How much can I get from a reverse mortgage?

A reverse mortgage is a means by which you can access a percentage of the equity in your home. How big of a percentage depends on two factors:

·       Your age (62 minimum)
·       The current interest rates

Lenders use FHA actuarial tables based on you living to 100 and the expected loan rate to determine exactly what percentage they will loan. If the expected rate for the loan (how the lender expects it to average over the next 10 years) is 5.50% (the rate floor) or lower, I have a rule of thumb you can use. Please note that this is not a promise by any means – it just gets you in the general ballpark.

Loan Percentage = Age (as a percentage) – 5%

If the expected rate of the loan is over 5.50%, the loan percentage starts dropping quickly. A 1% increase to 6.50% can decrease the loan percentage 9% or more.

So at 5.50% loan rate, an 85-year-old might net 80% of their home value while a 62-year-old might net 57%. If the loan rate increases to 6.50%, those loan percentages drop to about 71% and 48% respectively.

Lower-value homes net less because the fixed closing costs are a bigger factor to the overall transaction cost. Manufactured home costs can be slightly higher because they often need stem wall upgrades to meet FHA standards.

Dave Parker
602-750-8166
Your Reverse Mortgage Resource
www.ParkerInReverse.com

Image: graytimes.com

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

As a caregiver, I’ve always felt that it’s my duty to keep my care recipients in the best health possible, so I try to encourage activities that promote health. I have always encouraged resistance training and weight-bearing exercises in order to prevent bone density loss, but recently after reading some new information, I’ve had to reconsider whether or not that’s the wisest idea; because apparently the positives don’t actually outweigh the negatives, at least not as it was once believed. With everything there’s obviously a chance of injury, and while I don’t believe on steering clear of things just because there’s a potential risk, there better be a good reason to take that risk. Apparently, with resistance training for bone density, the potential bone loss can only be increased by up to 3%, and the required exercises can result in serious spinal problems that can be more crippling than even the effects of reduced bone density or osteoporosis.

So as a caregiver, I’ve had to think long and hard to determine what’s better for my Phoenix senior. While doctors may say that resistance training is the way to go, others aren’t so sure. Of course, these decisions aren’t up to me alone; my senior has a mind of her own when it comes to her health, and her family is always looking after her well-being as well. But as her primary caregiver, I choose the activities that we do together, and it’s up to me to encourage or discourage activities like resistance training. After speaking with my care recipient’s doctor and her family, we’ve decided that we’ll keep resistance training as part of the routine, because the benefits are still there, and after years, the potential risks have yet to show themselves to us. But it is interesting, how as caregivers, we need to constantly re-evaluate techniques and methods as information and opinions are constantly changing.

Sources:

1. Suite101
2. Mayo Clinic

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

Home Cooking for Seniors - a Pressure Cooker of Stress for Caregivers of Older Adults

Adult daughters – who typically serve as home cooks for seniors – are feeling the heat in the kitchen, according to a recent study of family caregivers.  The stress is especially high for adult children who are caring and cooking for someone with several nutritional risk factors.

Research conducted for the local caregiving company Home Instead Senior Care revealed caring for an older person who has three or more nutritional risk factors is tied to increased stress levels.  Of the caregivers who rated their lives as extremely stressful, 67 percent were caring for loved ones with three or more nutritional risk factors compared with 33 percent of caregivers whose seniors had fewer than three nutritional risk factors.

Adult children caring for an older adult (average age 81) reported the top three nutritional risks as:

1. Three or more prescribed or over-the-counter drugs per day.

2. An illness or condition that made the senior change his or her diet.

3. Having lost or gained more than 10 pounds in the past six months without trying.

That’s why Home Instead Senior Care has partnered with national nutrition experts from the University of Maryland and Duke University Medical Center to promote healthy, stress-free grocery shopping and meal preparation tips and recipes for families in New Haven.

Read the full story on Sun City and Scottsdale Family Caregiving Help

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

While seniors may have very different fitness goals than people of younger generations, with a focus that is strictly based upon health and longevity rather than physical appearance in most cases, people of all generations can benefit from keeping a diet and fitness journal to improve their health. For Phoenix seniors, keeping track of physical fitness can allow their families and medical professionals to see how their physical condition is improving or declining with age. Tracking nutrition can likewise help doctors evaluate the causes of medical conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes, and allow them to make changes to help treat these issues.

Seniors can use a simple notepad in order to record what they’re eating and how active they’ve been, but using this method requires them to remember to keep track of all aspects of their diet and exercise routines. For those seniors that are computer literate, there are online exercise and diet journals that allow them to keep track of all of the important factors, without requiring them to remember the points that they might be missing.

DietMinder Journals and BodyMinder Journals are two popular online software packages that allow seniors to keep track of their diet and exercise routines. Generally, the BodyMinder journal allows seniors to exercise stats, weekly progress, workout schedule and more, and also allows them to plan and record exercises, cardio activities, intensity level, calories burned and nutritional information. The DietMinder Journal helps seniors keep track of calories, fat, carbs, protein and fiber for each meal and snack they eat; plus when they eat their meals.

With options that so easily allow seniors to track their diet and fitness in order to monitor their health, there’s no excuse not to get started!

For information on senior health see this article.

Sources:

1. Suite101

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

I spend 7 days a week with the Phoenix senior that I care for, and it can be challenging to come up with activities that we both enjoy, that also have benefits to his health based on his advanced age. One activity that we’ve found that is mutually enjoyable and has all the benefits is hiking outdoors in the many nice areas that can be found around Phoenix. We pack a lunch and often go out for the day, taking our time through the trails and stopping to look at the scenery and wildlife that we come across, often discussing the bird sounds we hear and trying to relate them to the species that we know can be found in the area.

Since my care recipient is in his 70’s, I always take added precautions when going out, because accidents can happen anywhere or anytime despite how careful we are. But with proper planning, even the unexpected can be managed, which is more of a concern when out in the middle of the wilderness. So for any other caregivers looking to introduce outdoor hiking to their care recipients, here are a few safety tips that I would recommend.

• Never hike alone – hiking with a friend, family member or caregiver ensures that there is someone there to help in an emergency. A hiking buddy can also help a senior get up steep slopes, or provide support over uneven terrain
• Plan ahead – study maps of the hiking area, and if taking a longer trip, leave a copy of your route with someone not attending the hike. Also check to make sure that the weather conditions will be good. Even bad weather days before the hike, like rain, can cause danger as there is likely to be slippery rocks or mud that can cause falls
• Dress appropriately – seniors should have sturdy hiking shoes appropriate for gripping the terrain. The hiking shoes or boots should be properly fitted to ensure that they provide added support and stability to a senior. Dressing in layers will also help to ensure comfort, regardless of weather or temperatures
• Pack a bag – water should be packed, and drank regularly throughout a hike. Extra clothing, bug spray, sunscreen, a snack, and a first aid kit are recommended

Sources:

1. Associated Content
2. Suite 101

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

Many Phoenix seniors find themselves on very limited budgets in older adulthood; it can be enough of a challenge to pay the bills and health care expenses, so it can be challenging to find room in the budget to accommodate fitness needs. Of course it’s possible to exercise for free by getting outside and active, but some seniors prefer to get the exercise under the supervision of a senior fitness expert, and that can comes with big costs. However, that’s not to say that seniors can’t get fit in the comfort of a fitness facility, under the supervision of fitness experts, because there are fitness facilities that cater to the many needs of seniors.

Silver Sneakers fitness centers are free to seniors who have Medicare or a Medicare supplement plan. For a Silver Sneakers Fitness Center near you in Phoenix, please click here - Silver Sneaker Locations. With their free memberships they have a Senior Fitness Adviser assigned to them to show them the equipment and amenities of the facility, and they offer fitness classes for seniors and health education seminars. Whatever your budget, and whatever your age, fitness doesn’t need to be sacrificed with Silver Sneakers!

Sources:

1. Silver Sneakers
2. Suite101

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

When is the right time to buy Long-Term Care Insurance?

“An estimated 70% of people who reach age 65 will need some form of long term care before they die.” (Council of Economic Advisors, Economic Report of the President, Washington, DC, U.S. Government Printing Office, 02/17/07)

This is a sobering piece of statistical fact.  With this knowledge, and the fact that almost all of us knows someone who has needed some form of long term care, what are we to do?

It was long thought that the best time to buy long term care insurance was in our sixties or seventies.  We  are in a new reality when it comes to long term care insurance:

*        Almost all policies now cover home care at 100% of nursing home care benefits, along with 100% of assisted living benefits.
*        Policy premiums are not guaranteed as to possible increase, making the choice of insurance companies that much more important.
*        Many policies now have “quick pay” options that allow a policy to be contractually “paid in full” over a period of 10-20 years.

It is this adviser’s option that the best time to consider the purchase of long term care insurance is when we reach our mid-forties (or anytime after that).  This may allow us to go through the underwriting process at a healthier stage of life, at a younger age and in our prime earning years.  All of this leads to premiums that are easier to budget for and the possibility of using a quick pay option to have our policy fully paid for prior to our needing it.

Joe W. Scheid, CLTC
Investment Advisor Representative
Strategic Financial Concepts
17550 N. Perimeter Drive
Suite 450
Scottsdale, AZ  85255
PH:  480.538.2956
FX:  480.718.8644

www.strategicfc.com

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Female caregivers often struggle to come up with activities to do with their male care recipients, because in addition to a potential generational gap, there are also varied interests that may come with gender. Since the vast majority of home caregivers in Phoenix and around North America are women, this can be a very real challenge and one that must be overcome in order to establish a good bond and working relationship between caregiver and care recipient.

So what can you do with your male care recipient, Phoenix caregivers? If you like the great outdoors and aren’t too squeamish you might want to encourage your senior to pursue fishing or hunting and join in. Both are activities that you can do together that allow you to get out into the fresh air, relieve stress, and get back in touch with nature as well as each other. Fishing might be more budget-friendly, and for those who don’t want to cause harm to animals, is a great activity because you can fish for sport and then throw them back after they’re caught if you used fishing hooks without the barbs. However, if hunting is more your style you will need to invest in a gun and related equipment as well as camouflaged clothing that will allow you and your senior to approach the targets undetected.

Sources:

1. Today’s Senior Hobbies
2. Let’s Go Fishing
3. Fishing Gear 101

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

Senior Caregivers are always looking for new and unique activities to do with their elderly care recipients, and if you are in that position, you know how challenging it can be – but here’s a good one that you might not have thought of! Afternoon tea is a fun idea; it’s something that you can do one-on-one, but to make it even more interesting; invite some friends or family to the senior’s Phoenix home and turn it into a social event.

Your tea party can take place in a variety of locations around the home depending upon the weather and the season; if it’s not too hot and the weather is bearable; make it a garden tea party by setting up a table and chairs in the yard under the shade of a tree. On cooler days, the tea party can be moved inside, perhaps in a cozy and intimate setting, like around the fireplace in the senior’s living room.

Afternoon tea can be made fun with a wide assortment of teas for the guests to try, and encourage the senior and everyone else attending the tea party to dress up. Floppy hats and summer dresses can make everyone feel like they’re attending a classy yet casual affair and everyone can work on their etiquette and pretend to lunch like the queen of England. An afternoon tea party may sound like a stuffy affair, but in reality it can be an opportunity for seniors and the important people around them to let loose and try something new!

Sources:

1. Suite 101

Image: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.

It may seem stereotypical, since quilting is often shown in the movies as a chance for older women to get together and gossip while engaging in a craft; but in reality, quilting really is a great activity for seniors and their caregivers to do together. Caregivers should put their reservations aside about the stereotypes of quilting, and embrace the activity that requires teamwork, patience, and gives caregivers and seniors the opportunity to bond over a mutual task. To start with quilting, there are a few basic tools that seniors and their Phoenix caregivers will need to invest in and some are specifically senior-friendly.

Basic Tools needed for Quilt Making:

• Transparent rulers
• Ruler handle
• Rotary cutter and mat
• Fabric scissors
• Quilters measuring tape
• Curved safety pins
• Quilt pins
• Quilting thread
• Walking foot
• Marking tools
• Fabric eraser
• Hand quilting needles
• Thimble
• Quilting pattern/templates
• Sewing machine quilting needles (if you plan to use a machine)

Senior-Friendly Quilting Tools:

• Threader with magnifying glass
• Crafters magnifying glasses
• Table leg risers to increase table height and reduce bending

Sources:

1. Associated Content
2. FabricLand

Image Source: pro.corbis.com

Home Care Central Phoenix and Home Care Greater Phoenix provides elder care and senior care in Phoenix. Call us today at 623-583-5868, 602-265-8228 or 480-991-3959.