| Tuesday, March 25, 2008 |
| Visiting my grandaunt |
This past weekend I took the opportunity to visit my 92-year-old great-aunt who lives in western Massachusetts. Or rather I should say, I visited my grandaunt since that title fits her personality a bit better. She is from a much different generation and when I spend time with her I find that my vocabulary and demeanor changes.
So there I was, sitting straight up on the settee, ankles crossed, hands neatly folded in my lap in her parlor, quizzing for family stories, when it struck me. She is living an amazingly comfortable life. She resides in an elder complex where each resident owns their own condo unit. Her condo has its own kitchen, so she can take her meals there, or she can walk out her door and take the elevator down to one of the dining rooms. The building also has a movie theater, library, hair salon, and grocery store. Within the campus is a fully staffed medical center. While she paid outright for her condo, she pays a monthly fee for all services. I was told her monthly fee, not unlike a normal condo fee, covers her meals and utilities as well as other activities and benefits.
She is well looked after, and has the freedom to either be alone in her unit, or step down the hall to be sociable with the other residents. But here is the thing, my grandaunt is not a wealthy woman. She never married, and worked for most of her life as a bookkeeper for a small firm. At least as far as I know she is not wealthy. But she is also not a very materialistic person nor was she a big spender. If you asked her what her most valuable possession is, she would likely pick her rosary beads. While I like to read before bed, she says her rosary before drifting off to sleep.
When I think forward to what my life might be like when I am 92-years-old, I hope I am as comfortable and content as she appears to be. I also hope I have the forethought and where-with-all to purchase into a complex like hers! |
| posted by Boston Gal @ 12:05 PM *
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| 8 Comments: |
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I predict that not only will you be comfortably in your own similar condo, but that you'll also own and rent out five condos next door.
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Oh my yes! I wanna be your grandaunt! 92, comfortable, and still in the middle of things!
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No snow to shovel
No leaves to rake
No roof to worry about
No dishes to wash, unless you eat in your unit.
Some of them have laundry service too.
Can I sign up now?
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Thank you all!
I particularly like Andrew's prediction ;)
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Bostongal,
I think your grandaunt is a great example of someone who was able to manage her money well throughout her life! These days it's so easy to get credit and look to blame others for the bad situation we're in. I'm sure you'll be in a similar situation as her if you keep on the same trajectory you're on now!
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I am working on building 3 of those types of units now. One side has independent living (such as your aunt) and the other side is assisted living. The thought being, you pay 'assessments' every month so when you move to the assisted living side you don't have to pay any more and your care is taken care of.
One of the buildings we're working on in Chicago, you 'buy' your 1 bedroom condo for $400,000+ and then you sell it back to the management for 80-100% of the purchase price. The assessments are then based upon square footage and the monthly fees start somewhere around $3000-4000. There's big business with these.
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Is your relationship with her such that you could ask her how she went about managing her money?
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My mother's situation is similar, but can demonstrate how tentative that "security" is -- mom's 87, and was in great health (physically and financially) up until a few years ago when she suffered a stroke. Since then, she's moved into an assisted living facility that, with services, runs her over $4K/month. She has to beg for the services she pays for, and is in constant fear of retribution from the underpaid staff if she complains that she's not getting the assistance and quality that she's paying for. Meals are advertised on the corporate website as being "fine dining" - mom tells me they get slop on bread, almost nightly. She's terrified of outliving the $600K she had invested (locked into annuities purchased before her health degraded, and not earning much). None of us can help much, financially or with time or assistance, due to her condition.
It's left me terrified that, no matter how well I plan, I won't have enough money.
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I predict that not only will you be comfortably in your own similar condo, but that you'll also own and rent out five condos next door.