Senior people require a home that suits their lifestyle and age-related needs. As senior people have limited income and usually depend on their retirement corpus to meet their financial needs, they can’t afford to make mistakes when choosing between an independent home and a senior living property.

When choosing between a regular independent residential property and a senior living property, you must consider some crucial factors such as pricing, comfort, security, support system, etc.

Here are some factors that can help senior people evaluate the right option for them.

Pricing Of The Senior Living Apartment Vs. Independent Home

Usually, senior living apartments are more pocket-friendly compared to independent homes because the latter also involve land acquisition costs. Independent home requires time involvement as well as money. However, when constructing an independent home, you get greater customisation flexibility than buying a senior living apartment.

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Location Of The Property

Assuming you have a fixed budget and within that budget, you may get a senior living apartment at a better location than an independent home. To construct an independent house, you need a piece of land, which is not easy to get nowadays in most big cities. However, you may get several location options as well as builders for buying a senior living apartment.

Comfort, Security And Care Of The Seniors

Senior living properties are specially designed and developed according to the needs of the senior citizens. Such properties usually offer features like personalised health care, trained staff, active community support, transportation facilities, a high-level security system, medicine support, and amenities as per the requirements of the senior people, etc. On the other hand, to get such facilities in an independent apartment, you have to spend lots of money, and you may still miss some of the facilities like senior communities and senior-friendly amenities.

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What Should You Do?

You should decide between a senior living home and an independent property based on your needs. If you are living with your children, there are no financial constraints and you have family members to look after your health and security; you may choose an independent home. Senior living can be a good option for people who live away from their children, don’t have anyone to look after, or require consistent health care support. Senior living can be an affordable option compared to an independent home and offers a better living experience with other senior citizens living in the community.

The author is an independent financial journalist.

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