Tanglewood Creek	UPDATED: Thursday, October 16, 2008
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Is your home too much work?

Posted on Thursday, October 02, 2008

By Laurie Whittier
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Lawn care. Roof replacement. Broken furnaces. Backbreaking labor. Keeping a home in tip-top shape takes a lot of time and money. And there comes a time when many older Americans say, “Enough is enough.”

For Barbara Neil, that time came a couple of years ago when she started adding up all the money she was spending on her 4,400-square-foot mountain home. “It just all got to be too much,” says Neil. After learning how much easier life would be at an Erickson community, she joined the priority list to get in line for an apartment home and never looked back.

No work, no worries
Neil hasn’t lifted a finger on upkeep since she moved into an Erickson community nearly 18 months ago. Nor has she written a single check to have something fixed.

“I don’t have to worry anymore about yard work, shoveling snow, or searching for repairmen that I can trust to come into my home,” she says. “If anything ever needs to be fixed, Erickson takes care of it at no charge.”

When it comes to cost, Neil says her monthly expenses have actually gone down. “Between all the home maintenance costs I was paying, the utility bills, and other monthly expenses, I’ve found that it’s cheaper to live here.”

The monthly service package at Tanglewood Creek—the newest community to be developed by Erickson—will be structured just as it is at every other Erickson campus. Streamlining most monthly living expenses into one easy payment, the monthly service package will include property taxes, maintenance, all utilities except telephone, and one meal a day in any of the community’s restaurants.

Leave maintenance behind
Home maintenance, repairs, and improvements can cost homeowners thousands of dollars annually, reports MSN Money in the article “The Hidden Costs of Home Ownership.” For maintenance and repairs alone, homeowners are advised to budget at least 1% of a home’s purchase price.

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According to an economic study at the University of Connecticut, Americans spend nearly $2,100 a year on home maintenance. And high-cost repairs like roofing and exterior painting can quickly gobble up an annual 1% savings plan.

It’s a catch-22. Keeping up with everything is expensive, yet those who let things slide are likely to pay dearly when it comes time to sell. Younger homeowners tend to take on most of the work themselves. But as people age, chores like pulling weeds and cleaning gutters often become a burden. Such was the case for Jim and Virginia Murphy. They loved their home, but after the children were grown and gone, all the upkeep and costs became a burden.

“As the years went by, it just wasn’t fun anymore,” says Mr. Murphy. Not only that, but as the years passed, the neighborhood got progressively younger, causing the couple to feel a bit out of place. “Whenever it snowed, they’d all come over and shovel, which made us feel old.”

A change for the better
Moving to an Erickson community was the best decision the Murphys ever made. “Some people think they’re living a full life in their homes when they may actually be isolating themselves and wasting time and money on home maintenance,” Mr. Murphy says.

Did you know?

According to the Energy Information Administration, consumers nationwide will spend 36% more for heating oil this winter, 23% more for natural gas, 14% more for propane, and 9% more for electricity. Between rising utility costs, the housing market, and skyrocketing gasoline prices, homeowners are taking more of a hit than ever.

Find out in the November Tribune how features like free real estate assistance, convenient monthly service packages, and free local shuttle service at Erickson communities help people control costs. Learn why Erickson residents don’t worry about things like fluctuating heating prices, drafty windows, or broken furnaces. And discover how you can exempt yourself from ever paying a repairman to repair your home or appliances again.

You’ve heard the expression, “everything but the kitchen sink.” Next month, find out what we mean by “everything but the telephone.” Don’t miss this story. It could change your life.