A Team of Professionals Can Help Make Senior Downsizing Stress Free

Moving can be a stressful experience for anyone. For Seniors, Moving and Downsizing can be extremely stressful with all that is involved. Working with a team of professionals can help make Senior Downsizing stress free. Seniors usually have a life time of possessions to deal with and the stress of what to do with all of their stuff can be overwhelming. The Sullivan & Sullivan team have surrounded themselves with professionals who have a passion in working with senior clients. We help our clients organize their possessions and determine what to do with everything. Our packers and movers help the client determine what will fit in their new home, move them, unpack and get the clients new home set-up and organized. Our Estate Sale team can help clients sell possessions that they are not keeping or giving to family. Sometimes a client needs to do some repairs to the home they are moving from so that they can get the maximum return from their home investment. We have trusted home repair experts who can help make repairs reasonably and reliably. Our goal is to help clients have a downsizing experience that is as stress free as possible, so that they can start enjoying their new lifestyle.

Recently we help our client, Doris Woodard with the downsizing process and below is an interview with Doris regarding her experience.

Senior Downsizing Experience

Here are a couple more articles on downsizing:

Senior Downsizing a 5 Step Plan

How Do You Know It's Time to Downsize

Please click this link to contact the Sullivan & Sullivan Real Estate Team if you have any additional questions about Senior Downsizing.

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The Importance of Senior Estate Planning

Because our business is centered on helping Senior’s Downsize in addition to being children of aging parents, we have come to realize the importance of  Senior Estate Planning for seniors and their children.

According to Guy Garner, Arlington Elder Law Attorney, “The term “estate planning” has been defined as the art of designing a plan for the effective
enjoyment, management, and disposition of property at the minimum possible legal and tax cost.”  Mr. Garner’s client, defined estate planning in this manner:
“We want to control our property while we are alive and well, care for ourselves
and our loved ones if we become disabled, and be able to give what we have, to
whom we want, the way we want, and when we want, and, if we can, we want to
save every last tax dollar, attorney fee, and court cost possible.”
Garner believes there are six basic, essential estate planning tools that should be used, or at least strongly considered, for every adult living in the state of Texas.

TOOL NUMBER ONE – WILLS/LIVING TRUSTS

TOOL NUMBER 2 – A DURABLE GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
(Someone to watch over my daily business affairs)

TOOL NUMBER 3 – MEDICAL POWER OF ATTORNEY
(Someone to watch over me in a medical emergency)

TOOL NUMBER 4 – DECLARATION OF GUARDIAN
(Someone to watch over me if I become incompetent)

TOOL NUMBER 5 – THE LIVING WILL/DIRECTIVE TO PHYSICIANS
(My instructions for care if I am terminally ill or have an incurable disease)

TOOL NUMBER 6 – THE HIPAA RELEASE DOCUMENT

Mr. Garner has a very informative and more extensive article called “The Texas Six and it can be found by clicking on this link.”  We have used Mr. Garner for our parent’s estate planning and would highly recommend him for his expertise and caring manner.

Other estate planning resources that you may want to consider:

AARP - Legal Documents You Need Now!

Texas Your Lawyers Association - Seniors and the Law

As always the Sullivan & Sullivan team are available to help you with your Senior Downsizing needs.  Feel free to contact us by clicking here.

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Safety Tips for Tornados and Severe Weather

It’s that time of year in the Dallas Fort Worth and North Texas area when Severe Weather disrupts our lives. Here are some Safety Tips for Tornados and Severe Weather. More tornadoes occur in the United States than any other country in the world, and more tornadoes occur in Texas than any other state.

Tornados

• When you faced with a tornado warning Below-ground shelters, and reinforced "safe rooms" provide the best protection against tornadic winds.
• Basements are rare in North Texas but if you happen to have a basement, seek shelter in the Northeast corner of a basement.
• If a basement is not available, go to the smallest, most-interior room on the lowest floor, such as a closet or bathroom. Cover yourself to protect your body from flying debris.
• In schools, hospitals, factories or shopping centers, go to the smallest, most-interior rooms and hallways on the lowest floor. Stay away from glass enclosed places or areas with wide-span roofs such as auditoriums and warehouses. Crouch down and cover your head. Sometimes in restaurants or grocery stores people seek refuge in walk-in cooler.
• In high rise buildings, go to the smallest, most-interior rooms or hallways. Stay away from exterior walls and windows. In some buildings like a banks people commonly seek shelter in vaults.
• In cars or mobile homes, abandon them immediately!! Cars and mobile homes provide no protection from tornadic winds. If you are in either of those locations, leave them and go to a substantial structure or designated tornado shelter. Do not attempt to seek shelter beneath an overpass or bridge.  They provide little or no shelter and have proved to be deadly options.
• If caught in the open, lie flat in a culvert, ditch or depression and cover your head.

Lightning

Lightning is a threat anywhere thunderstorms occur.  If you hear thunder, it is time to take shelter. 

• When inside:
  - Avoid using the telephone, or other electrical appliances.
  - Do not take a bath or shower, or stand near plumbing.
• If caught outdoors:
  - Seek shelter in a sturdy building.  A hard-top automobile can also offer protection.
  - If you are boating or swimming, get out of the water and move to a safe shelter on land.
  - If you are in a wooded area, seek shelter under a thick growth of relatively small trees.
  - If you feel your hair standing on end, squat with your head between your knees. Do not lie flat!
  - Avoid isolated trees or other tall objects, water, fences, convertible cars, tractors and motorcycles.

Flash Floods
Flash Floods develop quickly.  They can occur anywhere, along rivers or creeks, in low water crossings or in a dry stream bed. They can occur during any month and at any time during the day. In fact, flash floods often occur at night when it is difficult to find an escape route.  Flash floods can be deceptive. Flood waters are likely deeper and moving faster than you think.

• When driving:
  - Avoid low water crossings.
  - Use alternate routes to avoid flood prone areas.
  - Leave your vehicle immediately if it stalls in flood waters.
  - Move to higher ground if you can do so safely.
  - Most cars and light trucks will begin to float in as little as 12 inches of water.
  - Act quickly, rising waters make vehicle doors difficult to open.
• If you are outside:
  - Everyone, especially children, should stay away from flooded creeks, streams or drainage ditches.
  - Swiftly flowing water can quickly sweep away even the strongest swimmers.
  - Soggy banks can collapse, dumping you into flood waters.

Hail

• In a car: Stop driving. If you can see a safe place close-by to drive to (like inside a garage or under a service station awning), do so as soon as you can. Make sure you pull completely off the highway. Do not stop under bridges or overpasses!
• Do NOT leave the vehicle until it stops hailing. Your car will furnish reasonable protection. Stay away from car windows. Cover your eyes with something (Carry a blanket in your car or use a piece of clothing). If possible, get onto the floor face down, or lay down on the seat with your back to the windows. Put very small children under you, and cover their eyes.
• In a building: seek shelter immediately in a sturdy building. Stay inside until the hail stops. Stay away from skylights and windows, especially windows that are being struck by hail.
• If you are caught outdoors, seek shelter immediately. If you can’t find something to protect your entire body, at least find something to protect your head. Stay out of culverts and lowland areas that might fill suddenly with water. Trees are a last resort. It is common during severe storms for trees to lose branches. Also, large isolated trees attract lightning.

After a severe weather event if you are faced with roof or other damage that needs to be repaired and need a recommendation for a good roofing company or construction contractor who can help you with home repairs, contact the Sullivan & Sullivan team, Your Real Estate Professionals.

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How Do You Know It’s Time to Downsize?

Is it time to move to a smaller home or downsize? Do you live in a large home with stairs to climb, too many rooms to heat and cool and too much on-going maintenance? Maybe you could use some of the equity you’ve built up in your current home. As our lives change so do our housing needs. That too big home may have been perfect when raising kids, it offered plenty of room and was close to good schools, and was in a great neighborhood. Now the kids have moved on, the neighborhood has changed, and so have your housing needs. So, how do you know it’s time to downsize?

• Do You Need the Equity From Your Current Home?
  In 2010 the median home equity for those between the ages of 55 and 64 was $100,000, according to Reuters. Americans aged 65 and over did even better; they typically claimed $135,000 in home equity. This built up equity may be your main retirement savings. Sometimes selling a home and converting that equity to cash will help you move to a retirement community or smaller maintenance free home.
• Do You Have Too Much House?
  Are you paying taxes, utilities, insurance and maintenance for a home that is too large for your current lifestyle? Would moving to a smaller, lower priced home, condo or apartment be easier to manage and save you resources?
• Does Your Home Work With Your Current Physical Ability?
  Do you have stairs that are now too much or unsafe for you to climb? Is there too much upkeep and maintenance for you to manage in your current home? Do you need more access ability for a walker or wheelchair?
• Do You Want To Be Closer to Family, Friends or Doctors?
  Would you like to move closer to family so that you can spend more time with your kids and grandchildren? Maybe your doctors or stores where you like to shop are not convenient. Are there good friend or relatives that you would like to live closer to?
• Would A Move Improve Your Lifestyle?
  Maybe you’ve always wanted to travel and would like to live in a small home that you could lock and leave so that you can visit those destinations on your wish list. Have you always wanted to live by a golf course, a beach or the mountains? Maybe you would like to live in a senior community that offers low maintenance living, social activities, bridge clubs, great meals, or health and wellness programs. Here are some of AARPs Best Places to Live lists.

As you can see there are a number of considerations when deciding to downsize. Downsizing can be for financial, health, family or lifestyle reasons. Consider the reasons, talk it over with your family and seek advice from financial, legal and real estate professionals. Careful planning and sound advice are crucial to a successful move.
We would love to assist you with planning for your downsize. 
The Sullivan & Sullivan real estate team specializes in helping older adults with the sometimes daunting downsize journey.   One of the resources we offer our clients is a complimentary “Downsizing Made Easy Guide.”  Click here to contact us for more information.

Technorati Tags: Senior,Adult,Downsize,Real Estate,Selling a home,AARP,Moving

The Wimbledon Neighborhood in Arlington, TX

The Wimbledon neighborhood in Arlington, TX  is a 2-square-mile area just south of I-20. Some of the residents still live in the first houses built, since they were built in the late 1970s and early ’80s. There are residents who grew up in Wimbledon, left then came back with their own children. Newcomers are attracted to the upscale houses with large yards and mature trees and landscaping.  The tennis-theme neighborhood name and street names pay homage to a popular racket club that anchored the neighborhood which burned in 1991 and was not replaced.

The homeowners association covers 177 lots in the original neighborhood, bounded by Bowen Road on the west, Bardin Road on the north, Old Mansfield Road on the east and Wimbledon Drive on the south. Home prices range from $220,000 to $600,000. The Wimbledon neighborhood is serviced by both the Arlington and Mansfield school districts.

Newer developments within Wimbledon have grown around the original neighborhood include: Wimbledon on the Creek, The Estates Above Wimbledon, Deerwood Park, Ouro Verde, and Buckingham Estates.

The Wimbledon Garden Club was formed in 1980 and is the principal organization of the neighborhoods. The Garden club has been beautifying the neighborhood since its inception doing chores like planting flowers and trees, pulling weeds, and spreading mulch. Click here for more information on the Wimbledon Garden Club found on the City of Arlington website.

The Garden Club was instrumental in getting the neighborhood’s main feature, the 
1,592-acre Wimbledon Park, built in 1985 at 2300 Wimbledon Drive. A major highlight of Wimbledon Park, on Wimbledon Drive is a fitness course that includes three fitness areas. There is a 1.1 mile trail with numerous curves and hills, great for runners and walkers.

Wimbledon is conveniently located close to shopping at the Parks Mall, Arlington Highlands and The Village at Sports Center shopping plaza which is located right at the corner of South Cooper and Wimbledon Drive. The neighborhood offers easy access to I-20 for commuting around the metro area.

Click here to see homes for sale in the Wimbledon neighborhood.

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Sullivan & Sullivan Real Estate Team Aims to Empower Seniors to be Proactive about Late-in-Life Choices

Ingrid and John Sullivan are passionate about helping Seniors make the transition from a larger home to a more manageable living situation.  By focusing on helping Seniors, the Sullivan & Sullivan Real Estate Team aims to empower Seniors to be proactive about Late-in-Life choices. 

As real estate professionals who have managed late-in-life moves for a number of clients, including their own parents  – the Sullivan's are  thoroughly aware of how emotional, complicated and stressful the process can be for seniors and their families. Their message to seniors and their families: "You’re Not Alone."

That’s why the Sullivan's have stepped up to the role of Arlington’s top advocates for a proactive, positive approach to where and how to spend one’s later years. During their hour-and -a-half presentation entitled, "Downsize Your Home to Upsize Your Lifestyle," Ingrid & John present seniors with a framework for getting started on a plan, and urges attendees to look at all of the options available for a new chapter of life that calls for less maintenance and allows for more freedom and fun.

For more information about their downsizing seminars and upcoming dates for the next seminars, see this press release.

Technorati Tags: Seniors,downsizing,Arlington,Downsizing Seminar,Sullivan and Sullivan,Senior Downsizing

Town Village is the Premier Independent Living Community in Arlington, TX

 If you are looking for an Independent Living Community in Arlington, you’ll like what you see at Town Village. Brookdale’s Town Village is the Premier Independent Living Community in Arlington, TX. Town Village Arlington is an exceptional Independent Living Community option for seniors.

As you enter the community you are greeted by gorgeous landscaping and a cozy wrap-around covered porch with seating areas. Once you enter the front doors you will enjoy the tastefully decorated living and meeting areas.

Town Village offers 215 apartments with full kitchens. There are studio, one bedroom, and two bedrooms apartments with several different floor plans to accommodate resident’s needs.

Residents dine in the beautiful dining room and can choose from a number of delicious meal choices at each meal. The healthy meals are prepared by trained chefs and served by an attentive wait staff. Lunch and dinner are served Monday through Saturday, on Sundays and Holidays there is a wonderful brunch and various breakfast choices are served daily.

Some of the areas enjoyed by residents are the library, billiard room, fitness facilities, and an arts and craft room. There are a number of public living areas where residents enjoy other activities like dominos, card games, puzzles, and visiting. Services that set Town Village apart from other Senior Communities are the very accommodating transportation services with 4 vehicles and 5 drivers, Call Pendants with GPS tracking, Exercise and Wellness programs, and Housekeeping, all of which are included in the monthly rent. Additional services offered by Town Village Arlington include: On-site therapy, Beauty Salon, Pet Walking, Laundry, and Medication Reminders.

Residents at Town Village range in age from 62 to 100 years old. There are a few residents who have lived at Town Village since it was built about 13 years ago. The friendliness of the residents and staff is what residents say they love about living at Town Village. Favorite activities of the residents include: Bingo, Visits to local museums, Outings to the Symphony and Plays, and monthly trips to the Casino. Click here to see the monthly calendar of activities at Town Village Arlington. Watch this video to see what residents and families have to say about Town Village.

Stop by Town Village at 1250 W. Pioneer Parkway, Arlington, TX or contact them at 817-226-0500

 

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