Why Senior Communities Are More Affordable Than Ever

It’s often difficult these days for seniors to find affordable and convenient senior housing. Why is this the case? The main reason is the high cost of living in a senior community. Different seniors have different needs, and it’s often difficult for a senior care community to meet all of them. Some seniors care the most about location, others want certain types of care, and still others want either mostly independent living or high levels of assistance. It’s not cheap for the average senior living community to meet all these needs.

The good news is that there are a lot of new options for seniors to consider. Some of those options include:

– Government initiatives
– Subsidies
– Alternatives to traditional housing

Low-income seniors have more options than ever when it comes to finding senior housing. A quick search online can help you find out more about the qualifying criteria for these options.

In order to figure out what you might qualify for and what fits your needs, it’s important to know the six different housing options for seniors with low income.

This is rapidly becoming a great choice for seniors with low income. Co-op housing tends to be cheaper and more financially stable than many other types of housing. You can usually get good square footage for the money.

This is a good option for seniors who want to keep living in their current house while also having access to various senior living services in their community. In this senior housing model, you pay an annual fee for access to nearby community senior services like transportation, group activities and grocery shopping among others.

Generally a good budget-friendly option for low-income seniors, public housing costs are largely determined by your annual income. If you earn less than a specific amount, you can usually get a small apartment for around $500 or less per month.

This is a federal program for seniors to get assistance with their monthly rent. You can qualify if your income doesn’t exceed 50% of your area’s median income.

Another government-controlled housing initiative for low-income people, Section 8 HUD housing is available in condos, apartments and single-family homes. Seniors with eligible income levels can get immediate housing through this program and pay around or less than $400 per month.

HUD Supportive Housing has two main functions:

1. To provide money and assistance to nonprofit groups that work to construct, renovate, or acquire housing for seniors with very low income.

2. To provide rental assistance for eligible seniors in order to make up the difference between reduced rental payments and developmental operating expenses.

This tax credit is another federally funded program to make sure that every low-income senior has some discounted rent options. Apartment buildings are incentivized to set aside a certain amount of units for low-income seniors. To take advantage of this opportunity, you will need to apply for a LIHTC in your community. If you meet the criteria, you can get senior apartments for under $500 per month.

In order to know how much you can save in senior housing, you’ll need to know what the general costs are without any low-income programs. This information is readily available through the National Center for Assisted Living. In 2020, they put out a report that said the national average cost for senior housing is around $2,000 per month. Nearly a million seniors are paying at least this much for housing. If you want a fully private room, you can expect to pay over $2,500 per month. Being retired and paying that amount on a fixed income is no joke. With skyrocketing numbers like this, it’s no wonder that many seniors feel like living in a senior living community is an out-of-reach luxury.

The good news is that there has been a big boom in building new senior living developments. This means more seniors can access a wider selection of options in where to live. The developers want rooms filled as quickly as possible, so prices have gone down across the board. Until the new developments reach capacity, the prices should stay stable.

You’re probably wondering by now how to find these good deals near you. The key is knowing where to look. The quickest method is to search for the newer developments near you. These are the ones built bigger and better to cater to a new flood of residents. These won’t be hard to find either because they’re always advertising for new residents. The demand isn’t as high as they would like, so the developers are trying to get more people in by offering incredible deals.

The developers know that there will be a span of time where the number of assisted living centers and senior communities will outnumber the number of residents living in them. To mitigate this, developers are dropping prices and offering discounts. The goal is to max out their available houses for seniors.

Demand is likely to stay low as housing becomes more affordable. Cities like Tempe and Mesa in the state of Arizona are already seeing amazing affordability. These areas have some of the best and inexpensive senior services in the country. Other states that feature cities doing the same thing include the following:

– Colorado
– Georgia
– Flordia
– Ohio
– Many others!

Another great tip is to follow the yearly free report from A Place for Mom. They compile stats and information on the cost of senior living across the country. They can even find data on local levels for many areas.

The interesting irony is that developers would rather that most people don’t know about their low prices and deep discounts. That’s why they don’t market on TV or in the newspaper. Instead, they tend to favor local mailers and mainly for senior communities that are almost full. How can you turn this in your favor? Visit websites that feature sponsored listings. These listings often contain the unadvertised discounts that developers are trying to keep secret.

The most important tip is to act quickly. These deals won’t be around forever. Once the demand has stabilized, developers will stop discounting their rooms and houses. Don’t wait until demand begins to stabilize and options begin to dwindle. To have the best selection, you have to move fast. Seniors tend to wait on good prices as they believe a better price is down the road. However, it’s just the opposite right now. The good prices won’t last if you wait a few more years.

Do your research to find out what’s available in your city and nearby. Think about the thousands of dollars you will save by moving quickly. Don’t wait, get started today!