Our key objective, as aging in place professionals, is to help people remain in their current homes long-term. We endeavor to make this happen so they can continue living in homes they love. We want their lives to be enjoyable as they share their time with an old friend – their home. We know that many people have this special relationship with their home and that they regard it fondly – regardless of the age of the home or how long they have lived in it. Helping them retain that relationship with their home is important to them and to us.
The people that we are serving have developed a lasting friendship with their and find that those homes represent much more than just a place to live. They have shared many memories of life events together – good and not so good – and watched them transpire in the time they have been together. They have become very attached to each other. People don’t welcome the thought of trying to replace that home they have become so fond of or in needing to move from it. That’s where we come in.
No matter the physical condition of the home or any deficiencies or shortcomings it might have in being able to accommodate the physical needs of the people residing there, we know that people want to hang onto and remain living in their present homes for the foreseeable future. This is not something they take lightly, and neither should we.
There are several reasons why people choose to remain in their homes, and any one of them is sufficient for us to begin helping them enjoy a safer, more comfortable, more convenient, and more secure home. They can be any age or ability. They have just decided – for one or more reasons – that they want to remain living in their current home. We have the ability to improve that home to make it as functional and as serviceable as their needs and budget prescribe.
Reasons that people can’t or don’t want to leave their current home – in addition to the fact that they have developed an emotional attachment to it – is that it going to be difficult to nearly impossible to replace that home financially. It would take substantially more money to find something comparable to that home in a neighborhood that they like.
In addition, people have a comfort level and feeling of well-being and security with the neighborhood where they are – including their neighbors, the nearby homes, the landmarks, the kids, and the dogs. This familiarity is a formidable reason for choosing to remain where they are.
One of the biggest hurdles in deciding whether to remain where they are or try to find something else is the amount of stuff that people accumulate over the years – from previous homes as well as this one. Keepsakes from raising the kids, important milestones and celebrations in their lives, and mementos from vacations and ball games have a way of growing to quite a sizable collection. Then there are clothing, sporting goods, obsolete and broken appliances, extra tools, spare parts, hardware, seasonal items, and the like that all of us seem to hang onto. Thus, it’s easier to stay put that to try to deal with all of this stuff. For any or all of these reasons, people decide to remain where they are.
People will need to depend on us to make their desire to remain with their long-time friend – their home – over the coming years so that they can continue growing old together. We have a lot to offer to help them evaluate their current home and offering professional expertise in suggesting and implementing improvements to the traffic flow, the way the rooms are used, cabinetry, flooring, lighting, HVAC, appliances, bathroom fixtures, and other aspects – inside and out – and to keep them as safe and incident-free as possible.