Think small-ticket

Replace those small-ticket items immediately visible to buyers. Replacing a broken, rusted, or ugly screen door will be worth your while. Do you have a window with a broken seal? It not only looks bad both inside and out, but buyers will spot it right away. The best rule of thumb is put some money into small, noticeable, quick fixes. As a personal moving consultant, I can advise you on what should be addressed.

Don’t spend money on replacing big-ticket items that will neither excite the buyer nor garnish a higher price for your house. If your furnace or roof is 20-plus years old and you think it might need to be replaced, think again. After 17 years of home inspections, I can tell you the reoccurring theme is “If it isn’t broken or leaking, don’t fix it.” Many products made years ago were typically constructed with higher-quality materials.

Another reason for not replacing these things is because nine times out of ten your buyer will want to negotiate with you after the home inspection—which is commonplace in this day and age of buyer brokerage.

Negotiate in dollars and cents

I have seen two home inspections on the same house by two different inspectors—what was a glaring red flag for one inspector wasn’t even on the radar for the other. Wait until you get the laundry list of issues your buyer wants addressed, then decide what you will or won’t pay for. I recommend you pay for a repair or replacement either off of the sale price or as cash back at closing out of the proceeds. And please don’t agree to do the work prior to closing. You will open a can of worms with contractors, future issues, as well as an unhappy buyer who needs to approve of the job after it’s complete. Negotiating everything in dollars and cents after an inspection will be the cleanest and easiest way to get to the closing table.

Also, don’t get your own house inspected before you list the property. Your inspector will have a list of things that are wrong and then it will be your responsibility to fix or replace and disclose all of that information to the buyer. However, sellers can’t be expected to disclose defects they are honestly unaware of.

Her mother, busy painting a chair, answered, “If I don’t teach you Yiddish, who will?”

“It was a question that answered itself,” Marcia says decades later, in her apartment home at Brooksby, the Erickson Living community in Peabody, Mass. Marcia’s mother immigrated to the U.S. from a town near Kiev, Ukraine, at age 16. Marcia’s father emigrated from Odessa, Russia, at age 5. Both brought the Yiddish language with them.

Yiddish is a language traditionally spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. A mixture of High German and Hebrew, with influences from Slavic and Romance languages, Yiddish has made its way into modern American, English-speaking culture in the form of words like tchotchke, klutz, and maven.

For Marcia and others who were brought up in Yiddish-speaking households, Yiddish is the mamaloshen, or mother tongue, and a source of nostalgia. Marcia shares this, and her knowledge of the language, with others who live at Brooksby, in her twice monthly discussion group, “Learn and Laugh with Yiddish/English.”

Teaching tradition

Marcia brings seasoned abilities with her to Brooksby. A long-time high school teacher, she continued teaching in retirement, conducting interactive programs with cruise ship passengers on topics from creative listening to how to record family histories through interviews.

Since moving to Brooksby from New Jersey in 2003, Marcia has presented about various elements of Jewish history and culture. At Brooksby, and as part of the nearby Explorers Lifelong Learning Institute of Salem State University, Marcia presented “Wizards of Wit: How Jewish Comedians Transformed Comedy in America” and “Captains of Comics: How Jewish Guys Started the Comic Book Industry in America,” among other popular presentations.

“Jewish comics really taught us all,” Marcia says, naming Sid Caesar as one of the exemplary Jewish comedians. “All comedians should know Yiddish,” she adds.

Learning and laughter

Brooksby is an interfaith community, with organized Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish groups and services. Within Brooksby’s large and active Jewish population of around 275 people, about 15% to 20% speak some level of Yiddish, says Amely Smith, who lives at Brooksby and leads its Jewish Council.

Knowing Marcia spoke Yiddish, Amely approached her more than a year ago to ask if she would consider leading the Learn and Laugh group at Brooksby.

“We were lucky to get her because she speaks a beautiful Yiddish,” Amely says. “We are learning a lot from her. She always has something interesting; she really puts a lot of effort into it.”

In Yiddish, then in English, Marcia sets the mood at the beginning of each meeting with a Biblical proverb: “A merry heart doeth good, like medicine, but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Introductions follow, with attendees giving their Yiddish and then English names.

Marcia describes the meetings as a potpourri of activities and topics. Meetings typically attract between 10 and 20 people, and, depending on the attendees’ level of Yiddish knowledge, Marcia may speak entirely in Yiddish or offer Yiddish followed by English translations. Attendees learn from her, but Marcia says the group’s meetings are not strictly language instruction courses.

Animated and energetic, Marcia speaks passionately and proudly about Jewish history and culture. During group meetings she often shows funny YouTube videos featuring Jewish comedians and dancers and leads the group in singing and dancing.

A believer in critical thinking, Marcia also presents historical information for discussion, but the mixture of topics are “all designed to maintain a healthy balance of nostalgia and knowledge, capricious and solemn,” Marcia says.

Marcia’s group is not limited to those of the Jewish faith, but she says most attendees come because they “want to hear the old mamaloshen that they heard when they were young,” she says, referencing the mother tongue.

Amely adds of the Laugh and Learn group: “It’s very wonderful to have it—it added a lot to the Jewish group—it’s been quite a lovely addition.”

Maris Grove resident Jack Collette’s son and daughter must have caught that report because they gave him a Kindle e-reader for Christmas that year. Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook are two well-known brands.

“It was a complete surprise,” Jack says. “I was really pleased.”

What’s not to like?

On his thin little Kindle, less than half the size of a laptop computer, he can store more than 1,000 books.

And his Kindle has Wi-Fi, so he can purchase and download e-books from Amazon wherever there’s wireless Internet—his apartment, for one place, because Jack had his Internet provider install it. It’s also available in the lobbies and lounge areas of Maris Grove’s two clubhouses.

According to a survey last year by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project, among people over 65, e-reader ownership rose from 4% to 6% from November 2010 to May 2011. Among folks over 50, it went from 9% to 13%.

Seniors have many reasons to love e-readers. For one thing, the devices let them change print size to suit their needs. For another, they’re much more portable than bulky books.

Jack likes the Kindle’s portability and non-glare screen. When he and his wife, Courtenay, went to Alaska with Maris Grove’s Trips & Travel group, he didn’t toss bulky books into his carry-on for reading; he tossed in his Kindle. This January he read David McCullough’s latest tome The Greatest Journey. At less than 6 ounces, he easily carried it wherever he went. The hardback version, on the other hand, weighs nearly 2 ½ pounds.

Tablets add variety

While Jack has fewer than a dozen books in his Kindle’s library, his neighbor Arlene Prince looks forward to stuffing her Kindle Fire with lots of titles. She received the Fire, Amazon’s powerful new version, as a Christmas gift from her husband, Ed.

“I can tuck it in my purse and have a variety of books accessible,” she says.

She also enjoys the games: “They’re good to pass the time waiting in a doctor’s office.” she says. And she likes the Fire’s Internet and email capabilities.

Maris Grove’s computer club, which Jack chairs, will present a program this spring about an e-reader cousin, Apple’s iPad tablet. While not exactly mini computers, tablets have many more interactive Internet functions than do e-readers.

Bart DiCarlo, perhaps Maris Grove’s most wired resident, has an iPad. He also has an iPod, an iPhone, and a Mac computer.

He bought the iPad for its calendar function. “I can put my appointments on my iPad and they automatically go on my computer, iPod, and iPhone,” he says.

Bart’s iPad has largely replaced his iPod and his Mac. He uses it to read books, email, shop online, and stay up-to-date with news about the Sicilian village where he was born.

This summer, Maris Grove will finish construction on 75 apartment homes at Eagle Pointe, which will feature new designs and improvements to Maris Grove’s best-selling styles. Eagle Pointe will connect to the Cardinal Clubhouse, and as the community grows, so will the number of residents who own the latest electronic devices.

Community Resources Coordinator Sally Christy recently met with a group of e-reader owners. “Who knows?” she asks. “The next new campus book club might be an e-reader club.”

In addition to its nearly 12-foot-tall iconic statue of a seated Lincoln and 8-foot-tall columns erected in the Linden Ponds Catering Room, the Erickson Living community in Hingham, Mass., offered a full schedule of activities and exhibits. Created by Linden Ponds residents, the celebration commemorated the life of a president with heritage in their town.

Collaborative effort

Preparations for the event began nearly three months prior, with the restoration of the model statue, designed by Massachusetts artist Daniel Chester French and owned by Community Services Manager Joseph McStowe. Members of the Linden Ponds Repertory Company’s scenery department led by Roy Peterson took charge, painting and mending holes in the plaster and papier-mâché.

“It’s a lot of fun,” says William Gavin, a member of the scenery group and Lincoln event team, in the week before the event. “People are really going to like it,” he adds of the statue, which had remained hidden until the event kickoff on February 13, the day after Lincoln’s birthday.

“So many of our residents have been involved in preparing for this event—from our many organizations to the 60-member Linden Ponds Singers that will perform at the opening,” says McStowe. “It’s great to see our residents actively connect with the community’s heritage and with each other. There is always so much pride of community at Linden Ponds; it’s events like these that make this such a special place to live and work.”

The “Lincoln Experience,” as the event program deemed it, began with the screening of a short film produced by Linden Ponds’ on-site TV studio, LPTV-6, highlighting Lincoln’s accomplishments and local connections.

Local history

Samuel Lincoln, one of Abraham Lincoln’s ancestors and one of the country’s first colonists, lived in Hingham in the 1600s. Several additional generations of Lincoln descendents also lived in Hingham, and the town boasts its own President Lincoln statue.

“The people of Hingham feel Abraham Lincoln is one of them,” says Marty Saunders, a historian, artist, and Hingham native who lives at Linden Ponds. “The Lincoln family, those of whom stayed here, have been very important in Hingham history.”

Marty oversaw many of the efforts of the Linden Ponds Lincoln celebration, including the restoration of the sculpture. She also appeared in the LPTV-6 program, which was partly filmed along a bus tour she recently led of local Lincoln landmarks.

The Lincoln experience at Linden Ponds continued with visits through an exhibit of Civil War photos and letters owned by people living at Linden Ponds.

A lineup of documentaries and films dedicated to the life and legacy of Lincoln were also shown during the week, which culminated with a Presidents Day State Dinner based on White House menus, completing the immersive experience.

“Everybody contributed a little bit here and there; it was a lot of fun,” Marty says.

“I used to be shy, but since I moved here, it all changed. It’s contagious!” she writes in an article for the community’s monthly newsletter Mountain Matters, for which she volunteers. “When you stop and think about it, it isn’t that bad of a habit, at least at Cedar Crest.”

Pat moved to the Erickson Living community in Pompton Plains, N.J., in 2005, from Yonkers, N.Y. She had raised her family of five children there while working as a paralegal for her husband’s law firm.

“I was on the shy side, quiet,” she says. “I participated in church activities and played tennis, but I was definitely more shy then than I am now.”

Common change

Pat isn’t alone in discovering another side of her personality after moving to a community like Cedar Crest. Research by the American Seniors Housing Association (ASHA, 2009) shows that an average of 57% of new community members will change their behavior toward an increase in social life and activities upon moving to an adult community. Changes include making new friends, socializing with friends, trying new activities, participating more frequently in social events, and eating alone less frequently.

“Cedar Crest has opened options to [Pat] that she was unaware of living in her house,” says Bill Osborne, certified  business and lifestyle coach and president of The People Business. “Her sphere of socialization opened.”

Osborne explains that Pat’s personality before moving to Cedar Crest may or may not have been outgoing. But her life revolved around one “sphere of circumstances”—raising her children and working asa paralegal. “Upon moving to Cedar Crest, Pat was exposed to a different role and different opportunities,” he says. “She could be anyone she wanted to be; she blossomed there.” Osborne admits that change, at any age, is difficult. But, he says, for Pat and many people who move to an adult community, three variables converge to create a worthwhile shift in environment and lifestyle:

1. Openness of the individual

2. Appeal and invitation of the social environment

3. Normalcy of an active culture

With more than 180 clubs and activities and 2,000 peer community members, the culture at Cedar Crest invites people to get involved and socialize. Pat, for example, became  engaged in community activities like Mountain Matters, a pen pal program, the welcome committee, and church. But she attributes the majority of her personality transformation to being surrounded by friendly peers.

“Everyone here is so friendly; it’s one of the things that appealed to me. I wanted to return that friendliness,” she says.

Not in the house setting

Had Pat opted to stay in her house after her husband passed away and her children had grown and moved out, she most likely wouldn’t have had the opportunities she has found at Cedar Crest to stay active and socially engaged.

“The home setting can be stressful,” Osborne says. House and yard maintenance and other house management chores can hinder an older adult’s ability to socialize effectively. Additionally, “A person must do more planning for social activities in the house; whereas, in a community you’re invited in and it’s right there.”

The ASHA study also supports the viewpoint that the services and setting of a community, such as Cedar Crest, provide a better environment for socialization than a house. While the house may be comfortable and routine, it can lead to isolation, maintenance stress, and uncertainty in a medical emergency.

In a community like Cedar Crest, with all basic needs—including a medical center, pharmacy, restaurants, convenience store, classrooms and workshops, and fitness and aquatics center—under one roof, community members don’t have those worries and can focus on staying social and active.

Breaking out of her shell

When Pat first moved to the community, still swathed in her shy persona, she didn’t reach out and say hello to strangers in the hallway. Instead, she met them at dinner.

At Cedar Crest’s four restaurants, unassigned seating plays to newcomers’ advantage. In some of the restaurants, if a person or couple arrives alone, the staff offers to seat them at a table with other diners arriving around the same time. “I met most people at dinner,” Pat says of her first years.

Now a more carefree Pat meets people at dinner, in the hall, on the elevator, and through the many activities in which she participates.

“I am very happy and content and thankful that I’m here,” says Pat. “It’s given me independence that I wouldn’t have had in my house.”

It helps delay memory loss as we age

A study by the American Journal of Public Health shows that strong social ties can help maintain brain health as we age—as much as 50% less memory loss! The study also shows that social isolation may be a risk factor for cognitive decline. Socially engaged adults reap other benefits such as enhanced life experiences, increased physical  health, and even reduced risk of mortality.

Since July 2006, Morris served as the medical director of Monarch Landing, a retirement community located in the Chicago suburb of Naperville, Ill. During his five-year tenure, Morris made knowledge and accessibility pillars of his practice.

“I believe it’s important to treat the whole person and to provide opportunities to learn about health and wellness,” says Morris. “The more my patients know about keeping themselves well, the less often they will need me.”

While at Monarch Landing, Morris offered a popular series of monthly forums established to familiarize residents with the full landscape of current health care debates, developments, and breakthroughs for seniors.

Always on call

“One of the things I’ll enjoy the most about Ashby Ponds is that my patients will always be within walking distance of my office,” says Morris, referring to the on-site medical center, a feature of every Erickson Living community.

Morris makes himself available for same-day appointments. Like other Erickson Living communities, Ashby Ponds enables doctors to see their patients for a full 30 minutes, allowing them time to address all health needs, as well as important questions.

“When you need your doctor, you need your doctor,” Morris says. “No one should have to wait, whether they are sick or have a question about their health.”

Man of experience

Morris brings with him more than 23 years of experience practicing medicine. He is board certified in family practice and obtained two degrees, one in chiropractic medicine from Palmer College of Chiropractic, in Davenport, Iowa, and the other in osteopathic medicine from Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Morris to our community family,” says David Gallagher, executive director of Ashby Ponds. “He will be a tremendous asset to our residents in meeting their immediate medical needs as well as their long-term wellness goals.”

“I’m also very excited to be joining the Ashby Ponds community,” says Morris. “I continue to be impressed by the wonderful people I meet on campus. I encourage all of them to come by the medical center and say hi.”

“2011 was a banner year at Fox Run,” Executive Director Michael McCormick says. “There’s no coincidence that our resident satisfaction is the highest ever and our occupancy is the strongest in the history of Fox Run.”

Staff puts stock in residents’ feedback

Each year, Fox Run’s administration works in conjunction with its nine-member Resident Advisory Council to poll residents about their level of satisfaction in a number of categories—from food quality to appearance of grounds to friendliness of staff.

Bill Moran moved from Dearborn, Mich., to Fox Run in 2004. He currently chairs the Resident Advisory Council. Bill says Fox Run uses the Holleran report, a standardized polling form used by retirement communities around the country. The annual resident satisfaction survey asks community members to rank Fox Run on a variety of metrics and also provides an opportunity for them to give feedback in a written narrative.

“The [Holleran] form itself, once you take those numbers and read the narratives, gives you some reliability across communities,” Bill says. “Whenever I talk to people at Fox Run, the overall feeling is that this is a great place to live.”

Leading the pack on several fronts

Michael says Fox Run scored highly in a number of areas. The community’s top-rated factor was “landscaping and grounds are attractive and kept clean,” McCormick says. Fox Run scored 97% on that metric, which McCormick says is number one among all Erickson Living communities and in the 99th percentile for the entire industry.

Ninety-one percent of Fox Run residents say the staff is “competent and good at what they do,” and 90% say the staff “responds promptly and effectively to complaints or inquiries.” McCormick says both of those areas scored highest among all Erickson Living communities in 2011.

Shout-out to Fox Run staff

“Erickson does a number of good jobs, but the greatest job is in the quality of hires,” Bill says. “The people who head up food service, the medical staff, the social workers—they all do quite an amazing job. The number of great people they hire here astounds me.”

Bill, who has served on the Resident Advisory Council for six years, says he concurs that the staff at Fox Run pays attention to residents’ concerns. If residents feel something isn’t up to snuff or if they have ideas for improvement, Bill says they are welcome and encouraged to address the issue directly with the appropriate department head.

“All we ask is that people come forward,” Bill says. “So we have processes and suggestion forms to help facilitate that.”

Residents proud to spread the word

Most importantly to McCormick, a full 96% of respondents say they would recommend Fox Run to a friend.

“Word of mouth is our best advertiser, and our happy residents are most definitely telling their friends about the amazing lifestyle and amenities they enjoy at Fox Run,” McCormick says.

“We’re fortunate to live in a part of the country where we can be outdoors most of the year,” says Eagle’s Trace resident Donna Craig. “It makes sense to take advantage of our mild climate.”

Toward that end, the new extended care neighborhood, with four levels of care—short-term rehabilitation, assisted living, nursing care, and memory care—will feature multiple courtyards and gardens so the people who live there can spend time outdoors in a beautiful setting.

Additionally, many of the assisted living apartments in the neighborhood will have patios, a feature that’s not typical at many continuing care communities, says Phil Shockley, associate executive director at Eagle’s Trace and administrator for the new extended care neighborhood.

“When you go outside, the whole world opens up. It’s invigorating,” says Donna. “I’m glad to see the outdoor spaces incorporated into the design of the new neighborhood. It should be a place that revitalizes the body and spirit.”

A balancing act

Now you shouldn’t give candy right before dinner time if the parent objects. But as an older person you may not be physically able to do all the things that parents can, like run alongside while he learns to ride a bike or bend over to push her on a swing. So gift-giving is an important way of making a connection with children. That’s why grandparents have been doing this forever. The time you get to spend with a grandchild is very important to you, and if gift-giving helps oil the gears so that the child is more willing to spend time with you, so be it.

If the parents raise a big fuss over your tendency to spoil, then you have to back down. Or you could sneak a gift in occasionally when they’re not looking, letting it be your little secret. I know, I know, that runs counter to what a lot of people think. But seeing the smile on a little one’s face is worth far more than the gift itself, and you paid your dues raising one of the child’s parents, so you should get a little leeway. Parents these days are so busy, they may not even pay much attention to what you’re doing, so use that to your advantage and give in to the urge to create a little pleasure for you and your grandchild.

Had Jim still lived in his house, in Warminster, Pa., instead of Erickson Living’s community in Bucks County, he would have been outside shoveling a very long driveway. Instead, he watched the Ann’s Choice professional grounds crew deal with the mess. “They plow 24/7 when they need to,” he says.

What matters most

Jim has none of the worries of owning a house: “If my sink needs a washer, I have people. If my drain runs slow, I have people.” A phone call brings expert maintenance staff to his aid. “They’re prompt, efficient, and they get the job done,” he says.

Jim lives in a one-bedroom Dawson apartment home. It’s a snap to clean, and it readily accommodates what matters most to him.

“Keep heirlooms you’ll actually use, and give your kids the things they want,” Jim advises.

He chose Ann’s Choice for its size and its vibrant, active, friendly residents. “They’re still growing, learning, and participating, and there’s always something going on,” he says.

Enjoying life

“No matter where you move from, you fit right in, and your neighbors help you,” Jim says.

His niche is enjoying life: “I do what I think will be fun and interesting and enjoyable for me each day.” Today that could mean horseshoes. Tomorrow it could mean tennis, cards, or billiards with his Warminster buddies or with his new neighbors. “When you’re all living right here you can say, ‘Let’s do this,’ and it happens,” Jim says.

An avid walker, he’s landed in a neighborhood that’s a walker’s paradise. Outdoors he rambles the community’s 100-acre campus or walks nextdoor in Warminster Park. In inclement weather, because climate-controlled, enclosed walkways connect every campus building, he walks indoors.

He’s also taken up new interests ranging from the campus theater group to water volleyball games in the aquatics center.

And, guided by tech-savvy neighbors, he’s even entered the computer age. He heads to any of the community’s three computer labs to email friends and family. Last year he did some first-ever online shopping. And when he gets into glitches, there’s always someone at the lab to help.

Such neighborliness can’t be measured in material terms. But every evening when Jim gathers with friends to talk and laugh over dinner in one of the five restaurants at Ann’s Choice, he knows they’re the things that make life so enjoyable.