This young family is starting out in the home they have selected for themselves and to make it into the place they want to remain over time, creating memories and eliminating the need to move in the future.
Long-term occupancy of homes
We see many comments about the need to build or add more aging in place homes or that there is a shortage of homes for people to occupy. The shortage issue is a simple one – add more inventory. However, this should not come at the expense of those who have identified their aging in place long-term home and continue to occupy it – even if it’s been a few decades that they have lived there.
The whole idea of aging in place is that a person looks for and finds a floor plan and location, regardless of their budget or how much how they can afford, that works reasonably well for them and they stay there. They can remodel it, enlarge it, and make any number of changes, but they remain in the same home.
Most of those people found the home they have because of its location, layout, or price. They did not consider how well they could occupy it over time. That came later. Some people continue living in their homes without making any changes, and others make significant changes to accomodate their needs and lifestyle.
Homes can’t anticipate changing needs
Mostly, people find a home they like – new construction, one newer than they have at the time, or just one that appeals to them even if it is an older home – without necessarily thinking about how it will accommodate their needs as they change. They are not thinking ahead ten years or more. Therefore, the homes people select don’t necessarily meet their changing needs without additional work because they weren’t intended to do so. They were just meant to provide for their short-term needs.
Building codes, technology, products, lifestyles, and the way we use homes are subject to change over time. It’s no surprise that a home purchased a decade or more in the past may not check all of the boxes for the occupant today.
The point is that attempting to intentionally create aging in place homes, meaning that a dwelling could be designed and built to accommodate a range of future needs, happens only by accident. There is little way to predict or project what someone’s needs and abilities might be decades into the future.
Go for comfort and compatibility
Regardless of whether a home was built many years ago or if it is under construction now, the single criterion for someone selecting it would be how well they think it will meet their needs – how well they like it. Since builders cannot anticipate someone’s current or future needs with homes they built previously or ones that will be delivered in the future, there cannot be an aging in place home intentionally created.
Thus, we should find a home that works for us at the time, or one that we think will grow with us and our needs, and remain in that home. We may find the perfect home and move into it, or we may find a home that is close to what we want and turn it into that great long-term residence.