THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 19, 1995 TAG: 9508250886
SECTION: REAL ESTATE WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY MARY ELLEN MILES, SPECIAL TO REAL ESTATE WEEKLY
LENGTH: Long : 134 lines
A relatively untapped source in the real estate profession today is the elderly. With a grown number of senior citizens becoming widowed or two frail to maintain their homes, more houses need to be sold.
However, with sales of older people's houses, a more difficult situation exists than during more routine sales.
Carol W. Powell, a social worker at Lake Taylor Hospital, a long-term-care facility in Norfolk, says she often encounters patients who move into a facility, yet keep their homes as long as possible.
They believe they are ``trying the facility out - deciding if they like it.'' They have a lot to think about and get rid of, she says - decisions regarding the house they may have lived in all their married lives plus many heirlooms and countless memories.
Perhaps the largest loss elderly suffer in such situations is independence. ``The elderly are more vulnerable to change than younger folks,'' Powell says, and it's more difficult for them to leave familiar surroundings, furniture and belongings, friends, church and a community they've counted on.
``It's best if they can stay in their home as long as possible,'' she says. ``where they have security. Then, when they must move, there are several nice retirement communities available that are good alternatives.''
Having to move in the late stages of life can strip a person of his individuality. Then he's forced to adjust and belong in a new world. ``A sense of isolation is common,'' Powell says. ``Their psycho-social situation must be considered. It's important for an elderly person to have a say in where they move,'' she says.
It helps not only to tour prospective dwellings, but to know people who live and are happy there. A trusted family member or a lawyer would probably handle the sale of the house after the owner is admitted to such a facility.
Anne Kent, a real estate agent with Prudential Decker Reality, has recently become such a trusted person to many elderly clients. In the last year, she has specialized in helping senior citizens who need to sell their homes because they're moving to a smaller home, such as a retirement village, condo, apartment or long-term care facility.
``Often these people are out there by themselves and they need to be taken care of,'' Kent says. ``They need someone they can trust to look out for them. I'll tell them what they need to do to market their house (which often involves a yard sale) and prepare them for the showing,'' she says.
``If someone can financially afford to go ahead and move, it's really better because they don't have the strain and inconvenience of showing the house; it's left entirely to me. A lot of older people like the agent to be in attendance during a showing. I do whatever it takes to comfort them and let them feel secure. They need a more than average amount of attention.''
Kent's grandmother, whom she describes as ``the light of my life,'' lived with her until she was 90. Perhaps Kent's love, patience, understanding and admiration for her grandmother led to her specialization with the elderly. Whatever steered her towards this market, she is thankful.
``I have to spend more time and effort with them than younger clients, but they're so rewarding. I love them and they seem to relate well to me. Older people are sharp in knowing whether people are sincere or not.
When adult children are involved, I will usually communicate with them and include them on a regular basis.''
Kent lets them know what's going on and that their loved ones are being taken care of. ``One client's son, a general in the Army Reserve, grilled me on every conceivable question for about an hour before fully accepting me. I let him know I had his mother's best interest in mind.''
With estate cases, Kent might also work with an attorney and the family's four adult children. Coordination, patience and organization are requirements for this type of work.
Anna Ashbee, 77, is one of Kent's customers. In May, she moved into her spacious two-bedroom apartment in Haygood Halls, Virginia Beach, an adult community built 25 years ago that is about 97 percent senior citizens.
The development consists of 23 brick townhouses and 202 apartments. ``I can't say enough good things about this place,'' Ashbee says. Tenants have their own security and a ``wonderful maintenance department. When I moved in, it was clean as a pin - new paint, carpet, refrigerator, or whatever you need. They really keep things up beautifully.
``There are some very nice people here; just about everybody's in the same situation I'm in. I haven't met anyone I don't like. I recommend it for anyone who's left alone,'' she says.
Ashbee loved the Thalia ranch house she and her husband lived in for 30 years. But the home was ``too much house'' for her, and the lawn was almost an acre. ``It took my husband about two years to build it,'' she says. ``Whoever buys it will be buying it for love.'' The dwelling has a contingency contract on it now.
``It really wasn't that difficult for me to part with the house,'' she says, ``because I knew that's what my husband wanted me to do.'' They had previously decided that the surviving spouse would move into an apartment.
``It's so nice to have people here if something goes wrong,'' Ashbee says. ``I had a problem with the air-conditioner the other day, and I just called the office. Within 10 minutes, I had a repairman here. I love my apartment.''
Ashbee has ``two devoted children'' who would do anything for her, but she doesn't want them to fret about her when she see them; she just wants to enjoy their company.
The Ashbees' longtime neighbor and friend, Kitty Oates, 83, hired Kent to sell her Thalia Home two years ago when she moved into the First Colonial Inn in Virginia Beach, a retirement community of 164 apartments and 21 assisted-care units, built about 1985.
Not long afterward, she marred a longtime acquaintance, Bernard Bowden. Today, they reside in their two-bedroom flat at the facility.
The Oateses had lived in their home 29 years. They previously knew Anne Kent, who sold their house. ``I couldn't keep my house and lawn up,'' Oates says. ``Ms. Kent was wonderful. She's been there with me.''
``I had looked at The First Colonial Inn more than five years before I moved in,'' Oates says. ``I looked all over to find a place that I wanted and could afford. This place had everything.''
Her husband agrees. ``It's not a big apartment but it's a happy one,'' Bowden says.
``They do everything they can to make us comfortable,'' Oates says. ``I'm blessed. I've been very fortunate.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo on cover by Motoya Nakamura
Bernard Bowden and Kitty Oates now live at the First Colonial Inn in
Virginia Beach
Staff photo by Motoya Nakamura
Homeowner Anna Ashbee and real estate agent Anne Kent get together
to prepare to sell. Many senior citizens have a difficult time
parting with their houses.
by CNB