# Overqualified for Local Senior Apartment



## debodun (Mar 26, 2016)

Right now I'm living in a 2500 sq ft Victorian home I inherited and it's been a real psychological strain trying to keep up the maintenance (I have frequent nightmares about the roof sliding off or plumbing spraying all over, leaking or stopped up). I always wanted to get in a place where I don't have to worry about these things. The local senior living center has an annual income cut-off of $42K for an individual, so I'm not destitute enough to live there. According to my 1099s and W2s, I made +$61K in 2015 and that doesn't count garage sale money. Who should I contact to find someone to help me locate suitable accommodations?

There a woman in our church, probably in her mid to late 50s, and she's moved 4 times in the last year. She just can't find a place where she comfortable. I don't want to get in that situation, and I'm probably more fussy than she is, especially about noise.


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## RadishRose (Mar 26, 2016)

try a realtor


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## Wrigley's (Mar 26, 2016)

Are you going to sell the house?

Could you rent out some rooms? 
Rent one to a retired contractor, cheap rent in exchange for maintenance. If you can afford the materials, give him free rent for the first 2 or 3 months if he'll build in a kitchenette for himself. That way you won't have him in your kitchen all the time.


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## Guitarist (Mar 26, 2016)

$42K is a really high income cut-off IME.  Are you looking at a subsidized/Section 8/HUD senior community?

I've seen at least one seniors web site that mentions shared housing, where two or more people go in together to share living quarters (like a big Victorian house, maybe!).  I wouldn't want to do it unless I had a really good lease/contract and I had my own bedroom and bathroom and there were strict rules about shared areas and quiet hours, etc.

You sound about as particular as I am, debodun.  I HATE noise, I really cannot take it.  

The HUD property I live in is very noisy.  But it is safe, and fairly well run, and I don't have to worry about the roof sliding off, or a tornado hitting it, or the trees dying and falling down, on my roof or a neighbor's roof or car.  I still have nightmares sometimes, but not about the furnace going out and my service contract doing nothing to pay for a replacement, or a gas leak, or pipes bursting, or any of the things I worried about when I lived in a house.  Sure, any of those things could happen here, but it's not up to me to pay for them.  I never think about them.  

There are plenty of maintenance-free senior communities out there for higher-income people like you ($42K a year is a really good income).  You could try Googling senior housing, putting in your zip code (or the zip code of wherever you'd like to live). A Place For Mom is one site, but there are plenty of others, just search senior housing and your area. Some are communities where you own or rent a house, others are apartments; I think there are some trailer parks out west that sound nice online. They advertise themselves as being maitenance-free, i.e., you don't have to any yard work, or other upkeep; it is all paid for in the rent or homeowner's fees.

I think some HUD senior properties take people who are not low-income; some people where I live seem to have plenty of money for clothes and trips and other luxuries -- some of them have really nice cars too!

ETA: I just saw this website:
https://www.fivestarseniorliving.com/


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## CuriousKate (Mar 26, 2016)

The following is another website you can try - www.seniorhousingnet.com


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## Guitarist (Mar 26, 2016)

CuriousKate said:


> The following is another website you can try - www.seniorhousingnet.com



I just tried that link, putting in the zip code where I live and the zip code for where I want to live -- in my area there are at least a dozen low-income senior communities; in the other area there are at least two, and a few others that are not "affordable."

The link listed only one of the places in my area, and none in the area where I want to live.

I don't know why it didn't list all of them.  

Weird.

The fivestarseniorliving.com link seems to list only properties run by one business; it didn't list any of the properties I know either. I only posted the link because the website appeared while I was researching something else, and since it wasn't income-based I thought it might be of use to debodun.  

It is VERY HARD to find affordable senior communities online.  There is no one central website for all of them.

There needs to be.  There should be one website listing ALL senior communities, cross-referenced by geographic area, income level, and whether or not they are independent living or assisted living.  It would be so simple to do -- some agency should do it.


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## CuriousKate (Mar 26, 2016)

Debodun & Guitarist - Jujube had posted a link on the low-income income housing thread that I narrowed down to be able to search by state - http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/states.
Yes, the website may seem overwhelming but it really isn't. Look under any of the subheadings that include rental help/subsidized housing/low income housing/multifamily housing (each state words it a differently). I found a lot of information about the rentals we are talking about. Hope this helps.


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## Butterfly (Mar 26, 2016)

I think your only solution is going to be looking in the phone book (if you can find one) and just driving around looking for one.  You're not going to get into any HUD or subsidized housing with an income that high, at least not around here, you wouldn't.  Could could you just find an apartment in a nice unit that wasn't designated senior housing?  My worry about apartments is that you always have to be concerned about the rent going up into the stratosphere in years to come.


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## debodun (Mar 28, 2016)

I looked at that link and there's nothing within 50 miles of me. There are some not listed on that site that are closer, but most of them are under the same management and the one 2 miles from me that I mentioned in my OP, so they have the same rules. Also a concern - pets. Some allow 1 pet if it under 40 pounds (cat or small dog) and it's $300 extra a month tacked on the rent if you have a pet. Some don't allow ANY pets. I have 2 cats.


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## Wrigley's (Mar 28, 2016)

debodun said:


> I looked at that link and there's nothing within 50 miles of me. There are some not listed on that site that are closer, but most of them are under the same management and the one 2 miles from me that I mentioned in my OP, so they have the same rules. Also a concern - pets. Some allow 1 pet if it under 40 pounds (cat or small dog) and it's $300 extra a month tacked on the rent if you have a pet. Some don't allow ANY pets. I have 2 cats.



You'd be better off staying put and paying someone to do maintenance work whenever you need it. I'm going to mention retired contractors again. They work for cheap and they know what they're doing.


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## Guitarist (Mar 28, 2016)

debodun said:


> I looked at that link and there's nothing within 50 miles of me. There are some not listed on that site that are closer, but most of them are under the same management and the one 2 miles from me that I mentioned in my OP, so they have the same rules. Also a concern - pets. Some allow 1 pet if it under 40 pounds (cat or small dog) and it's $300 extra a month tacked on the rent if you have a pet. Some don't allow ANY pets. I have 2 cats.



Are you sure it's $300 a month?  My place charged a $300 pet deposit ($300 total) payable in monthly installments of $10.

Check this out, debodun:
http://locate.aplaceformom.com/find...SiteLink=Find+Local+Facilities&mkwid=5GzxjLW8

I don't know anything about upstate NY* so I put in Albany and it showed several communities.  You can put in your zip code. *(Well, I know about Saratoga but that's all!  )

Here are some links to active-adult communities in NY (I Googled retirement communities in new york state and found the first two sites):

http://www.topretirements.com/active_adult_communities/New_York.html

http://www.55communityguide.com/Guide/Retirement_Communities/NY/

Then I googled Del Webb:

http://www.delwebb.com/find-a-home/search-landing.aspx


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## Wrigley's (Mar 28, 2016)

I rent apts and I never heard of monthly pet rent. Most places charge $300-$350 non-refundable pet deposit.


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## Kitties (Mar 29, 2016)

I've certainly paid pet deposits and some complexes will charge 25 dollars extra a month for a pet.

I'm with you on the maintenance. Things like that are a worry. And I have to assume that your income, like mine, will not be as high once totally retired. I will only have SS and savings.

Would you make enough from the sale of the house to buy something for cash? I'm sensitve to noise also but strangely, less as I get older. One thing I can't stand is the boom stereo noise.


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## Butterfly (Mar 29, 2016)

My sister has to pay extra each month because she has a cat, even though we got a letter from her doctor saying the cat is sort of a service animal, being necessary for her emotional support.  

You might, as someone suggested above, be better off staying where you are and paying someone for upkeep, by the time you factor in rent and everything else you'd have to pay somewhere else.  My house, way too big for just me, is older, too.  To be able to sell it, I'd have to put a lot of money into it fixing everything that is funky about it, and bringing stuff up to code, and it takes forever for anything to sell around here.  I've resigned myself to the idea that I'll just have to stay here.


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## Guitarist (Mar 29, 2016)

Wrigley's said:


> Are you going to sell the house?
> 
> Could you rent out some rooms?
> Rent one to a retired contractor, cheap rent in exchange for maintenance. If you can afford the materials, give him free rent for the first 2 or 3 months if he'll build in a kitchenette for himself. That way you won't have him in your kitchen all the time.



Now, this is making me wish I had a big old house with some rooms to rent out!  Seriously.  Sounds like a very practical idea to me.


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## debodun (Apr 2, 2016)

Guitarist said:


> Now, this is making me wish I had a big old house with some rooms to rent out!  Seriously.  Sounds like a very practical idea to me.



Could I interest you in a "fixer-upper" in upstate NY?


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## Ed B (Apr 2, 2016)

A two story Victorian probably does require a lot of upkeep.  About a year after my father passed, my mother sold their house with the 12 acres and paid cash for a house in town that doesn't have near the maintenance overhead.  It is in a quiet, safe neighborhood and it has worked out well.  She basically only has to worry about the condition of the lawn and she pays a retired handyman to take care of that and any light house maintenance she wants done....mainly as a result of watching those HGTV remodel shows.   

That might be an option for you.


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## Guitarist (Apr 2, 2016)

debodun,

That is a beautiful house. If I were good with a hammer and other fix-up tools, and several years younger, I would love to take on a house like that.


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## Wrigley's (Apr 3, 2016)

Guitarist said:


> Now, this is making me wish I had a big old house with some rooms to rent out!  Seriously.  Sounds like a very practical idea to me.



Thank you!

Looking at the photo, it looks like a keeper to me.


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## debodun (Apr 3, 2016)

*Inside*

Here are some interior photos.


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## Wrigley's (Apr 3, 2016)

Structurally, it looks pretty sound. Ceilings look good. But if that's a water-mark along the baseboards, that's a problem. I see glimpses of nice hardwood on the floors and a really nice stained (unpainted) door, and the stairwell looks solid. Overall, it needs updating - I'd want to strip the wallpaper and repaint all the walls, pull up the carpet, repaint the painted doors. If the radiator is an indication, it needs a heating system. Air conditioning too? In the earlier pic the roof seems to be in pretty good shape, except the bit over the front porch. From the pics, I do see lots of projects that could be done over time but it looks quite livable now. Nice lot, too.

Here where I am in central Calif that house could go for over $130 thousand as a fixer-upper, depending on how many bedrooms. If it needs a heat and air system, it'll take a big chunk off your price because people see huge cost with that issue. And that's because it's a rip-off industry. But they gotta have it, right? 

I see a solid old house in need of an up-date. I also see some furniture pieces that could be worth several thousand dollars if they are what they seem. I'm talking about the small dark wood table near the television and the similar one in the dining room. The drop-leaf table looks legit and could probably fetch a couple thousand. That white corner cabinet, too, and the long table in the hall by the stairs, and the mirrored thing at the end of the hall there. A good auction price for those might pay for a heat and air system, installed.

Thanks for showing me.


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## debodun (Apr 3, 2016)

Maybe in California, Victorian furniture is the rage. You can't give it away here in upstate NY even if it is an authentic antique. 

The water on the baseboards is worse than water - it's cat pee. Many people can't even stay in my house because of the ammonia odor. I've tried everything but pulling up the carpets and there's no point as long as I still have cats (down to 2 - my mom once had 11 in the house), so you can imaging the damage they've done to the walls, floors and furniture. I don't notice it (nose blind) but many that come in feel they have to say something about the smell.

I had a new Belarus boiler furnace installed in 2011 and it ended up costing me about $15K - there was the cost of the new unit, plus having to hire someone to remove the old one (the company that installs didn't do disposals) and then I had to have asbestos remediation done on the water pipes before they would even start installation. 

All the interior paint probably is lead-based and there are no grounded electric outlets. 

The plumbing is a joke - all galvanized iron - an with the hard water we have here, it had eaten through in many places. Spent a fortune about 10 years ago having the most badly corroded pipes replace with copper. Water freezes in the pipes in the winter and except in the coldest winter months, the cellar is extremely damp, sometimes after a heavy or prolonged rain, there is even standing water.

Almost all new roofing, though, but when I had the front porch roof done, the contractor found extensive rotted wood and all that had to be replaced.

Had the front porch painted a few years ago ($4000, and he was the low bidder) and over the winter, much of the paint peeled and flaked off, so it's back to square one on that.

I've been ripped off so many time by contractors (even by those 5-star rated on Service Magic), it's soured me on having more work done.

Here's a pic I took just 2 months ago from a different angle.


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## Wrigley's (Apr 3, 2016)

I didn't know you're in NY. The cat pee damage is all fixable but would require ripping everything out probably several inches up the wall plus flooring all around the perimeter of the room, and then replacing it, and since it would have to be replaced with good wood it would be costly. There are effective products for the odor but you'd need a lot of it and the ones that actually work are relatively pricey. I can see the wood rot on the porch awning, so that guy did a half-assed job.

I understand your dilemma now. If I were you - not *if I were in your situation* but *if I were you* - I'd get what I could for it unless I had at least $50 grand sitting around somewhere to get a few things fixed the right way. If there's no rush about it, hold out for the best bid. Get a realtor on your side and maybe talk trade - the house as a downpayment on something newer and smaller? (then you'd have a mortgage, but otherwise you'd have rent anyway)

Good luck to you, sincerely.


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## debodun (Apr 3, 2016)

Thanks, Wrigley. I did talk to several realtors a few years ago and the consensus of opinion, even back then, was that I would have to spend a minimum of $100K to bring it up to "code" even before they would consider putting it on the market. 

I also looked into getting a grounded electric system and the contractor I spoke with said that it would cost about $100 an outlet to renovate. There 10 rooms with at least 3 outlets in each. You do the math. It's only an inconvenience to me when I want to use in something that has a grounded plug. When I got a new refrigerator a few years ago, the guy put an "adapter" on the plug - probably not the best solution, though. 

Could use new energy-efficient windows, too. On a cold windy day, I might not even have windows on the house for all the good the ones on there are. I think there are over 30 windows in the house! How much would that cost?

I could spend my life saving fixing it up only to sell it to someone that going to come in and rip it all out anyway and put in what they want. All these "code" issues weren't a problem when my parents bought it in 1975.


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## Guitarist (Apr 3, 2016)

I don't know how realistic this sounds or how practicable but it would be cool if you could get it on one of those TV "fixer-upper" "flip it" programs. I have no idea how those things work.  But your house is charming.  It has lovely features that I think would suit a TV show well.

 I personally love the radiators but Wrigley's sounds much more knowledgeable about those than I am.  I would love a house with steam heat because of my asthma/allergies.  And that little gate-leg table looks like it would be worth some money if it doesn't smell like cat pee.  What did your mom have?  Unaltered toms?


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## Wrigley's (Apr 3, 2016)

debodun said:


> Thanks, Wrigley. I did talk to several realtors a few years ago and the consensus of opinion, even back then, was that I would have to spend a minimum of $100K to bring it up to "code" even before they would consider putting it on the market.
> 
> I also looked into getting a grounded electric system and the contractor I spoke with said that it would cost about $100 an outlet to renovate. There 10 rooms with at least 3 outlets in each. You do the math. It's only an inconvenience to me when I want to use in something that has a grounded plug. When I got a new refrigerator a few years ago, the guy put an "adapter" on the plug - probably not the best solution, though.
> 
> ...



Yeah, I forgot about the electrical. That would double the $50 grand I mentioned, so the contractor's estimate is right on. Then you got your freezing pipe issue.

I know of a rare buy --- a lady friend of mine wanted her house so badly she paid around $10K to bring it up to code for the sellers, and this was without assurance that she'd even get the house. She put in another $10K for all new windows but only after they promised she'd get the house. The total is not even a quarter of what you need, but I'm just saying maybe you're not totally screwed. There's hope if you can wait it out and contact the right people.


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## Guitarist (Apr 4, 2016)

debodun,

have you ever read Elizabeth Enright's books_ Gone-Away Lake_ and _Return to Gone-Away_?  Two of my favorite books and your house reminds me of the end of the first one and the whole second one!  In a good way.


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## Butterfly (Apr 4, 2016)

Debodun -- I'm in much the same boat.  I'd have to put a lot into my house to bring it all up to code and replace some things.  I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I'm kind of stuck here for the duration.  The house is quite livable for me, but just too big and I'd rather have something smaller, without a front lawn to hassle with, but I guess it's just not in the cards.

Oh well, there are people out there without a roof over their head at all, so I can't complain.


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## Wrigley's (Apr 4, 2016)

Debo, I don't know why but your situation interests me. Maybe because besides being a DIY-er, I like a challenge.

So, some things to look into:

I already mentioned finding a buyer willing to get the place up to code in exchange for a price offset, which would amount to a "free" house for the buyer, and getting out from under for you.

Other possibilities: 

If you were to obtain a senior care or daycare license - there's a list of home businesses along those lines - you could get a government grant to pay for all the repairs and you wouldn't even have to open for business.

There's a couple of organizations that get old houses up to code for free, and seniors are their priority list. HARP is one and their website has links to others.

Investigate home repair grants. The government has tons of money up for grabs and you don't always have to pay it back. In fact most grants are not loans.

GoFundMe is an online fundraising website. Check it out. You need a huge amount of funding but if you post a fund-raiser there, let us know here. I would definitely donate. There are other fundraiser sites too. You could hit all of them.


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## debodun (Apr 5, 2016)

Guitarist said:


> have you ever read Elizabeth Enright's books_ Gone-Away Lake_ and _Return to Gone-Away_?  Two of my favorite books and your house reminds me of the end of the first one and the whole second one!  In a good way.




Sounds interesting. I'll have to see if our regional library system has then when I get done with the pile I want to finish reading now. Thanks for the tip.


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## Kitties (Apr 5, 2016)

Wrigley's last post here is interesting. Not that I know anything about building and codes but can't homes be sold as is? Is there much "flipping" in your area or is it more rural. I know in California that some things have to be done here like strapping water heaters and carbone monoxide detectors. More I'm sure I don't know about.

debodun, I feel bad for you as the house seems like a burden more than anything but with some sentimental attachment I'm sure. I'm worried about moving to a newer manufactured home so I can't imagine what the upkeep on your place must be. I hope something works out.


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## Lon (Apr 5, 2016)

I just this morning signed to renew the lease on my Senior Living 2 bed 2 bath apartment for an additional $20 per  month bringing the total to $ 1,250 monthly, a modest and acceptable increase.


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## Kitties (Apr 5, 2016)

Lon said:


> I just this morning signed to renew the lease on my Senior Living 2 bed 2 bath apartment for an additional $20 per  month bringing the total to $ 1,250 monthly, a modest and acceptable increase.



Lon, I know we are getting off topic here, but I could never afford that on full retirement. I think my stepfather brings in about 2500 a month with his social security and pension and he likes to act like he is broke. I'll be social security only with money put away. Right now I pay 800 for a nice one bedroom but as I stated before, they are renting to new renters at 870 and I don't know if that includes the water and garbage surcharge that apartments are now adding.


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