An update from your SRES designation Realtor
By Mark Schadenberg
A Realtor’s career is to assist people in buying and selling homes,
but what if a son or daughter was tasked with the loving care of their parents
?
I’m not a psw or a social worker, but as a Seniors Real Estate
Specialist (SRES), maybe I can direct you to some sources of advice.
There are many resources available to guide families in elder care,
especially in the area of ‘aging in place’ or even better aging in their own
home and familiar surroundings
When the time has arrived to sell the ‘family’ home . . . firstly,
locally I would contact 4 Lifes Transitions (Susan Kemp at susan@4lifes.ca, www.4lifes.ca or 519 340-0236). She
specializes in a wide array of services – de-cluttering, packing and protecting
valuables, assigning items to auction, directing families to resources, concierge
activities (arranging for small repairs, property maintenance and upkeep,
re-directing mail, etc) and referring you to a Realtor – hopefully myself in
Oxford County.
A good Canadian book to read, which attempts to cover all the corners
and circumstances is (See: www.parentingyourparents.ca).
Topics discussed include your time management, preserving memories, dealing
with money, health, how to communicate with someone suffering from Alzheimers
or another dementia, planning medications and meals, and general home care
needs.
Parenting Your Parents is available in paperback
The book Parenting Your Parents: Straight Talk About Aging In The
Family is now in a third edition of printing and penned by both Dr Michael
Gordon and Bart Mindszenthy. It’s available in paperback and Kindle.
The website has information as presented in the book, but is also blog
writings by Mindszenthy, and runs the gamut of discussions from Stats Canada
figures to exercising to maintain your figure.
The Parenting Your Parents book was first released in 2002, so be sure
to look for the version as noted in the jpeg here.
Dr Gordon (pictured below) has an extensive background, according to his resume. I
borrowed this from the website:
Dr. Michael Gordon, MD, MSc, FRCPC and
FRCP(Edin) is medical program director of Palliative Care at
Toronto's Baycrest Geriatric Health Care System and professor of Medicine
at the University of Toronto. He an educator and author and is involved
professional and public education.
An American by birth, he is a
graduate of the University of St. Andrews Medical School in Scotland. His
pre-specialty training included Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology
and Nuclear Medicine. He came into geriatrics in Canada where he settled after
much world-wide travelling for his medical training in 1973. He came into
geriatrics by a confluence of unpredictable events prior to it being recognized
as a medical specialty in 1981 at which time Dr. Gordon received the first
certificate in Geriatric Medicine awarded by the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Canada.
His career has included a wide
range of clinical activities in eldercare, which for years included
responsibilities at Toronto’s Mt. Sinai Hospital. His main commitment has been to
the Baycrest Geriatric Centre where he served for many years as its Vice
President of Medical Services and Head of the Department of Geriatrics and
Internal Medicine.
He currently devotes his clinic
and administrative and educational activities to Geriatric out-patient care,
in-patient palliative care, medical ethics and end-of-life planning,
communication and care and writing for the lay and professional press. His
books include his first book Old
Enough to Feel Better: A Medical Guide for Seniors which went through three
editions; An Ounce of Prevention: A
medical guide for a healthy and successful retirement; The
Encyclopedia of Health and Aging; Parenting your Parents (two Canadian and one American
edition); Brooklyn Beginnings: A
Geriatrician’s Odyssey; Moments that Matter: Cases in Ethical Eldercare; and most recently Late-Stage
Dementia: Promoting Comfort Compassion and Care and now the revised
third edition of Parenting
your Parents: Straight Talk about Aging in the Family.
With the SRES designation, I am confident to say that a good
percentage of my real estate business is directly related to seniors selling
their homes. If you would prefer a female Realtor, I would certainly direct you
and your family to the right person.
My wife also works in the field as she is employed by the Alzheimer
Society of Brant County.
Selling the so-called ‘family’ home is never easy as sometimes 60 years
of memories are housed in one house. It’s best not to refer to it as a house,
but rather a home.
If 2014 is the year you realize you will be selling, contact me now.
As I mentioned above all properties require some work to prepare them for the
market – painting, de-cluttering and maybe a minor renovation. The key is to
maximize the market value – create a house which will attract a large
percentage of buyers.
Mark
Schadenberg, Sales Representative
Senior
Real Estate Specialist (SRES designation)
Royal
LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas
St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553,
cell or text
Email:
mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter:
markroyallepage
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