Who benefits from Granny Flats, Granny Flat – Garage Conversion, or Mother-in-Law Suites?
We all do. Why and how?
Gerontologists explain the benefits of a Granny Flats in these criteria:
Families want senior family members in the home to support them as they age.
Located adjacent to a family home, not in the family home – Oversee caregiving staff.
For the specific purpose of extended senior family care. – Location controls cost.
Control caregiving cost and keeps seniors active in the community – Perfect family balance.
When Social gerontologists or CCCM are introduced to a family, it is typically a crisis. An unexpected illness, fall, or aging condition has been presented as an emergency, and services/solutions are necessary immediately. Emergency solutions are costly. Granny Flats are not emergency solutions. Granny Flats are thoughtfully planned financial solutions for future increases in care and the coming shortage of senior care workers. Granny Flats are tiny homes built in backyards adjacent to suburban or city homes or converted family garages, often housing senior family members.
Granny flats can increase the resale value of your property by up to 30%. Sure, you may not be considering selling now. Still, this financial boon could benefit your family, especially if you need to move to a bigger property as your multi-generational family expands.
Gerontologists Know Granny Flats are Game Changers
Multigenerational family living is older than our Constitution. We all came from or were born into a social system that acknowledges family kinship care as a family responsibility.
These informal arrangements allow families to pair services for senior or disabled family members that align with their medical or psychological needs with budgetary constraints in mind.
Traditionally seniors aging in assisted living or nursing home care may experience some mental health decline due to placement in an unfamiliar environment with unfamiliar faces.
Granny Flats are a more suitable alternative to this situation. Granny Flats allow seniors to engage with family – close actively, not too close, and their community daily.
These accommodations allow seniors to age in place, connect, and participate in their communities with family support for medical, insurance, and financial decisions.
In less than 11 years, in 2030, our country, the United States of America, will face an unprecedented generational care worker gap. The typical sandwiched group will have added stressors of family care support due to cost and location. Seniors over age 65 will be 1 of every 5th person.
The projections numbers listed above are from this current study by the US Census – Older People Projected to Outnumber Children for the First Time in U.S. History.
The above information means the next Sandwich Generation will be pressed to meet the needs of this new normal.
This cost of elder care today and projected 2030 cost:
Cost of Care 2019
Nursing home: private room $239/day $87,235 Assisted living – No add ons $3,477/month $41,724 Home care: home health aide $21/hour $21,840 Home care: homemaker $19/hour $19,760 Private duty home caregiver $14/hour $13,440
Cost of Care 2030 – Tight Labor Market will increase costs significantly.
Granny flats can assist families in many ways:
Reduce the overall financial burden
Knowing budgeted costs and care for senior family members can decrease financial anxiety and caregiver depression.
The family member is close by – direct access to family members reduces the need for emergency care.
Reduce mental and physical family stress – reducing caregiver burner out
Increase career possibilities for traditional family caregivers – increase work performance Planned respite care.
Women often perform family caregiving roles; men are starting to assume more significant roles in caregiving support, adding needed respite care and financial resources.
Families and community resources assist elderly family members in making decisions for routine care. Information is vital in choice.
Multigenerational – Family care is not a new “thing” family care preserves family unity and resources. Families control costs in senior housing and services by controlling the location of the services. Granny Flats adjacent to the family home or attached (converted garage) to family homes are excellent options to control the area for senior services.
Family caregiving this close is convenient for working families with close community ties and traditional family roots.
Multi-generational family living is growing nationwide and in expected locations. Granny Flats provide privacy while keeping senior family members close by. Granny Flats are erected or built on the main property, can only be sold with the primary residence, and are typically stand-alone. Granny Flats can also be part of the direct family home – converted family garage/s.
The cost of housing is increasing. Location is vital for employment and family harmony. It is an established family that considers the future price of children and senior parents. Granny Flats is a viable option for aging family members or unemployed boomerang adult children.
The newly minted 401K Millionaires expected share of senior cost in 2030 is unknown and likely means-tested.
Gerontologists know having care tools in their toolbox is essential when offering solutions to clients. This is not an emergency solution. This tool is a game changer for senior and family care now and in the future.
Preserve family harmony, heritage, community, and financial resources with Granny Flats.