| Nic's News |
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Are you aware of the dangers most older citizens face by living in their present home? |
| Date: 8/31/11 |
| Are you thinking about moving into an active adult community?
Nic Zawarski and Sons® would like to introduce you to
three of the most serious challenges facing today’s older population.
The face of America is changing. It has been said that we are becoming a nation of elders. 77 million baby boomers have begun to “Come of Age”, creating a virtual tidal wave of older persons. Because of this, Nic Zawarski and Sons®, commissioned a comprehensive study and has spent hundred’s of hours learning about the challenges facing today’s active adult citizens. We wanted to know what was going on in their life and what was most important to them about their housing needs. What we learned was remarkable. Our study revealed that there are many challenges, but more importantly it exposed the top 3 most devastating dangers seniors face, any one of which can cause life changing harm. We will also discuss ways in which you and your family can take action to protect the health, safety, wealth and lifestyle of today’s older generation.
1) The first thing we learned is that older homes are not designed in a way that will safely and comfortably accommodate their owners as they get older. In many cases this will create serious health risks.
a) Research indicates that over 35% of all seniors are involved in a serious fall. Each year over 12 million seniors are treated in the emergency room from falls, kitchen related burns and other hazards. Falls in particular result in over 5,000 fatalities each year. In addition to life threatening injury, falls constitute a major source of hospitalization for older individuals, resulting in broken bones, blood clots and other serious medical conditions. As you can clearly see, these accidents not only cause serious injury or decreased mobility, but even death. This means that the prevention of falls should be a major concern for the well-being, safety and health of all older home owners.
b) Did you know that the most dangerous place in a home is the bathroom? Bath tubs are the number 1 cause of most major falls in a home. Having a large slip resistant shower stall with comfort seat would all but eliminate the chance of an accident.
c) Another area of great concern in most old homes is the stairwell. What is interesting is that in some circumstances it is not the stairs that are the problem but the lack of proper lighting and secure handrails that cause the accident. So make sure that in your home, hallways and stairwell are well lit, especially for night time visibility. Keeping your house clutter free is also very important to help reduce the risk of a fall.
2) We also learned that in many cases the house is just becoming too much work. Lawn maintenance, snow shoveling and other chores around the house can become too physically challenging and pose serious health threats.
a) According to a study conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 80,000 Americans require hospital treatment from injuries caused by lawn mowers.
b) The study found that citizens 40 and older had the highest hospitalization rate of all age group. But more specifically the study also revealed that senior citizens lead the nation in lawn mowing accidents.
c) Shoveling snow can often be view as a normal house hold chore, but for those who have a high cholesterol level, it can be lethal. Studies show that hospitals treat over 11,500 injuries related to shoveling snow each year.
d) The National Institute of Health “Guide to Physical Activity” equates snow shoveling to 20 minutes of swimming laps in a pool. When was the last time you swam in the pool for twenty minutes straight. I don’t think I’ve ever done that!!!
e) Snow shoveling was a topic on the CBS Early Show on January 6, 2004. Based on statistics that they discovered, “Typical winter conditions that include a little more than an inch of snow and chilly temperatures that dip below twenty degrees cause death rates from heart attacked to triple among men 35 to 49 years old. One of the main culprit for the upswing was snow shoveling.
f) The physical demands of snow shoveling causes the heart to pump blood faster, while the lower temperatures constrict the arteries.
3) Another very serious challenge is something called social isolation. As neighborhoods get older, many older residents loose a sense of belonging and a lack of connection to their neighbors. Seniors clearly value their social relationships and consistently rank relationships with family and friends second only to health as the most important area of life. However, social isolation tends to increase as people get older.
a) A study undertaken by the World Health Organization concluded that social isolation and exclusion are associated with increased rates of premature death, lower well-being, more depression, and a higher level of disability from chronic disease.
b) Another study revealed that isolated people’s health may deteriorate because they lack the environmental support, social ties and assistance by others that become critical factors in the maintenance of their independence latter in life.
c) Women are more likely to outlive their male partners and other family members, but what became apparent in many studies is that women are more at risk for loneliness and isolation.
d) Older citizens living in isolation also experience an increase in vulnerability due to the consequences of aging.
So we need to ask, “If you could live in a community where your home is safely designed to avoid serious injuries, where all lawn maintenance and snow removal responsibilities are completely eliminated, where you are connected with your neighbors and friends, and where you save more of your money with the added security of living in your own home for years and years to come, how would your life be different?
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Now may be the best time in years to buy a brand new home! |
| Date: 8/31/11 |
| Does today’s real estate market have you puzzled?
Now may be the best time in years to buy a brand new home!
This Rubik’s Cube has more than four billion possible combinations.
Fortunately, the real estate market is not as complicated.
I would like to share an article that I recently discovered in Fortune magazine.
I have also included for your convenience an executive brief that I prepared.
Don’t be puzzled by the challenges facing today’s real estate market.
I hope you find this information helpful. Feel free to call me and I will share
any information that I have to help you with your real estate needs.
Call John Zawarski at 610-737-6602
Executive Brief
On September 20, 2004 Fortune magazine published an article predicting the housing bubble, titled, “Is the Housing Boom Over?” The information in the article demonstrated that the cost to owning vs. renting a home was is bubble territory. Clearly Fortune got it right.
Today, Fortune has irrefutably stated that now is the time to buy a new home. In the article dated, April 11, 2011, Fortune focused on the same fundamentals that caused the bubble, and now those same numbers are pointing in the opposite direction.
Two factors lay the groundwork for a significant recovery.
1) New construction starts are down dramatically.
2) The sales price of homes has dropped on the order of 30% and as much as 55% in some markets.
Furthermore, a study conducted by Deutsche Bank measured the affordability of today’s housing market and discovered:
1) Homeowners are now paying just 9.8% of their income in after tax mortgage, taxes, and insurance. That is down from 17.2% at the bubble’s peak in 2007.
2) Today in many markets it is now cheaper to pay a mortgage than to rent the same home. Owning a new home now wins in a big way.
Zandi of Moody’s Analytics expects prices of new homes to rise 3 to 4 points faster than inflation for the next few years, and that new home sales will rise from 470,000 in 2010 to as much as 700,000 this year.
Forget stocks and gold. Now is the time to buy a home again!
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