For many people, retiring comes with the expectation of moving, whether that’s to downsize, seek out warmer weather, or a combination of both. That also means making the decision about whether to buy an existing home or build your own.
Building a new home can save you money and increase your quality of life in the decades after retiring, and we can help with that.
What features can you get with a Fairway custom home that are perfect for retirement?
When it comes to planning a new home out for retirement, it’s important to consider beyond your current needs; what will you require in a home 20 or 30 years? Building a home that’s already accommodating of those needs — or, at least, easily adaptable to them — will save you grief later on.
To start, our homes are made ADA ready.
Our main bedrooms’ standard door width is larger than normal at three feet, big enough for wheelchair access. This is also true of our utility rooms’ hallway-facing doors.
We also give the option of ADA-compliant toilets. These toilets are taller than standard toilets, reducing stress on knees and the possibility of losing balance when getting up or sitting down. Both those things have the potential to significantly affect your health, so something as simple as an ADA toilet can make a huge difference in your quality of life.
There are other facets of a home that we often take for granted until we’re unable to use them with ease. A standard, low toilet can have life-changing negative effects resulting from a fall or frequent stress on the lower body, but there are other parts of a home that aren’t as dramatic but still can affect everyday life. For example: door handles.
That might seem silly, but that’s exactly why they’re so important — they’re the kind of feature you don’t notice until they become an impediment.
Knobs, which are usually the standard on doors, are completely fine for most people of most ages. But as you get older, the thumb and hand are usually the first place where arthritis hits — often long before you’re even to retirement age. That can make turning a door knob painful. As people go in and out of their house many times a day, that’s many times a day where you could experience pain from something as simple as a door knob. A small tweak to that can mean a vast improvement in your quality of life.
With that in mind, at Fairway Homes we have door handle offerings that are levers, not knobs. Something as simple as a handle where you push down instead of twisting can have a positive impact on everyday life.
Lastly, we also offer LVP flooring — or luxury vinyl plank flooring — in wet areas of the house such as the bathroom. This material is waterproof, but better-suited for wheelchairs than standard vinyl is.
What other attributes make a Fairway Homes custom home ideal?
It’s not just the interior features of a Fairway Homes custom home that makes it ideal for those planning on retiring in one. Our homes go beyond that, with qualities that are well-suited for the financial aspects of retirement.
Fairway Homes custom homes’ typical equity is substantial— usually at least 20%. Naturally, this helps with your retirement account.
On top of that, our homes have standard characteristics that minimize expenses associated with housing. For example, all our homes are solar ready. This makes it easier to adopt solar energy which, after the initial installation cost, almost immediately saves money. The earlier you switch to solar, the more you’ll save.
On a related theme, our homes are built with energy efficiency. This will of course save you money on utilities, something that’s especially helpful in retirement.
Between quality of life and financial well-being, Fairway Homes custom homes are well-suited for those planning their retirement. If your home is the heart of your retired life, you want it to be the foundation for your best retired life — and we want to help you make that a reality!