If you’re nearing retirement, you may be working hard to pay off your existing home. For those with houses that have multiple stories, it’s a good idea to consider building a new retirement home. Here are some reasons you may want a home designed for aging that can keep you safer and more comfortable.
The Perfect Home
Once you retire, you’ll spend a lot of time in your home. Building a custom home to retire in gives you the chance to incorporate the features you’ve always wanted. According to Jim Sattler, you should make sure your retirement home is one story so that you can get around easily in your older age. In addition, simple setups, like putting your laundry facilities near the bedrooms and customizing bathrooms for easy access, are critical.
Fewer Maintenance Issues
A brand-new home will be fully up-to-date on the best building materials. You can enjoy a maintenance-free exterior and easy-to-wash tilt-in windows. According to Senior Safety Advice, a stepless shower designed for easy access can make your home both beautiful and easy to live in. Landscaping can be installed with an eye toward limited mobility over time. If you love to garden, consider adding raised beds with wide paths around them for a chair or small garden scooter. These new design features can be easily integrated as you study the building and landscaping plans. No matter your future needs, your new home can provide.
Safety and Smart Technology
Simple design features can greatly reduce your risk of an accident or a fall in your new home. For example, you can add a contrasting carpet border to your living room layout to reduce the risk of a stumble as you approach the space. Under-cabinet lighting that comes on automatically via motion sensor can reduce the risk of a cut or burn. Installing a camera at your front door means that you don’t have to hurry to answer a knock or risk opening the door to a stranger. If memory issues are a challenge for you or your spouse, you can get a stove that will shut off automatically if you step away.
It’s important to live in a safe environment as you get older. It only takes one stumble over a doorway or tumble with a laundry basket to radically change your ability to enjoy your retirement. Building a custom home and integrating features that will help you to stay in place as mobility, hearing and visual capacities grow more limited can help you control your future.
For more information about living your senior years in your own home, read on here!