8 Things Every Senior Deserves, part 1

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following is a podcast from a qualified senior care provider, hurt, on the answers for elders radio show. And welcome everyone to the answers for elders radio network. And it’s been we are here in two thousand and twenty two in the month of February and I can’t even believe that we’re halfway through as we’re recording this podcasts. For those of you that are listening in recent time, if you’re here and listening to us later, I think this for this guest is really, really important for anybody to listen to, no matter where you are in living in your home. And one of the things that it’s run it’s kind of interesting, kind of there’s a pattern with seniors and what happens is usually around the holidays you maybe have been around see you know, a senior loved one and seeing you know, I’m not real sure that they’re real good at living in their home anymore. And you know, but you’re really realizing, well, I can’t do anything right now, but we’re going to start looking at options in the spring. But even to get a house ready for sale takes a very long process and so the timing could not even be better to start dialogging about if you have a loved one and it in in that situation, that maybe looking at either selling a big family home, if you yourself are looking to downsize and maybe you’re in my age group, the s early s time, thinking I don’t need to take care of a huge, big house anymore. This is a podcast I think that is really, really important for you to listen to. And we had answered for elders. Just a little side note. We talked to people that sell houses all the time that want to be on our program for obvious reasons, we turn most of them down and the main reason is is that they don’t have they just don’t have the proper knowledge base and connections that our guest does today. And so, with just framing that up, we’re really, really thrilled to have back Rebecca Bowman, CEO of Sash Services here in the Pacific Northwest, and Rebecca, welcome back to answers for elders. Thank you, Susanne, what a lovely welcome. It’s so good to be here with you today. Well, I am so I have to tell you. You know you you interviewed with us on Northwest Radio here about maybe it’s two years ago now and when we had you on, we got a lot of phone calls from our listeners, I’m just in northwest radio, because they couldn’t believe. And one of the things is, you know, questions is, are they really for real? Do they really do all these amazing things for seniors? And I said absolutely lutely. And and so this is why I’m so glad that you guys are back on a regular basis. Now we’re going to be talking to Rebecca ongoing, because I think this is a really important time for a lot of us. Are Reevaluating, you know, our living situation, simplifying life, different things like that. The family homes, you know, people are downsizing, they’re moving into different types of you know, lower maintenance type living or higher care type living. And so, Rebecca, tell us a little bit. I know you have a really important list of what we talked we’re going to talk about today in what makes I’m Bet I’m going to start it out. What is unique about a senior or an older adult, you know, downsizing or selling their home? What a great question, Susanne. That is such an important question and I believe a lot of realtors come into their visit with the senior homeowner with sort of the same mind frame that they would to a thirty year old or forty year old selling their home. And the way they do this is they come in and say, okay, well, looks like we’ve got all these things to take care of here in your home. Let me make a list for you. Here’s your to do list, and when you have finished getting your home ready for market, call me and I’ll be happy to list it and sell it for you. HMM. And the senior is standing there with their walker and their little dogs around and the house feels so overwhelming and they go here’s how in the world am I going to do this, this to do list? There’s no way. And so they need someone who understands that and who’s not going to put that burden on them, because it’s paralyzing to feel like, wow, I have three pages of things to do to sell my home. Forget it, I just won’t Ye. And then they up and up staying sort of isolated and not being able to go enjoy that new community that they really want to because it’s too overwhelming to sell their home. And so, yeah, a whole different set of needs and all different set of sensitivities, and so I’m really glad we get to be here today to talk with you about this. Yes, and so you’re going to talk to us a little bit about, I guess, a seniors rights and I think that’s really like a bill of rights per se. And, Rebecca, I would like you have like eight, quote unquote, rights for Seniors and anybody that he has been through this process and and certainly I am very excited, I don’t even know what they are. So you’re going to start educating me on those. So what’s number one? Well, let me set a little groundwork before jump in here. A Lotus. And so the what? The list that I’m going to go through are eight things that every senior homeowner deserves in their home sale. Of It. They deserve this in their home sale. It doesn’t matter what kind of home they’re selling. It could be a little cottage, a condo in the city, sprawling acreage with equestrian pastures. It could be their dream home, a house on a bluff overlooking a water view, a manufactured home in a park. I have taken care of people who’ve sold their home for Sixteenzero dollars, all the way up to millions and they’re all equally terrified. It doesn’t matter what kind of home that they’re selling, it doesn’t matter how old they are or how long they’ve lived in the home. It just feels really scary. And the reason is is because they’re leaving the familiar, the known, the comfort, everything that they get to see on a daily basis and their home, the pictures on the wall, the memories with families, the holidays that were spent there, and they’re moving into the unknown and that’s a huge step. So it might be a senior care community, maybe they don’t know anybody there. So it’s kind of like will people like me? Will I make friends? Or they’re moving across country to live with the family member. Moving into the unknown as scary. Yeah, and so I’ve sat in so many living rooms and dining rooms over the years, and I mean hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, where I’ve been across the table from them while they’re about to go through this journey, and so that close proximity to their experience has given me a real strong conviction about things every senior homeowner should have in their home sale, that they should experience regardless, like that bill of rights, you say, right, and so shall we dive into number? Yes, let’s die. The first one, and this might seem intuitive but it’s really not, is kindness, kindness in the journey, because many times this is happening in stressful situations and the layers start to come off of people’s speech because they’re stressed. We have to move, we have to get the home sold, we have to clean it out, and they forget that this is so hard and scary for the senior. Sure, and so they need to just cloak all of their communication with kindness, validating for the senior that this is hard. This is hard, and letting them be scared or upset or emotional about the process. Sometimes seniors can get even grumpy or angry because they really don’t want to be going through this. They’d rather stay in their home, no matter how they’re processing it. A kind word and empathetic word, just saying this is hard and acknowledging the courage that they need and the acceptance it takes to go through it. Sure, so that’s our first one, is kindness, no matter what sense. It makes total sense absolutely. The second one is patients, and this is really hard for caregivers. You’re nodding because you went through this. And the thing is is every senior homeowner is going through their own journey of their homesale and their own timeline, and so very well meeting caregivers and family members come in and go, okay, shipshape, let’s go. It’s just July. Let’s have this place sold by September. Let’s get you moved out. I’m putting a deposit down next week in the senior home was going, Whoa, I’m not sure you’re an asked ready. I’m not ready. And I’ve had people work. I’ve worked with clients who, Gosh, one guy kept my business card for seven and a half years until he was ready. Another gentleman called me and I went to his home and sat in his living room and he said I’m moving in three years, and he knew the date because that’s when his place would be built. It was a new community they are building and I want to start now. Great, good for her. Another couple, they went on a fourteen month waiting list waiting for their apartment. Or sometimes they want to move next week. But we want to give them the respect of their timeline of when they’re ready, because the happiest senior homeowner is the one who got to move on their timeline and when we were ready for this big step, and not just because this was a convenient time for everyone else to take care absolutely and also just when you’re saying that, it’s like how often families will say, you know, mom or Dad, you know, I’m going to take over, and that doesn’t work either. It’s like nobody in our industry wants somebody to do something that they don’t want to do right. And and that’s the thing that I think is so important, because the fear factor raises up so high. This is an emotionally charged time for every family member. It’s not just the the mom, but it could be the adult sun because they don’t they don’t want mom or dad to sell the house right. They want X, Y Z or whatever that might be. The point of the matter being is is that it they do. They need to do things on their timeline and we need to give them their respect of that. Patients and through. Yeah, and you know, this is so valuable because when I look at this and I think to myself, wow, you know, those two points alone. If how many times are there realtors that are calling you, you know, every week about let’s get this paperwork done and let’s call this and you know you can’t push people harder than when they’re ready. And so again that’s the empathy side, the kind of side that you know. That piece. So, Rebecca, how do we reach you before we go on to our next segment? We have a fabulous website at sash servicescom. Soo, Sash Servicescom, and there’s lots of information there and we’re also in social media and Youtube absolutely and you know everyone. Rebecca will be right back. We’re going to be talking about eight things that a senior deserves. You just got the first two and there’s more coming up right after this answers for elders radio show with Suzanne Newman. Hopes you found this podcast useful in your journey of navigating senior care. Check out more podcasts like this to help you find qualified senior care experts and areas of financial, legal, health and wellness and living options. Learn about our radio show, receive promotional discounts and meet our experts by clicking on the banner to join the Senior Advocate Network at answers for elders RADIOCOM. Now there is one place to find the answers for elders,