You may remember the show “The Golden Girls,” which showcased four aging women who took a creative approach to senior living: shared housing. They were way ahead of their time. Is home sharing a viable option for older adults? It can be a desired lifestyle choice for many but equally a life necessity for others.
Many baby boomers have a real desire to age in their own home, provided they’re capable and it’s safe. But sometimes the economic realities of upkeep, the need for companionship and socialization and even help around the house makes you want to consider a more formal senior community. Home sharing provides an alternative to senior living, whose costs can range from $2,500 a month in an independent community to over $100,000 a year in a skilled nursing facility.
More than 13 million people older 65 live alone. They have a name: elder orphans. The number of older Americans who are homeless is growing, too. In 2007, homeless people 62 and older who sought shelter accounted for 2.9 percent of the country’s homeless population. By 2016, the percentage had risen to 4.7 percent.
[Read: Finding Support for Seniors Facing Challenges Living Alone.]
How It Works
Sometimes home sharing takes the form of simply renting a bedroom to someone in your home. But the ideal situation is when the home sharer helps with specified tasks, which could include shopping, preparing meals, walking the dog and gardening. Mutual support and companionship lie at the heart of home sharing. It could be in exchange for a smaller rent or no rent at all. It is by no means meant to replace formal home health caregivers.
According to AARP, 4 million women 50 and older were living in U.S. households with at least two women in the same age group. The real estate listings site Trulia estimates that there are 3.6 million unoccupied rooms that can be rented out in the country’s largest housing markets.
It’s Intergenerational
Home sharing does not have to be one older person with another. The concept of pairing older people with younger ones, particularly those who are not family members, is not a new one: It was popularized by Maggie Kuhn, an elder-rights activist who opened up her Philadelphia home to others for more than 20 years before she died in 1995. Home sharing today is just as likely to be between those of the same age as well as intergenerational.
Home sharing with younger people provides a unique opportunity for learning. It can be both intergenerational and cross-cultural.
[See: 7 Red Flags to Watch for When Choosing a Nursing Home.]
Risk/Reward
There’s no doubt that bad matches can occur, so the need to find the right roommate and also protect yourself is imperative.
The best bet is to home share with a trusted friend, or at least a friend of a friend. We used to half joke with our friends the composition of a house we could share. We need an accountant and lawyer; my wife was the HR professional; we had a nurse; etc.
If you do it on your own, you need to take the mindset of a landlord-tenant at first. That could mean doing background checks.
Talk to a local attorney to get an agreement drawn up that outlines the expectations of both parties. Similar to a tenancy agreement, talk to your lawyer about including the ground rules (and consequences for breaking the agreement) in writing for the safety of both parties.
Here are just some of the things you might delineate: guests, household duties, kitchen use, parking, pets, privacy, television/radio/phone and internet use, utility payments and splitting other costs.
[See: 14 Ways to Protect Seniors From Falls.]
Home sharing can be risky or rewarding. With the right planning, it can be the best solution to help you age in place, remain financially secure, get help with the household and most importantly, keep you socially engaged.
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Home Sharing: Growing Trend or Desperate Need? originally appeared on usnews.com
