Many retirees don’t want to give up the family home. You have spent a significant part of your life creating a place you feel comfortable in and it is filled with memories that you don’t want to give up. This, however, may mean that you need to borrow money to make the home you are living in suitable for the challenges presented in old age.
Common renovations to keep in mind are:
- Accessibility – Mobility is the most common concern of older Canadians. Ensuring your home is accessible to you day-to-day is a huge issue. Ensuring that the doorways are wide enough for a potential wheel chair or you can install a chairlift on your stairs to reach your bedroom will guarantee that your house is more comfortable.
- Lighting– Installing sensors in each entry that will turn on your lights when you enter a room is a great safety measure to have in any house, especially for those with impaired night vision.
- Flooring – Hardwood and tile floors can be serious slipping hazards, especially if they’ve been worn down over time. Looking at new flooring for high traffic areas like bathrooms and kitchens and paying special attention to the slip rating, can go a long way to preventing any accidents.
- Showers and Bathtubs – Stepping over the lip of a bathtub is a trip hazard at the best of times. Everyone can remember a time where they were a little tired and caught their foot on the edge of the tub. Installing a shower or tub that you can walk into and out of may avoid the most common type of fall.
- Door handles – Arthritis can make opening doors a constant pain. Changing your doorknobs to levers is an easy fix to overcoming that challenge.
All these renovations can be expensive, so where do you get the money? Luckily your home may provide for itself. An Equity mortgage can be just the ticket if your bad credit is keeping you from securing an additional line of credit. A mortgage specialist will be able to assist you with this.