Holistic Planning for Aging-in-Place Changes

HomeAdvisor’s 2017 Aging-in-place Report talked to two sets of homeowners—those aged 55 to 75 and those over the age of 75—to assess their motives for making home upgrades.

It’s hard to know exactly what disabilities you’re going to face and what modifications will be needed down the line, so one strategy is taking a holistic look at a home and choosing home upgrades with an eye toward making life easier now and in the future.

That may mean ensuring that a home is in good condition and simplifying landscaping, organizing closets and storage spaces, replacing door knobs with door handles, and making repairs that affect safety.

Respondents’ comments about how watching loved ones struggle with aging motivated them to improve their homes makes the report compelling. And remarks by older respondents about the projects they wish they’d done earlier are equally motivating.

After all, many aging homeowners now face tremendous challenges functioning at home, and more than one-third said that they can no longer access some parts of their homes. 

Read the report here.