COVID-19: At Risk Seniors in High Density Housing Versus Affordable Single Family Manufactured Homeownership
Almost one out of every five Americans will be over the age of 65 by the year 2030. (Yes, really.) And while baby boomers are aging they are the age group that is most susceptible to communicable disease and viral infections. The coronavirus pandemic has sadly been the mitigating factor resulting in a high percentage of deaths of our older Americans, as compared to other age groups.
A disproportionate number of elderly fatalities were residing in high density confined housing in big city urban areas where people live next to each other or on top of each other and/or nursing homes where the virus is easily communicated between aging seniors with health conditions most susceptible to COVID-19 and other communicable diseases.
When politicians address affordable housing issues it usually involves high-density housing rental projects as their answer to where lower-income older Americans should live. Seldom will these housing officials ever consider affordable homeownership as the solution to the affordable housing crisis, as well as the health and mental well being of American elders who are living longer and prefer the autonomy of affordable detached living offered by today’s modern affordable high quality manufactured housing.
AGING SENIORS APPRECIATE THE ADVANTAGES OF THE AFFORDABLE MANUFACTURED HOME LIFESTYLE
A 2010 AARP survey found that 88 percent of respondents over age 65 wanted to remain in single-family homes as long as possible. However, at some point, these seniors no longer have the need, desire, or capabilities to take care of their existing home. As manufactured home design options have expanded over the past decade seniors are finding that manufactured housing is a perfect way to continue their preferred single home lifestyle without sacrificing the quality of life they have come to expect in traditional site-built homes, absent the care, maintenance costs and medically-necessary update expenses going forward. High-density housing is hardly ever the lifestyle choice of our elderly population that has experienced traditional homeownership.
The following are the top 5 reasons that seniors will appreciate living in a manufactured home through all stages of their retirement years.
- Downsizing Without Sacrificing: With children out of the house, seniors are finding more and more that all those extra bedrooms just lead to a whole lot of unwanted extra clutter and dust. The solution? Downsize to a space that fits your current needs — not those of 30 years ago. According to the National Association of Realtors, factory-built housing is an increasingly popular option for retirees who don’t want a hefty new mortgage or to pay a landlord.
- Customization to Meet Wants and Needs: By customizing your own manufactured home–not just taking whatever’s on the market–it’s possible to think smaller while still thinking big when it comes to your priorities, whether that’s a garden, elegant master suite or playroom for when the grandkids come to visit.
Seniors are often subject to mobility issues. Most manufacturers will offer customization options to address those handicaps.
- Affordable Quality Homeownership: As people are living longer there is a big concern that their available finances will not last long enough to sustain a preferred homeownership lifestyle in a traditional site-built home.
The good news is that a new manufactured home equipped to address your needs will have an initial and ongoing cost that will be up to one-half the cost of a comparable site-built home, and will be equal, and often superior, in every aspect to the traditional site-constructed home.
- Locating Home on Private Property or Within A Community: Isolation sometimes becomes a problem as people age, and it is common knowledge that having a strong social circle often will ensure a long healthy life. Thousands of seniors prefer placement of a manufactured home in age-restricted “land-lease communities.” These spaces offer a wide variety of additional amenities beyond helpful neighbors who are also aging in style, and within the community, centers are at the heart of it. These common areas may offer everything from beauty salons, to game nights, to book clubs, and more of a way of connecting with those around you and building new friendships.
That being said, a majority of manufactured home buyers prefer locating their new home on the property near family members and/or existing friends and associations. In fact, statistics show that 65% of all manufactured home purchasers elect to place their new manufactured home on private property.
- Today’s Modern Manufactured Housing Are Built To A Stringent Federal Health and Safety Code.
Seniors might be skeptical at first about manufactured housing because of the stereotypes surrounding “mobile homes” dating back to the first part of the 20th Century. Fortunately, in today’s industry, these couldn’t be further from the truth. Federal regulations require that manufactured homes are safe and healthy environments. In fact, those guidelines are far more stringent than most new, site-built home constructions.
STAY SAFE – STAY CONNECTED
