Maintaining a home grows more challenging as you age, and adult children can often worry about your well-being. How can you stay in your home without having to handle repairs?
Virginia has always been a very independent person. She lives alone in her Fenton home. In her free time, she writes her mother’s biography and goes on girls’ nights out with her church friends. Now that she’s getting older, however, her adult children want to be involved in her decision-making.
Virginia has lived in her home for 34 years, and homeownership is starting to weigh her down: “It’s too much maintenance for me. I don’t like to keep up on the bills, paying the taxes...finding all the information you gotta do if something goes wrong. That’s a lot of work. I got tired of that.”
Her daughter suggested she move into senior living, but Virginia doesn’t want to give up the independence she treasures. “I like living in one place. It’s comfortable, you know? I know it. I know everything about around here. I’m older. When you get older you get more secure in your ways. You want to keep it the same. You don’t like change.”
When it comes to her estate planning, Virginia doesn’t want to leave her children with loose ends and stressful responsibilities: “I don’t want it to be an issue. I’ll sell [the home], if I can.”
“I like living in one place. It’s comfortable, you know? I know it.”
Virginia and her children started looking into options that would satisfy everyone: Virginia wanted to stay in her home without maintenance responsibilities. Her children wanted her to be safe and start preparing her estate.
They looked into reverse mortgages, but they knew “a couple of people it worked for and a couple people who it didn’t,” so they were hesitant. They considered listing the home, but “I didn’t wanna hassle with moving, and I don’t know if I can find another place to rent.” They also considered refinancing, but, “I had refinanced myself before, twice in my life, and it was horrible. I got taken to the roots, both times, I was so disappointed.”
When Virginia saw that Truehold would “buy at top dollar and keep you in your home,” she talked to her daughter and knew this was what she wanted to do. Her Truehold Advisor was “so friendly” and “everything went just the way she said.” Virginia said she’s been involved in a lot of business agreements, “and never have I experienced a smoother transition in favor of me!..This time, it went like, turn the page, and you’re done. It was so smooth.”
“Never have I experienced a smoother transition in favor of me!”
Virginia got exactly what she wanted: “I could stay in my home, and I would be a renter again. I would not be responsible for any heavy maintenance it required, nor would my daughter. It takes the pressure off of our relationship.” With Truehold, she has a property management service she can trust.
She’s already used her equity to pay off her bills, including minor medical bills that added up over time. Most importantly, Virginia has maintained the independence that she loves: “I can do what I want and when I want. I don’t have to check with someone.”
“I would not be responsible for any heavy maintenance it required, nor would my daughter. It takes the pressure off of our relationship.”
Thank you to Virginia for sharing your story!
*This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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