A desire among many seniors is to "age in place." Aging in place is a term used to describe a person living in their own house, for as long as they are able to, as they age. Yes, the familiarity of your current home is the advantage of aging in place, but the potential financial drawbacks to renovate (翻新) the house might actually be more costly than the long-term benefits.
40 years ago, with a growing family, you probably purchased a 4-bedroom child-friendly house. Now, with kids moving out, you might be thinking about changing one of your bedrooms into a massive master bathroom, and another into an open-space reading area. You might also be thinking about cutting back on lawn maintenance(草坪维护) by installing a pool surrounded by beautiful paving stones. It all sounds wonderful, doesn't it2 For the short term, you may really enjoy the new
upgrades, but you' II still have to climb those stairs nay to heat and cool a home that's larger than what you need, and continue fixing all the hings that start to go wrong with a 40-year-old home.
Last month, in their Retirement Report, Kiplinger: addressed the point, "Renovations are just a part of what you need to make aging in place work for you while it's typically less expensive to remain in your home than to pay for assisted living, that doesn't mean it's a slam dunk to stay put. You'll still have a long to-do list. You need to plan ahead for how you will manage maintenance and care-for your home, and for yourself."
So, at some point, the time may come when you decide to sell this house anyway. That can pose a big challenge if you've already taken cash value out of your home and used it to do the type of renovation we mentioned above. The family moving into your neighborhood is probably similar to what your family was 40 years ago.
