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Creating A Home Without Limits

Whether planning a new home or a renovation project, amidst the hundreds of decisions to be made to complete the process, you should consider how your home will function for you when you first move in, and how it will transition with you over the years, as your family dynamics change. Important to consider in the design phase is how long you’ll be in the home, if you are down-sizing from a larger home, or if spaces for visiting children and grandchildren need to be planned.

To design your home without limits, you’ll want to include multi-functional spaces. For example, in a multi-level home, stacking closets on each floor can be designed to meet the size requirements for an elevator which are used as storage initially, and later on as an elevator, if needed. To make your home accessible by friends and family of all ages and abilities, plan for a ramp hidden in your garage, which is much safer than having it out in the weather.

Other cost-effective features are: having one bathroom on the main floor large enough for a wheelchair turn-around; putting blocking in the walls of the bathroom for adding future grab bars; and a curbless shower design. The Hallways should be 4’ wide and the doorways 32”-36”’ wide, and consider lever handles on the doors.

Finally, task lighting is often not considered in the kitchen, along with pull-out drawers, and strategicallyplaced windows to maximize natural light, which will make you feel happier in your home.

Jennifer B. Pippin, FAIBD, CPBD, is owner of Pippin Home Designs, an awardwinning custom residential design firm specializing in homes with views that are client-inspired for joyful living. For more information: www.pippinhomedesigns.com.

Am I Making the Right Dental Care Decisions?

Life can be overwhelming at times and our oral health can get stuck in the backseat. Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve brushed or seen the dentist. It’s likely you have a missing tooth but don’t know what to do about it or if you can afford a replacement. Here are three questions to help you assess how well you’re doing at taking care of your oral health.

How often do you clean your teeth? As we get older and our teeth feel as out of shape as we do, we may start to see daily oral hygiene as less and less important, but it’s not! The last thing you want to do when you’re on vacation visiting your grandkids is to be experiencing tooth pain and have to go in for an emergency visit. Brush and floss every day to help keep cavities away.

Are you visiting the dentist every six months?

Routine dental visits are key for two main reasons. The first is to give your teeth a little freshening up with a professional cleaning to remove plaque and tarter. The second reason is for prevention. During your 6-month appointment, your dentist should thoroughly examine your oral health and look for any potential problems.

Are you seeing a dentist who has your health

and safety in mind? With the recent spread of COVID-19, our team at Carolina Crossroads is wearing protective gear such as face masks and sneeze shields. We also make our practice a safe space by screening patients before appointments, using hospital-grade disinfectants, offering hand sanitizer, regularly cleaning high-touch surface areas and practicing social distancing. We’ve even invested in Surgically Clean Air, a high-tech air purifying system.

Lindsay Spears, DDS, PLLC Carolina Crossroads Dental Care 1316 Davie Ave Ste B Statesville, NC 28677 704-873-2141 CarolinaCrossroads DentalCare.com

What is a 55+ Community?

The U.S. Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) prohibits housing discrimination because of, among other things, age. The Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA) protects age-restricted communities from being sued by persons who do not meet the minimum age requirements.

There are two classifications of exempted communities under HOPA. The first is the 62+ restricted community where every occupant must be 62 years of age or older. The second, and much more common, is the 55+ community where a minimum of 80 percent of the occupied units must be occupied by at least one person who is 55 years or older. HOPA requires age verification procedures be in place to show compliance with this restriction. There are no specific age requirements for the remaining 20 percent except those established by the governing documents, also called Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions, or CCR’s, for that community.

You are well advised to review the CCR’s of any community you intend to live in with a person under 55 years of age. If a qualified person, 55 or older, is the legal guardian of a disabled adult who does not meet age requirements, this person is exempt from HOPA and any CCR’s .

Age “targeted” communities have no actual age restrictions but typically have master bedrooms on the first floor and lawn maintenance included in the HOA dues.

All these types of “senior” communities are called “Active Adult Communities,” a title that has no legal definition.

Karen Spell, Broker, SRES, J.D., 55+ Community Expert

Helen Adams Realty 321-279-1384 kspell@helenadamsrealty.com PurplePineappleRE-NC.com True Wealth – Expecting the Unexpected

The 2020 Census estimates that approximately 73 million of us will retire this year. I imagine that none of this group anticipated the impact of starting their new adventure head first into a pandemic. Considering the pandemic’s impact on the financial markets, travel restrictions, and general lifestyle limitations, and timing was less than ideal. As Scottish poet Robert Burns wrote, in 1786, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.”

No matter how carefully your goal of retirement is planned, something may still go wrong. This is why the investment concept of ‘sequence of returns,’ and its potential effect on your retirement nest egg, is important to consider.

As investors, we start with a focus on the accumulation phase of building the nest egg. The spending phase begins in retirement. Most planning scenarios use an average rate of return over a long period of time. This is efficient and useful, but not real life, because annual market returns are not consistent. If the early years of retirement experience portfolio declines and income withdrawals, it can have a big long-term effect on “how long your money lasts.” What if your retirement year had been in the market crash of 1987, 2008 or even 2020?

Does your plan include options for taking income to fund your lifestyle, in rising and declining markets? Managing cash flow, not just investments, is a critical consideration in any retirement strategy. Considering both will ultimately prepare you for the possibility of living longer than expected.

Securities and advisory services offered through LPL Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor, Member FINRA/SIPC

Jeffrey Karp, CLU®, ChFC®, CASL® founder of Karp Financial Strategies and is a registered representative of LPL Financial. More information and his blog, Permission GrantedSM can be found at www.karpfinancial.com.

Considering the 55+ Community Lifestyle? Did you know there are more than 59 Active Adult Communities in our area? I can help you find the one(s) that best meet your wants, needs, and budget for a new home saving you countless hours of research and stress. I am a 55+ Community Expert and a designated Seniors Real Estate Specialist (SRES) in the Charlotte and Lake Norman Area.

Selling your home in a 55+ community? I have lots of buyers. Call me for a complimentary market analysis of your homes value. Put my knowledge, experience, and superior marketing plan to work for you to sell your home for the best price in the least amount of time. Karen R. Spell | Broker/REALTOR ® , J.D., SRES ® 321-279-1384 | 55ActiveAdultLiving.com | 55ActiveAdultLiving@gmail.com Check out my website for videos, tips, blogs, and your guide to finding the perfect 55+ community!

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