Moving into an assisted living facility, retirement community, nursing home or Alzheimer’s care center can be a daunting task. There is a lot to consider before you make the move. Which type of facility is best, how can I find one in my area, can I afford it and what will I do with my possessions? These are just a few decisions you will need to make. Hopefully the information here will help make this process a little easier for you.

Choosing the proper care is the first thing to consider. If you are in good health and active and want to rid yourself of the responsibilities of running a household, maybe a good retirement community is best. If you have minor health issues and can no longer manage your home, then an assisted living center may be your best option. Assisted living can also be a good choice if your health issues are more than minor. If you or a family member need around the clock care and have major health issues, then a nursing home can be your best option. If you or a family member is showing signs of Alzheimer’s or dementia (there is an Alzheimer’s “test” on the Senior Living Mentor website), then an Alzheimer’s care center could be best.

There is also home care for those who have trouble maintaining their personal life but want to continue to stay in their home. You can also get more information on our website on which type of care is best for you or by contacting one of the many facilities that are easily accessible on our website. Simply enter your city, find a community, give them your contact info and they will contact you, answer all of your questions and make some recommendations. There is no pressure or obligation and this service is free.

After you have determined which type of care you need, you should determine the geographic location. No doubt you will probably want to be near your family or maybe somewhere else that may have a better climate or other factors that may be important to you. There are thousands of affordable assisted living facilities, affordable Alzheimer’s care centers and affordable retirement communities in every city across the country. The search boxes on our Senior Living Mentor pages will make your search easy. You may enter and contact as many communities as you like and choose the one that is best for you. Ask them about the services they have available, costs and anything else you may need to know. You can choose from a menu of services from laundry services, cleaning, help with using the bathroom or bathing meal preparation and more. Essentially you can customize your services to suite your needs.

Usually, the answer to this question is yes. Currently, you might be making a rent or mortgage payment, paying utilities like electric, water, gas, groceries, cleaning supplies, homeowners insurance and many other monthly expenses. If you were to look at your checkbook and total the amount of money that you spend each month, it might total anywhere from $2000 to $3000 or more. Most assisted living centers, retirement communities and Alzheimer’s care centers are all inclusive. Meals, transportation, rent, and services are included in one monthly price and are usually comparable to what you are currently paying to run your household now. Also, at most communities, you can choose the level of services you may want from a menu of services like apartment cleaning, laundry and others, or you can choose to do these daily chores yourself if you are able.

First, if you rent an apartment, try to negotiate an early out for your lease or ask your landlord if you or he can sublet your apartment. If this is not possible you can stay put until your lease expires or move to your new community and pay the lease off monthly. If you own your home, naturally you should contact a reputable realtor and arrange for them to sell your home. It’s usually better to use a realtor for this complicated and detailed task as there are many facets to selling a home that are usually best left to a professional. Another option is to hire a management company to rent your home to a qualified renter. Management companies take about 12% to 15% of the monthly rent, but they thoroughly screen the tenants, take the maintenance calls in the middle of the night, collect the rent, conduct the eviction proceedings if necessary and everything else that goes along with renting a home to someone and they send you rent every month.

So now that you have discovered the proper care (assisted living, retirement community, Alzheimer’s care) for your particular needs, found the right community and discovered that you are able to afford it and found a realtor or sublet your apartment, what will you do with your furniture and personal belongings? One solution is to have an estate sale. An estate sale company will inventory, price, tag, advertise and conduct your estate sale. They will handle every detail of the entire process. They can determine the fair value of your items and for special items like antiques and collectables; they know experts that can determine current market prices for you. It is absolutely critical that you hire a reputable, licensed and bonded estate sale company that will furnish references. Call their references and make sure you are hiring someone reputable. Estate sale companies charge anywhere from 22% to 33% and it is well worth it. If you consider the tremendous amount of work that will go into liquidating your life’s possessions, it can be huge task. Also, since they receive a percentage of the proceeds, it is also in their best interest to get you top dollar for your belongings. You can also ask your family to help you do your own “garage” / estate sale, but the time and effort you will expend may not be worth it.

After all of these steps are done, and you are ready to move, don’t forget to call all of your utility companies like the phone company,electric and water company etc. and have them turn your utilities off at the appropriate date. The same for your homeowners or renters insurance.

The above information will give you a general overview of the process of moving into an assisted living, Alzheimer’s care center, nursing home or retirement community and covers the major portions of this life changing, but exciting event. It may seem like too much to handle at first, but if you consider that hundreds of thousands of people like yourself have done it, you can do it too. Break it down into a “one step at a time” process and ask your family and friends for help.

Many of the questions you will have can be answered by the assisted living facilities that you can contact through Senior Living Mentor. These experts have helped thousands of people with this process and they are there to help you too. Take advantage of their free expertise and they will be glad to help you.