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Senior Hoarding Game Plan

We wanted to share with you an often confounding yet common situation when dealing with transitioning an elderly loved one from their home of many years into a senior care community, or perhaps your home or even settling their estate. We are specifically referring to senior hoarding. This is real and the condition is known as Diogenes syndrome, and it is more common than most people realize.

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This is part of our 2024 best in class continuing series of helpful articles from Joe Santoro and Nick Santoro of Personal Property Managers to assist you in home downsizing, content liquidation and full service discount real estate services. Personal Property Managers services clients in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

During this challenging time in the Corona Virus and COVID-19 era, we help families that are unable travel or tend to their property needs by providing a true one-stop resource. We are focused on making life just a little easier for families during often difficult times. With Personal Property Managers, one call does it all.

Our senior loved ones are certainly part of the ‘greatest generation’ for sure. They have sacrificed for our nation, fought our wars, defended our freedom, were hard working Americans who put in long hours at work, saved and accumulated things over their lifetime. Now, as their caregiver, you may be faced with dealing with the task of trying to clean-up or sort through what they have accumulated over their lifetime. In many cases, the mass accumulation of things turns out to be senior hoarding. We often find homes with 4 or 5 blenders, toasters, lawnmowers, ladders, boxes of things that have never been opened or things never used and the list goes on and on…

Times have changed. Items that were valuable years ago are no longer desirable. Family members often have no use or desire to bring Grandma’s things to their home. Change can be hard, and sorting through a lifetime accumulation of possessions can be overwhelming to a senior who is already struggling with a loss of independence and to family members who are stressed out.

It is perfectly normal for an individual who has lived for many years in one location to acquire a lot of stuff, and for some individuals, letting go of the things they no longer need can be extremely difficult. Experts say seniors are prone to cluttering for a variety of reasons, including fear of loss, anxiety, and depression. Research also suggests that pre-Alzheimer’s personalities may trigger hoarding behavior, further complicating the issue for those already pre-disposed to this obsessive habit.

For families dealing with loved ones and parents who have slipped into a pattern of hoarding, it can be difficult to develop strategies for the kind of downsizing that is necessary to accommodate a move to senior housing. The individual may be ashamed of their living conditions, and reluctant to accept the help they need. They also may be fearful of being forced to let go of the items to which they have become attached and resist their family’s attempts at getting the clutter under control.

Of course, securing the homeowner’s consent and cooperation is only half the battle. Once you have the go-ahead to begin sorting through the collection, it is important to have a strategy for completing the task at hand. Here are a few suggestions for getting through the cleanup:

Call a professional. At Personal Property Managers, we specialize in helping families take stock of what they have, what is valuable or not and how to declutter. Often, going through an entire household after years of accumulation is simply too much for one person to undertake. Far better to work as a team with a common goal.

Set a date to start the project. Block off a section of your calendar when you can truly focus on the task at hand. Determine how long you will work, and then stick to the plan. You may not make it through the process entirely, but knowing you have a starting time, and a plan to wrap up the day’s work at a specific time, can help keep you on track.

Do it in chunks. Work room by room. Although you may have an entire house to wade through, you will do your best work by focusing on one room at a time. Besides, any large project is easier to complete if you divide it into smaller, more manageable tasks.

Use a system. Focus on the most used items. As you go through each room, set aside a place for each of the following: donations, keepsakes, items to be organized and put away, and trash. At the end of each workday, take time to put away the items you have chosen to keep. Be selective. Remember that you are downsizing, so make your selections carefully. You may actually need to go through this process twice as it is often difficult to make emotional decisions the first pass through.

Think about digitizing boxes and boxes of photos and photo albums.

Have donations and trash picked up promptly to prevent second guessing your selections. The sooner you have temptation removed, the better.

Once the cleanup is complete, check in often to make sure that day-to-day clutter is not getting out of control. Staying on top of the problem is far easier than wading through a year’s worth of accumulation, and maintaining a tidy living space will relieve stress for you and your loved one, as well as make the home safer for its inhabitants.

The good news is that we can help clean-out your house, help downsize family’s homes and liquidate your contents for items that are saleable and in demand. We offer on-site estate sale services and can remove contents and sell them via our array of proprietary resources. With Personal Property Managers…one call does it all.

We offer 6 primary services to help families or executors. They are:

Additional info can be found on this brief 90 second video or a full array of great tips and insights and video by clicking on our resource page.

For more insights, tips and videos please visit our Resource Page in the About us tab.

For more information on real estate or home downsizing please contact Nick Santoro or Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers at 215-485-9272 or 908-368-1909. Personal Property Managers specializes in helping home owners transition from their home of many years into a new community. Personal Property Managers services Pennsylvania and New Jersey and offers downsizing services, estate sales services, home staging, discount full service real estate services via its association with EveryHome Realty. Learn more about Personal Property Managers from our recent News Stories.

Home Selling Tips for Pet Owners

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News flash…although you may love your pet and feel that it’s a part of the family, not everyone may feel the same way, especially prospective home buyers who may be turned off by pet odors, worn yards and scratches on floors and walls. So, what is a home seller with pets to do?

We are sharing insights to pet owners who are trying to sell your home. In fact, we advise animal-owning sellers to rid their home of any evidence of pet damage or animal scents before opening their doors to potential buyers.

Appealing to buyers who may not love pets as much as you do can boost your chances of getting top dollar for your house.

This is part of our 2024 best in class continuing series of articles by Nick Santoro and Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers, who service Pennsylvania and New Jersey and specialize in real estate, property management, home content downsizing and estate sale services.

Addressing Outside Pet Needs
While a spacious backyard is a plus in the eyes of most buyers, pet-related landmines and holes typically aren’t on a buyer’s list of wants. To get your yard visitor-ready, we recommend filling in any doggy-dug holes and scooping the poop.

Additionally, be sure to check your fencing, deck, and porch for any marks from scratching or chewing. Most pet-related scratches and damage can be easily repaired with a little sandpaper and stain.

Addressing Inside Pet Needs
First impressions are everything, but dog toys and pet odors don’t exactly enhance a home’s initial appeal. Get your home ready by ousting any evidence of pets, including:
• Pet belongings. Collect toys, bowls, beds, crates, cat trees, and litter boxes and keep them out of sight. We even recommend hiding pet photos.
• Scents. Get rid of potentially off-putting animal scents by lighting candles, opening windows, or hiring a professional carpet cleaning crew to deodorize your domicile.
• Scratches. If your hardwood floors have a few battle scars to show for their years of being trodden upon by pets, consider having them resurfaced.
• Remove Your Pet(s). Leaving your pet in the house during showings isn’t the best idea. They could dart out an open door or pose a liability issue if they behave in a less-than-friendly manner toward strangers. If you can’t take your pets with you, let a friend or relative care for them or board them at a kennel.

Please remember that you only have one time to make a good first impression, be that a buyer or with other realtors, so please keep this in mind if you are a home seller with pets. You do not want to sabotage your chances of success by not being mindful of other people’s opinions of pets.

More information can be found on who we are and look through the eyes of the buyer via these brief video links.

For more insights, tips and videos please visit our Resource Page in the About us tab.

We offer 6 primary services to help families or executors. They are:

Additional info can be found on this brief 90 second video or a full array of great tips and insights and video by clicking on our resource page.

The Cost of Senior Care and your Options

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Are you the caregiver of a senior loved one? Have you ever wondered how expensive the cost of long term senior care is for your elderly loved? Do you have any idea how much the average cost is for a nursing home or an assisted living community or the cost of in-home care services?

This is part of our 2024 best in class continuing series of article and helpful tips and insights into senior care and senior transition services by Nick Santoro and Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers. Personal Property Managers specializes in senior transition services such as downsizing, content clean out and removal, estate sales, full service real estate and property sale and moving.

During this challenging time in the Corona Virus and COVID-19 era, we help families that are unable travel or tend to their property needs by providing a true one-stop resource. Additionally, we help family transition elderly loved ones from independent living to senior care communities and help them pay for a loved ones long term care with our full line of services. We are focused on making life just a little easier for families during often difficult times. With Personal Property Managers, one call does it all.

We’d like to share with you some recent information conducted by Genworth Financial about the cost of caring for our seniors. We think this will not only be informative but a real eye opener.

This year’s annual cost-of-care survey by Genworth Financial shows that the national, median annual cost for care in an assisted-living facility is about $54,000, or $4,500 per month.

The average cost of an assisted-living facility nationwide has increased 6.29% annually over the past five years, according to the study.

Nationwide, the cost for a private nursing home room rose about 6.4% annually over the past five years to $108,405 or $9,034 per month.

This is part of a 14 year study surveying about 15,000 providers of long-term care services nationwide.

About 70% of people older than 65 will need some form of long-term care services, but costs for those services have been rising for years. The average length of a long-term care claim is about three years.

The world’s population is aging at a faster rate than ever before and people are living longer. Every day until 2030, 10,000 Baby Boomers will turn 65, and 7 out of 10 people will require long term care in their lifetime.

Nationally, the 2021 median hourly cost for the services of a homemaker or in-home health aide hired from a home care agency is $27.

The real challenge is how to pay for the long term care of our elderly.

There are several options. One is to secure a long term care insurance policy. However, the cost for this type of insurance is often very expensive and will depend on the age of the client. The older the client is the more costly it is on an annualized basis.

Often times families are forced to pay for the cost of their loved ones long term care by liquidating their assets. This means selling the home of their loved one and liquidating their financial assets such as stocks and bonds and other holdings. Then depending upon the state you live in, Medicaid will step in, but they use a 5 year look back to determine eligibility and need. In other words, virtually all assets must be exhausted before the state Medicaid system will step in again, this depends upon the state in which you live in.

At Personal Property Managers, we can help families pay for a loved ones long term care. How? We take care of everything relating to a loved ones home and their contents. We help liquidate the contents of a loved ones home. Then we get a home market ready for sale and then can help sell the property to help free up funds to pay for a loved ones long term care. This can be a exhausting and emotional process. We help move the process along with our one stop services. With one call, Personal Property Managers does it all.

We offer 6 primary services to help families or executors. They are:

Additional info can be found on this brief 90 second video or a full array of great tips and insights and video by clicking on our resource page.

For more insights, tips and videos please visit our Resource Page in the About us tab.

How to begin Downsizing you Home

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The vast majority of the clients who contact us are simply overwhelmed trying to tackle downsizing their home or the home of a loved one. It is physically and mentally draining. Often it entails going through possessions that have been in the house for 40 plus years. Where do you begin?

This is part of our 2024 best in class continuing series of articles and helpful tips and insights into helping you move forward and sell your home and clean out your contents by Nick Santoro and Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers. Personal Property Managers specializes in real estate sales and marketing, home downsizing, content clean out and removal and estate sales, and services Pennsylvania and New Jersey. These tips and insights are especially important and true in the environment we are in today, with the global economy turned upside down, massive job losses, and the need for extreme social distancing due to the Corona Virus, which causes the COVID-19 disease.

Moving from your home of 20, 30 or 40 years is a daunting task. Often our client tell us it’s an “oh my gosh moment” – where do I begin? This is where we can help you.

Did you know that downsizing and moving ranks as one of lifes most difficult events, along with loss of a spouse, divorce and job change. People feel overwhelmed, and wonder; where do they even start?

At Personal Property Managers, we understand the emotional toll downsizing and moving can take on our clients and their families. If you are moving from your home of many years into a senior care community or just relocating, our goal is to help you transition seamlessly to this exciting new chapter in life.

Nick Santoro says that of the many challenges of moving, downsizing is the most difficult. Nick says the reason for this is that you have to make decisions about every personal possession in your home. Personal Property Managers is at your side helping you every step of the way.

Santoro suggests viewing downsizing as a process. We suggest that you start with small goals, and plan on sorting for just a few hours at a time.

Sorting through the easiest and obvious first. Choose a room where what needs to go or stay is the most obvious – like your bedroom or a room that’s rarely used.
Using colored stickers, labels or Post-It notes to identify where items will go. More efficient than writing out a list, movers and family members can use the stickers as guidance on moving day.
Assessing practicality and sentimentality. Items that are both practical and sentimental should move with you. Items that are neither should be left for family, sale or charity.
Eliminating duplicate items or items that are the wrong size. Chances are, you only need three sets of towels, not six. If clothing does not fit, do not bring it with you.

Before the move, Santoro recommends creating a floor plan and determining the practicality of existing furniture. Nick says, do not go out and buy new furniture. Instead, be open to using furniture in new ways.”

Taking measurements of available space is also important. Virginia, a recent client said, “We had large paintings that we really loved, but did not think we could bring with us. Nick had our floor plan and measurements and said, “Oh, yes we can. I know just where those paintings can go!’”

“It’s the sentimental items that make a house a home,” Nick reminds our clients. “Those are just as important as packing up your sensible shoes and kitchenware.”

What about selling some of your home contents?

As you approach the downsizing process, many of our clients contact us about wanting to sell their household items.

Most of the people who call, begin by telling us they have a variety of items ranging from kitchen sets, living room sets, bedroom sets, china cabinets filled with all kinds of things and believe that buyers will want to flock to their home for a chance to buy their contents.
Let’s face it, we all think the things that we have accumulated over the years are beautiful and everyone will them; right? Wrong.

So in this day and age of the Corona Virus, you have to ask yourself would you want to go to a strangers home and buy pre-owned furniture? Probably not. Then on top of that, what most sellers never think of is the logistics and cost of simply moving an item from a seller’s home to a buyer’s home? Who pays for that? This has to be factored into the selling price, if there is even a demand or interest in today’s environment. So, does this mean you cannot sell your pre-owned home contents? No. Absolutely not. You may be able to sell your older unwanted items, but understand that today’s buyers tend to want more updated and contemporary items reflective of today’s styles. Additionally, todays home owners tend to want a more simplified look and feel and not want many items that were popular years ago. So be realistic.

For more insights, tips and videos please visit our Resource Page in the About us tab.

We offer 6 primary services to help families or executors. They are:

Additional info can be found on this brief 90 second video or a full array of great tips and insights and video by clicking on our resource page.

How to begin Downsizing you Home

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Moving from your home of 20, 30 or 40 years is a daunting task. Often our client tell us it’s an “oh my gosh moment” – where do I begin? This is where we can help you.

Santoro suggests viewing downsizing as a process. We suggest that you start with small goals, and plan on sorting for just a few hours at a time.

Sorting through the easiest and obvious first. Choose a room where what needs to go or stay is the most obvious – like your bedroom or a room that’s rarely used.
Using colored stickers, labels or Post-It notes to identify where items will go. More efficient than writing out a list, movers and family members can use the stickers as guidance on moving day.
Assessing practicality and sentimentality. Items that are both practical and sentimental should move with you. Items that are neither should be left for family, sale or charity.
Eliminating duplicate items or items that are the wrong size. Chances are, you only need three sets of towels, not six. If clothing does not fit, do not bring it with you.

“It’s the sentimental items that make a house a home,” Nick reminds our clients. “Those are just as important as packing up your sensible shoes and kitchenware.”

What about selling some of your home contents?

As you approach the downsizing process, many of our clients contact us about wanting to sell their household items.

For more insights, tips and videos please visit our Resource Page in the About us tab.

We offer 6 primary services to help families or executors. They are:

Additional info can be found on this brief 90 second video or a full array of great tips and insights and video by clicking on our resource page.

Getting your home ready for an aging loved one to move in

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Home Modifications When Moving In an Elderly Loved One

Home modifications tips for elderly parents moving in with caregivers

Helping Seniors Move in PA NJ With Americans living longer and longer, and with the baby boomer retirement population exploding, and expecting to almost double in the next few years, one option that many families are taking is having elderly parents move in with their adult caregiver children.

We have found that it’s very important to consider certain home modifications so you can accommodate elderly loved ones moving in with you.

This is part of our 2023 best in class continuing series of articles and helpful tips and insights into senior care and senior transition services by Nick Santoro and Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers. Personal Property Managers specializes in senior transition services such as downsizing, content clean out and removal, estate sales, full service real estate and property sale and moving and services PA and NJ.

Some general safety and room-by-room details to consider include:
Make sure to have study handrails on all indoor and outdoor steps
Install nonskid strips on or near steps and near the edges.
For those with visual impairments, the strips should be a color that contrasts with the color of the steps.
Light switches should be located near all entrances to each room, at each end of hallways, and at the top and bottom of stairwells.
Lighting should be sufficiently throughout the home.
Consider replacing traditional door knobs with lever handles which are easier to operate than doorknobs.
Interior doors should have locks that can be opened from either side.
Hallways and doorways should be wide enough to accommodate a walker or wheelchair.
The water heater should be set at 120 degrees to reduce the risk of scalding.
Solid color carpeting with dense pile will lower fall risks. Deep pile carpeting can be more difficult to walk on, and patterned carpeting may cause optical illusions for those who have difficulty with depth perception.
To lower fall risks with hardwood floors, avoid wax or high gloss polishes or throw rugs.
Avoid room entrances with raised door thresholds.
Smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors should be present near all sleeping areas.
Check that kitchen cabinets and countertops are a comfortable height, and that there is space to roll a wheelchair under a counter, if needed.
A side-by-side refrigerator/freezer will be easier to use than a top-bottom model.
Electric or gas stoves should not be positioned under a window because the presence of curtains will increase the risk of fire.
Sinks should have a single-lever mixing faucet.
The touch pad of a microwave should be large and easy to read, and the device should be in a convenient location.
There should be one bathroom located on the main floor of the home, as well as near the bedroom (if the home is multi-level).
Grab bars should be present or can be installed near the toilet and tub/shower.
Check that the toilet is a comfortable height.
It is recommended that the tub/shower has a hand-held spray unit, and a built-in seat or space to utilize a shower chair (chairs are available which extend over the side of a tub if a stall shower is not present, however you will need a curtain instead of shower doors to minimize water escaping from the shower.)
A pedestal sink may be needed if a wheelchair or regular chair will be used in front of the sink.
The size of the bathroom should be adequate for wheelchair maneuverability
Avoid throw rugs and bathmats. The floor should be carpeted (low pile), or matte-finished, textured tile instead of a smooth, potentially slippery surface.
Towel racks and built-in soap dishes should be secure and not located where they might be used as a grab bar.
One Bedroom should be available on the main floor of the home.

We have learned over the years that these modifications can make a world of difference for your elderly loved one.

For more insights, tips and videos please visit our Resource Page in the About us tab.

We offer 6 primary services to help families or executors. They are:

Additional info can be found on this brief 90 second video or a full array of great tips and insights and video by clicking on our resource page.

The Cost of Senior Care and Your Options

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Eye-opening information about the cost of caring for our seniors.

This is part of our 2023 best in class continuing series of article and helpful tips and insights into senior care and senior transition services by Nick Santoro and Joe Santoro of Personal Property Managers. Personal Property Managers specializes in senior transition services such as downsizing, content clean out and removal, estate sales, full service real estate and property sale and moving.