “I’ve debriefed major mortgage fraud cons and it’s like debriefing an expert burglar,” he says. Seniors are particularly vulnerable to such scams because many are equity rich and cash poor and they still like to do business on a handshake.
Some con artists are brazen and forge signatures and march into the recorder’s office and transfer properties into their own names. Before they’re caught, they’ve often taken loans out against a property and stripped it of equity.
Cons also work at building trust and ingratiating themselves to perpetrate their scams. You can protect yourself by being aware of some of the scams.
Cash offers - Cons might say, “Let me save you the hassle of putting your home on the market and having strangers traipsing through your home. I'll give you this amount in cash and you can move next week." Bad guys don’t offer the current value, so stay up on home values in your neighborhood.
Junk fees - One scam involves charging excessive fees for duplication, document preparation, and so forth. Denny says one red flag that you’re possibly being gouged is if your closing costs exceed five percent of the total amount of the loan.
Falsifying income - Unscrupulous loan brokers falsify seniors’ income so they qualify for large loans. Brokers benefit by receiving fat commission checks. Bilked seniors are stuck with a mortgage payment they often can’t meet. Denny tells of an 85-year-old woman whose mortgage broker indicated that she was an interior decorator with an $8,500 monthly income. It turns out that the woman was blind--clearly incapable of decorating homes. “These scams are rampant,” comments Denny.
Work only with licensed brokers - “Just as you don’t let unlicensed contractors do home improvements, you also don’t want unlicensed loan brokers doing paper terrorism on your property.” Check licenses with state, county, or city regulatory agencies.
Telephone solicitations - Cons work the phones and target zip codes where there’s a concentration of empty-nesters, who have paid off home loans or are close to owning their homes free and clear. Hang up if cons try to convince you that your home is a cash cow and want to help you squeeze money out of it.
Blank documents - When you sign a blank or partially blank page, con artists can later insert information above your signature that transfers a property or loan proceeds to them. Don’t sign blank documents or documents containing blank spaces.
Foreclosure threats - If you get behind in mortgage payments, a notice of default--the first step in a foreclosure proceeding--is published in many jurisdictions. Scam artists then swoop in and scare people, telling them their houses will be taken away. They then offer assistance and claim they can save the property.
Some bilk victims by charging money to do virtually nothing. Others get victims to sign their house over to them and suggest the victim rent the house from the “rescuer” while the victim rebuilds his or her credit. Rescuers claim victims can later buy the house back when they’re back on their feet.
When a home isn’t paid of, or if you’re in default, keep an eye out for people offering a seemingly good price for the property, someone claiming your equity is less than what you actually have, or promising to make your loan current to save your credit.
“The biggest trend is elder homeowners who believe they’re doing a new loan when they’re actually transferring ownership,” comments Denny. Watch out for religious organizations too. Some people claim to be ministers and prey on the elderly, purporting to have their best interests at heart.
Protect Yourself against Mortgage Fraud
• Outrageous promises of extraordinary profit in a short period of time signals a problem.
• Be wary of high-pressure sales techniques.
• Understand what you’re signing. If you don’t understand the documents, get help from an attorney.
• Make sure the name on your application matches the name on your identification.
• Understand the mortgage terms. Check your information against the information in the loan documents to ensure they’re accurate and complete.
• Be leery of e-mails or Web ads promoting elimination of mortgage loans, credit card and other debts while requesting an up-front fee to prepare documents. Documents are typically entitled Declaration of Voidance, Bond for Discharge of Debt, Bill of Exchange, Due Bill, Redemption Certificate, or other similar variations.
Source: U. S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation
For the National Consumer Law Center’s 68 page report, Dreams Foreclosed: The Rampant Theft of Americans’ Homes through Equity Stripping Foreclosure Rescue Scams. Visit www.consumerlaw.org/news/ForeclosureReportFinal.pdf
Report Fraud
If you think you’re a victim of mortgage fraud, contact your state Attorney General’s office. You can also contact your state’s real estate licensing board or appraisal licensing board. At the federal level, you can contact the National FBI Financial Institution Fraud Unit ( http://www.fbi.gov/ ) at 202/324-3000.
Long-term Care Insurance Provides More Time in Your Home
Financial planners have been sounding the alarm that Americans aren’t saving enough money and that a lack of funds eventually may tarnish the golden years for many people.
A recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Personal Finance Poll bears out financial planners’ findings. It found that 56% of adults aged 45 to 54 and 39% of adults aged 55 and over don’t think they’ll have enough money to finance their potential long-term care needs as they age. Nonetheless, only nine percent have purchased long-term care insurance (LTC insurance), an insurance product that provides care when you have an illness or disability for which you need care for an extended period.
Celia Mason, a San Ramon, Calif.-based independent insurance and financial services consultant, says denial frequently drives people’s procrastination. Many don’t believe they’ll have to face the physical challenges of aging. “But it’s inevitable because we’re living longer,” she comments.”
Moreover, people don’t realize how costly nursing care is. According to the 2005 MetLife Market Survey of Assisted Living Costs, assisted living costs in the U.S. increased 15% between 2004 and 2005. The average monthly base price for assisted living residences rose from $2,524 in 2004 to $2,905 in 2005. The highest cost was reported in Boston at $4,629 per month, while the lowest was Jackson, Mississippi at $1,642. The study was conducted for the MetLife Mature Market Institute® by LifePlans, Inc.
Some people think they’ll pay for services as they go or rely on spouses and family for care as they age. But paying costs out-of-pocket can erode a couple’s financial security and leave a surviving spouse in dire financial straits. Moreover, it’s important to be realistic about the rigors of home care. “I don’t know too many women who can lift a man off a bed or floor,” Mason comments.
Expansive benefits
One great misconception about long-term care insurance is that it only covers nursing home care. Not true. A comprehensive policy provides care in various settings, including skilled nursing facilities, assisted-living facilities, adult daycare centers and in clients’ homes.
To accommodate home-based care, LTC policies cover more than just medical services. For instance, such insurance can provide for assistance with dressing, bathing and feeding and policies can also cover things like transportation, modifying a house to make it safer or more accessible, and paying someone to run errands.
Coverage is based on a doctor’s plan of care for patients, according to Mason. “A doctor’s plan could indicate a client needs help with bathing and dressing, as well as meal service, house cleaning and even snow removal. LTC insurance could provide for those things,” she comments.
Buy the best
When buying a policy, it’s important to understand exactly what you’ll get. “The amount you receive depends on what you buy at the front end,” explains Mason. “Buy as much as you can afford now. Later, you can reduce benefits, but if you want to raise benefits, you’ll have to go through the application and underwriting process from scratch. You’ll be older and it’s likely that the rates will be higher,” she adds.
There are several important considerations. One is the waiting period before you can draw on benefits. The elimination or deductible periods are the number of days you’re in a nursing home or the number of care visits you receive at home before a policy’s benefits kick in. During the elimination period, you’d be responsible for paying for your care. The shorter the elimination period is, the more expensive the policy tends to be.
Another consideration is the daily dollar value of care and whether inflation is factored in. That is, a $200 daily benefit sounds like it would provide a lot of care, but how much care will that dollar amount provide 25 years from now? Be sure the policy factors in inflation.
One more matter to contemplate is years of coverage. That is, will the policy care for you for three years, 10 years, or for your lifetime? The point is critical because people are living longer. Just consider Ronald Reagan, who required more than a decade of care for his Alzheimer’s disease.
Get an early start
The younger and healthier you are, the more likely you are to get the best rate when purchasing LTC insurance. Premiums rise as you age, and Mason says it’s never too early to buy LTC insurance. “Don’t buy a policy when ‘the house is on fire.’ Buy it when you’re a younger, healthier senior because there’s not automatic acceptance and people with certain conditions won’t be insurable,” she comments. In fact, more than half (57.2 %) of people who apply for LTC insurance after their 80th birthday are declined coverage, according to a national study reported in the January/February edition of Long-Term Care Insurance Sales Strategies magazine.
If you have a family history of debilitating diseases, the urgency is great. “If you have a grandparent with Alzheimer’s, buy LTC insurance right away,” advises Mason.
LTC Insurance Tips
1. Buy a policy while you’re a younger senior both to keep costs lower and to increase your chances of qualifying for LTC insurance.
2. Buy the best policy you can afford.
3. If still working and your employer offers LTC insurance, sign up. Often it’s easier to get LTC insurance when multiple employees are enrolling in a group plan. Sometimes individuals can be guaranteed coverage without providing a medical history.
4. Be honest about medical conditions. Insurers can deny coverage if you’ve lied about your medical history.
5. Understand what you’re buying and what you’ll receive for your dollars before buying any kind of insurance.
Additional information:
America’s Health Insurance Plans, Washington, D.C., has an on-line guide to long-term care insurance that can be found at www.ahip.org/content/default.aspx?bc=41|329|450
MetLife offers Long-Term Care Insurance: The Essentials. It’s available online at www.maturemarketinstitute.com/ with their search box, by calling (203) 221-6580, or by sending an e-mail to MatureMarketInstitute@metlife.com . Indicate if you live in Texas or Oklahoma because there’s a booklet specific to each of those states.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Long-Term Care Planning, by Marilee Driscoll (Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 2003)
Preparing For the Move (Leaving Home)
Moving and preparing to move can be stressful, exhausting, and a bumpy ride on an emotional roller coaster. Accept that there will be some separation anxiety and fluctuating. Plan for it. The following is a series of suggestions to make the process more productive and less stressful.
Start now and take your time! Build in enough time to change your mind throughout the culling process. Rule of thumb: estimate the time you think it will take to get everything organized, sorted, and so on, and then multiply by two.
Purchase a planning/organizing notebook, a calendar with fat boxes to write in, and file folders just related to the move: for the current home, the new home, movers, storage companies, etc. Allow enough time (for delays and cleaning) between your departure and the new owner/tenants arrival. In the notebook, put the master lists of contents (for example, living room box 1 = Chinese curios, reading lamps, brass holder for kindling) and only mark the boxes with the name of the room to go to and box number. This saves time and saves bending over to write on the boxes. Clear a corner in every room to stack boxes as you work. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
SORTING/CULLING
Take measurements of your new home, sketch a floor plan on legal paper or larger and use an easy scale, such as ½” for every foot. Take pictures of the rooms in the new place to help you visualize what you will need, how your belongings will look in your new home. Are the rooms larger or smaller than your current home? Are the walls usable or do the windows and doors preclude much furniture?
Knowing what you will need in your new home will help determine what you take from the current one. Wilma Willis Gore emphasizes the value of distinguishing needs versus wants and identifying what is essential rather than sentimental.
Once you begin sorting, create three initial piles/stacks and mark as follows:
Absolutely keep
Undecided
Don’t want or don’t use anymore, which then becomes one of three action groups:
1. Donate to charity or sell via eBay or yard sale
2. Give to someone else (relative, neighbor, friend)
3. Put in the trash
Give yourself several different blocks of time to sort and make decisions. Many years of collecting have gone into your belongings and stuff. “Decide in haste and repent at leisure.”
If decades of accumulation is too overwhelming, the National Association of Professional Organizers ( www.napo.net ) can help you find a professional organizer in your area.
Set aside chunks of time (minimum two hours at a time) so you don’t just get started and have to stop for other commitments.
Upsizing? Taking this time to clear out gives you the opportunity to find new items and create new memories from the experiences you will have in your future home. The 19 th century British craftsman and designer William Morris believed that you should, “Have nothing in your homes which is not beautiful or useful.”
Identify possessions that lack a close association versus cherished pieces of furniture.
While you are sorting, be sure to take breaks, eat, and even indulge in delivered pizza.
Key questions from Moving On to ask when sorting:
Am I throwing this out because I really don’t want it or because I don’t know what to do with it? Will I use this item? If I throw this out, will I or my children regret it? Am I the caretaker for all our family stuff?
ORGANIZE! Prevent feeling overpowered by the task of sorting. Start with one room and use the MBA approach of breaking tasks into bite-size pieces. Designate specific rooms or areas for the various groupings (save, uncertain, don’t want).
When sorting, gather like items and then keep the best. (I found that I somehow had collected five hammers.)
Distinguish memory box material (year books, wedding pictures, first dog) from utilitarian compared to “stuff.” Hetzer and Hulstrand claim “You can keep the memories even as you let go of the items.”
Believe it or not, the process can bring first a sense of relief, then accomplishment, and finally freedom from “stuff.”
ABSOLUTELY KEEP
Put truly private and personal things in a special place.
Organize photos and mementos... Archival containers might be appropriate.
Sources: www.gaylord.com , www.metaledgeinc.com , www.universityproducts.com and Conservation Resources International at 800-634-6932.
Set a completion date and decide what your reward will be for completing the project. Something you want and don’t ordinarily do, such as tennis lessons or a full body massage, a night at the Ritz-Carlton, etc. But don’t let the creation of perfect albums keep you from sorting and making decisions.
Moving On suggests a list of steps to use to protect your memorable items. Use:
Main part of the house (not the attic, garage, or basement)
Clean hands, cotton gloves
Acid-free papers, unbleached muslin, Tyvek, inert plastics (cellulose triacetate, Mylar polyester, polyethylene and polypropylene)
Filtered glass that screens our ultraviolet light
Careful handling
Also consider hiring a professional to transfer your memories to DVD, VHS cassette, or CD ROM. This saves your memories while greatly reducing space.
Even if you are not moving immediately, organizing the family photo albums and nursery school art projects will give you an incredible sense of satisfaction. If the thought alone is overwhelming, Creative Memories can help you preserve your memory box material (www. creativememories.com).
For your old home, especially if this is a home of many years, hire a professional photographer to capture your favorite parts, the tree your children climbed, that showcase garden, the kitchen where you learned to cook.
In addition to the practical, such as a sofa to sit on, we all need comfy things to make a place feel like home. For you, what makes a place feel like home? Take those things with you and stay firm about your comfort needs. If the list is too lengthy for your new space, prioritize and pick the top ten items most important to you.
UNDECIDED
If all else fails, consider a storage rental- especially for items that may not physically fit or match your new décor, but you can’t part with yet. Then they don’t clutter you new home but still are yours. Hetzer & Hulstrand pose these questions: Does this have practical value? Sentimental value? Are the conditions in the storage space appropriate for your belongings? Do you have a plan for the items? Do you have a specific time frame in mind to deal with those items? How will having more time help you?
The American Moving and Storage Association ( www.moving.org ) provides storage information.
DON'T WANT OR USE ANYMORE
Yard Sales - Your librarian can identify some of the better books available on the best way to run a yard sale. The benefit is some cash and getting your excess carted off. The negative is the work involved and strangers at your home picking over your belongings. Another option is selling on eBay. Marsha Collier’s eBay for Dummies is a good place to start before you decide if eBay is appropriate for you.
Consider asking a charity to pick up your items no longer needed and taking the tax deduction. (Don’t forget to itemize a list and get a signed receipt.) Fair market value is the price an item would sell for publicly, which is approximately 40% of the insurance value. Insurance value is the replacement cost. Another method is to take 25% or less of what you paid for an item- a more conservative approach.
Charities that will pick up clothing and furniture:
Goodwill www.goodwill.org
Salvation Army www.salvationarmy.org (1-800-95-truck)
Big Brothers/Big Sisters www.bbbsa.org
YWCA www.ywca.org
St. Vincent de Paul www.svdpusa.org (go to Stores)
Books for America www.booksforamerica.org will distribute to VA hospitals and other groups. Use www.amazon.com to sell individual books, and www.elephantbooks.com for collections.
“Find creative and joyous ways to give away your possessions” Moving On
The items you are ready to pass on – consider giving them now. You can visit the items and every time your daughter or your nephew uses your dishes, you grace the table. Identify which relatives or friends will cherish your precious possessions – and ask yourself if they could benefit now from your gifts. Avoid the male/female trap: allow your son to give his daughter your crystal collection and a niece to receive your golf clubs.
With the family home, develop an overall plan, communicate that plan to your friends and family, and set the ground rules for belongings.
Ask if anyone has a special request- you might be surprised who treasures what. For your peace of mind, you might establish one condition: family items stay in the family. While relatives can start to search out options for you and make suggestions, you make the final decisions. "Who Gets Grandma’s Yellow Pie Plate?" is a handy workbook for these types of decisions. Disputes only arise when people care. To reduce conflict, whatever you decide, let the whole family know. Remember that the stories around the family pieces are as important as the possessions.
If your relatives are out of town, photographs sent through email can refresh your relatives’ memory and let the family know what you want to give to each of them.
Stories and photos are far more valuable to children, grandchildren and other relatives than possessions. Everyone has a different experience of an event. E-mail allows all the family to share stories.
THE MOVE
Essentials: be sure to have sealing tape, removable duct tape, and extra blankets and small rugs to wrap around delicate furniture, if you are not using a professional mover.
For safety’s sake, use the post office postcards and forms for friends and subscriptions but put them in envelopes so the curios don’t see your information/move dates. Be pleasant to the new owner/ tenant and give them your new address – so that once the post office six month forwarding order expires, key items find you.
PS. The post office permanent change of address is effective for 12 months.
Add pets to the equation – moving and their comfort- put new address& phone tags on them before you move- and help dogs learn the new scent of the new home and keep cats in an enclosed territory for three days to acclimate. Take pictures in case the pets escape in the first few days at your new home. However tattered, take your pets' beds with you to your new home- they need comfort too!
Tips : Do not turn off the utilities at your old location until the day after your move is scheduled and arrange for the utilities at you new home 1-2 days before you move in. That way workmen, lost movers, and others can reach you.
To help you get new services established, request the Yellow Pages from your new neighborhood. For post-moving follow-up, take a copy of the current neighborhood phone book with you to the new locale. Arrange phone referral service for your former number and ask if it can be renewed and for how long.
Pack what you use least often first. And pack last what you use daily or almost daily (because unpacking may take more time than you think at the other end)
Books are a good place to start and less emotional than other items for many people.
A good way to keep what you use regularly at hand: imagine the alarm clock has just gone off- what do you need to shower? Grooming essentials? Standing naked, what do you need? undergarments, slacks, sweater, and at the end of the day- pajamas. What medications do you take daily? Pack as if going away for a long weekend. Remember comfy clothes for both ends of the move. Don’t forget to leave cleaning materials for either you or a crew to close up your current home. Keep toilet paper, paper towels, paper plates and paper cups for the last day or two.
Movers can pack your computer – but you must save or hire someone to save your valuable data on diskettes or zip drives or memory sticks. Often the computer department of you local Community College has people who will help for a reasonable fee.
Insurance- because things in life do happen. Verify with your movers what they will cover and what they must pack to insure (often delicate china).
Plants will not survive a moving truck – and water them when you arrive, not when you leave.
At your new home, who will be there to receive the movers? And before you pay them- check to make sure the van is empty or delegate that task to a trustworthy one.
Often forgotten: to register to vote in your new community. This is especially important if key local issues are on the ballot.
A period of your family’s life in that home is ending – mourning that passage frees you and your family to embrace your new home and the ensuing changes.
As a Seniors Real Estate Specialist®, I have the training and resources to work with you on all of your real estate needs. I will work with you to provide you with information to benefit you as a homeowner. For more information on important Senior Issues, call me at:
Rhonda Elkins - (817) 473-0422 |