Housing...

Continuing from yesterday’s blog I want to bring attention to various housing problems we face as a nation. This is one of those issues that has a local face. We can try to ignore it but it will not go away. It is with us now. It will be with us for a long time to come. It will affect lives negatively unless we do something to both soften the problem and its effects, and eventually solve it permanently.

It is elder housing. That’s the issue.  Here are some important components of it.

First, the housing must be affordable for the remainder of life for the elders who are intended to live within it. The cost of securing the home must be within a reasonable percentage of the person’s/couple’s monthly income. If the residents are wealthy, there is little or no issue.

The truth of the matter, however, on a national scale is that most Americans will have difficulty affording their housing. That’s a bottom line statement that probably covers 80% or more of our older citizens, 65 years old and above.

Many couples consider themselves lucky to be receiving monthly income of $2000; 30% of that figure is $600. Try buying a home or renting an apartment for that amount. It is nearly impossible unless you settle for a home below your needs and not nurturing of your long term needs.

A retired couple’s earnings of $3000 per month is considered ‘middle class’. 30% of that figure is $900 per month. Again, try renting a home or apartment for that amount these days, especially in cities where strong medical facilities are located. You will find monthly housing costs exceeding $1000 easily; more likely $1200 or more.

Cost of housing is more difficult when utilities are added in, and maintenance, and rising monthly pricing of both the rent and the supporting costs. $600 per month is rare unless the home is in a low income, poor region of the country.

Some will say that most people have paid off their home’s mortgage and the only cost of housing is utilities, maintenance, taxes and remodeling intended to extend the access and usefulness of the home during later years marked by limited mobility of the body. The truth is that most people do not pay off their mortgage. Rather they sell the larger home, downsize to a smaller home that is both easier to live within, maintain, clean and pay for. The equity in the larger home either fully pays for the smaller home or mostly does.

The latter scenario was the norm of past years. Not today. The Great Recession of the early 2000’s reduced the value of most homes by at least $100,000. The ‘nest egg’ assumed in the equity figure has evaporated for most homeowners. That is the truly huge truth statement American have to face in the question of housing adequacy for senior citizens. No longer can we assume that this generation is in good financial shape. Much has happened to reduce the circumstances of most middle class retirees just before they take the step to retire.

Then there is the medical reality for many. Failing health or at least limited health has increased medical costs, reduced earning capabilities for part time work, and increased the needs of the future housing unit. With that comes higher pricing as well. Now the home must be accessible for mobility standards, on one level, adapted for easy reaching and maintenance. Such homes are small in number. They also are increasingly more costly.

Please notice we are still discussing cost elements of elder housing. There are many components to the discussion focused only on costs. Economic factors have changed the way Americans live at all levels of income, but mostly elder Americans have more challenges today than they did in the past. This leads to the next element to talk about.

Second, Long Term Adaptability of elder housing. Senior citizens are living longer because of improved health care, medicines, and availability of personal medical assistance personnel. This means elders will need homes that are adaptable to their changing health conditions and abilities for a much longer time period.

Single floor living space is one factor to acquire. Ease of access to the home unit either means ground floor location or elevator building. Building standards should allow for wider doorways and free movement through doorways, into rooms, space to maneuver in bathrooms and kitchens – all the features which allow long-term self care and independent living as long as possible.

Internally the space needs fixtures and cabinetry that is reachable for most people.

Third, livability factors should be considered if the home is to provide motivation for healthy living. Exercise options is one such element, another are views outside the windows. Are the views of nature or architecture? Are views beautiful and stimulating or ugly and stultifying? Does the space resemble a home in its many facets or a prison for a life time sentence?

Fourth, social interaction of residents, both within the home and among a cluster of homes. Are individual interests and social transactions encouraged and supported? Or is the home designed as alone and apart from the normal world?

Fifth, location with respect to other family members. Do the elders have to move to faraway locations where specialized housing is available or climate and low cost land are major factors in pricing and affordability of the homes? Must we plan for our parents and grandparents to live far away from the family core? Do we have the national will and interest to plan our current communities to embrace multiple generations of our citizenry and family members?

There is a sixth factor that I will only mention at this point. It is maintaining the expertise and knowledge of our senior citizen group within and for the benefit of our local community. If we do not plan to include them to live among us, then we must face the fact that they will move elsewhere. Their moving away denies our community of their accumulated wisdom, knowledge and skill sets in running and nurturing our current community. We will feel the pain of this loss irrespective of the emotional loss of their relationships to us.  Then too they will lose feeling useful; their new peer community will be more of a ghetto of like people with the same skills and redundant interests. Not exactly a healthy prescription – for them or for us!

Housing challenges for senior citizens is a national issue of major dimensions. It is an issue that will increasingly define what kind of nation we are and what kind of people are within.

April 2, 2013