I was invited to be a guest on the Alzheimer’s Speaks radio show with Lori LaBey. I’ve know Lori for years, and have admired the work she does with older adults, so it was quite an honor!  Find out how to reduce the stress of your move, just click on the link below.  Listen to “Shifting House and Home with Lisa Dunn” on Spreaker.

Twice as many older women live in poverty than older men.  During the working years, women, in general earn less than men. They may have taken time off to have and to raise children and may have just not made as much as their male counterparts. In addition to having made less, women live longer. So they are in a position of having to spread those life savings over a longer period of time. Finally, if fortunate enough to receive a pension, a woman’s average pension has been about 1/3 less than the average pension of her husband’s. Many of

Are you thinking about downsizing? Where will you move?  Many of our clients consider senior cooperatives. Minnesota has more cooperatives than anyone in the state. You’ll continue to have more and more choices with new building being built everyday! Senior cooperatives, the secret of senior housing options Do you want to purchase your next home instead of rent? You’ll likely be working with a real estate agent. Your real estate agent will rely primarily on the multiple-listing service to help you search for your new home. The multiple listing service is THE most comprehensive resource available to search for homes.

Medical Assistance Most of the conversations our politicians have been focusing on in regard to repealing and replacing Obamacare (or the Affordable Care Act)  are about Medical Assistance. This conversation will have huge impacts for older adults. In Minnesota for every dollar we spend in Medical Assistance the Federal Government matches it, dollar for dollar. For the Block Grant programs they are talking about, they would give Minnesota a block of money to address all those on Medical assistance, including those with chronic illness, mental health illness and children. Instead of Minnesota choosing where to spend money, there would be competition

Hello! I’m Lisa Dunn with RE/MAX Results The Change AGEnts Group live from my mobile office (my car)!  Here we are at the beginning of 2016 and many of the questions we get this time of year are about capital gains tax.  For example: “I sold a home last year, what will that mean for me in regards to capital gains tax as I prepare for taxes?” First I’ll give you some of the general rules about capital gains tax, and then will follow up with the million dollar piece of advice General rule for single people: If you’ve lived

While I was growing up, it wasn’t uncommon for my mom to send me next door to my neighbors for a cup of sugar. Our neighbors would often stop over for a cup of coffee, and all of our families knew each other. This is a far cry from how I interact with my neighbors now. We all have busy lives, both parents are working, and  TV and the Internet have all influenced changes in the way we socialize. Even the way homes are built has influenced how we interact. Homes aren’t built with front porches that invite social get-togethers anymore, we

Hi, Lisa Dunn with the RE/MAX Results Change AGEnt Group. Yesterday afternoon I was introduced to a gentleman who called himself a “certified senior specialist.” When I asked him where he had received that designation he wasn’t able to tell me. There are more and more real estate agents who are getting into this space of working with older adults in real estate. This is great. There is more than enough business for everyone. But the challenge is these people who call themselves a specialist makes the consumer think they received that designation from a national certifying body when they

Word of the Week: [su_highlight]Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL)[/su_highlight] Activities of daily living (ADLs) are basic the basic tasks required to take care dressing, bathing, grooming, toileting, walking, and moving from one chair to another (or to the bed). Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are more complex skills we need to be able to function throughout the day. These include things like balancing a checkbook, paying bills, planning a meal and shopping for it and preparing it, managing medications, completing household chores like cleaning, laundry, and changing lightbulbs. ADLs and IADLs are

Word of the Week: [su_highlight]1 or 2 Person Transfer[/su_highlight] This is the third in a series of articles to inform you about the language used in senior housing communities. These new vocabulary words will also inform you about what to look for as you shop for your new apartment in a senior housing building. This is a very simple Word of the Week with some pretty significant implications if you don’t understand what it is and how it will affect you. a 1 or 2 person transfer has to do with how many people it takes to transfer you from

Word of the Week: [su_highlight]Continuing Care Retirement Community, or CCRC[/su_highlight] One type of community not many seniors know about is a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC).  A CCRC offers a full continuum of care for seniors on one campus.  This allows residents to stay in one place even if their care needs change.  The services and amenities of the buildings are as diverse as the residents they serve. Most will have independent living, assisted living, skilled nursing, memory care, transportation, meals, housekeeping, maintenance, health services and varying social, wellness and educational programs. This can be a little confusing because most

The words we use matter. Do you use words that preserve independence, empowerment and dignity? Or, do you use words that promote dependence, institutionalization, and degradation? Which do you say? Senior Facility or Senior Community? A community of people do NOT live in a facility. Please see below.  [su_divider top=”no” divider_color=”#c5c5c5″ link_color=”#cccccc” margin=”40″]Senior Facility or Senior Community?[/su_divider] Full Definition of [su_highlight]facility[/su_highlight] facilities 1:  the quality of being easily performed 2:  ease in performance :  aptitude 3:  readiness of compliance 4a(1):  something that makes an action, operation, or course of conduct easier —usually used in plural <facilities for study>(2):lavatory 2 —often used in

If you’re considering downsizing into senior housing, you’ll quickly find out it’s a little more complicated than just leasing a regular apartment. There’s an entirely different language used in senior housing. So, in addition to learning new vocabulary, you also have to take the extra step of finding out why all these new words should even matter to you. I thought it would be fun to start featuring a senior housing vocabulary word of the week. These won’t be technical definitions, but rather the way I would explain these words to my clients. Hopefully I’ll also be able to explain WHY

I received a call last week from a professional who works with seniors, whom I have known for a number of years. I’ll call her “J”. She was telling me about one of her senior clients who is 87 with a  daughter with some physical challenges, and she wants to move and find  place for her and her daughter. . J asked me, “Do you do that?” I said, “Do I help people find accessible housing? Sure!  Easy!” “However, that’s not where we start. I have some more questions for you, J” Why are they moving? What are the daughters

It can be difficult to find good information about senior housing. Which websites have the most accurate, trust worthy information? How do you know what information to trust? Here are 5 tips to finding senior housing information on the internet 1. Beware the 1-800 number on Senior Housing Guide websites. The majority of the websites I’ve seen on line only list a fraction of the senior housing communities available. That is likely because those websites charge the senior housing communities to be listed on their website. The 1-800 number provided for you to call will likely go to a phone bank, not

Almost anyone, at any age, can do some type of physical activity. You can still exercise even if you have a health condition like heart disease or diabetes. In fact, physical activity may help. For most older adults, brisk walking, riding a bike, swimming, weight lifting, and gardening are safe, especially if you build up slowly. But, check with your doctor if you are over 50 and you aren’t used to energetic activity. Other reasons to check with your doctor before you exercise include: Ÿ any new symptom you haven’t discussed with your doctor Ÿ dizziness or shortness of breath