When the housing crisis hit, many older Americans found them selves in a bind as they were unable to sell their homes and move into a retirement community according to the Wall Street Journal.
In 2010, Sun Health, the nonprofit operator of La Loma rolled out a series of programs to help residents fill up their apartments by assisting potential residences with the sales of their homes. If the company couldn’t sell the property within 90 days, La Loma would buy the home at a market rate.
For those seeking to sell a home in order to move into a continuing-care community or similar retirement residence, help is increasingly available. Owners and operators of such developments are stepping forward with home staging and repair programs, no-interest bridge loans, buyouts and reduced entrance fees. The goal: to get you out of your space and into theirs.
Some other companies offer bridge loans for residents from Elderlife Financial Services, a firm that specializes in providing this type of financing.
About 2,500 communities currently offer bridge loans from Elderlife Financial Services, which often are backed by home equity. That’s up from only about 200 communities in 2007. In some cases, the senior housing provider will cover the interest payments on your loan for up to a year, says Mr. Papasavvas of Elderlife.
A Push to Turn ‘For Sale’ Into ‘Sold’
Written by John Yedinak
