When my parents needed more care than I could get for them at home I started exploring “senior living” options. I toured several assisted living communities with my parents.
During our tours, I quickly learned that I was actually the target audience and the “social workers” I talked to were salespeople.
My parents did not like any of the options. Neither would ever admit they needed help with anything.
Assisted living with memory care is even more complicated especially when the elder just wants to stay home but won’t tolerate anyone coming into the home to help.
When seniors end up in the hospital as they are prone to do there are social workers there who have housing ‘resources”. Those resources are printed from web sites that everyone has access too. The social workers do not know anything about senior housing except to print pages from websites advertising senior housing.
There are services online that offer assistance with senior housing. What they don’t tell you is that they are paid by the companies that own the senior housing. I don’t have a problem with that except for the fact that it isn’t disclosed and those housing experts don’t share any actual credentials.
It isn’t hard to find senior housing with 5-star ratings. Ratings for all things real estate tend to be 5 star.
There is one free service that offers help with finding senior housing and that is the Senior Linkage Line. They are run by the Minnesota Board of Aging. The services are free. As a Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES)
I have found that most REALTORS have never heard of the service including those who are senior specialists, probably because the courses for certification are through the national association, not the state.
All Minnesota seniors need to call the linkage line (1-800-333-2433) before signing a lease or contract for senior housing for free counceling. The Linkage line Specialist will ask some basic questions and discuss options. At the end of the call the caller recieves a verification number.
They also provide help in other areas.
Also, see:
SRES Designation; Senior Specialist
I am a Senior Real Estate Specialist. I also work with families who need to sell their parent’s real estate.
