Other housing options may be better suited to your tastes and needs. These include the intergenerational home – where children and their elderly parents live under the same roof but in separate apartments – and the duplex.
Intergenerational homes
This living concept has long been favoured by some entrepreneurs, and the formula continues to gain in popularity – for good reason! As well as fostering closer family ties and letting you enjoy an exchange of favours and a financial partnership, the intergenerational home is the obvious choice for people intent on growing old among loved ones while at the same time ensuring their own safety.
"We're really happy here," says Lucie, who shares a single-family home with her daughter, her son-in-law and their young son. For the last three years, Lucie has lived in a large one-bedroom apartment attached to the couple's home. She has her own entrance and a terrace at the back. "For starters," says Lucie, "you have to get along [with each other] to choose this type of life. Our apartments may be attached, but my home is my home. We keep the doors closed, we announce ourselves, we call one another first, and we knock before entering. On weekends, I invite them to supper, but they're free to accept or decline."
The importance of rules
Successful intergenerational cohabitation depends on the establishment of clear rules. Before you opt for shared living, it's important to discuss the details with your future "roommates": Which spaces are private and which are shared? What are the visiting hours? Will you be co-owners? Even though you're living with family members, we strongly suggest that you establish rules and write them down to minimize the frustration sometimes involved in sharing a residential space.
Having your adult children nearby and being able to get help when it's needed may reassure some, but for others it can quickly become a ball and chain if privacy is not respected. Shared living thus requires preparation and caution. Some municipalities offer property-tax credits to people who transform a single family home into an intergenerational property – support that's always welcome when you're investing in a relatively costly home makeover.
Note that some tax credits and grants can be applied to the purchase or transformation of a home; the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) offers the Homeowner Residential Rehabilitation Assistance Program (Homeowner RRAP) in conjunction with the mortgage and housing corporations in each province.
Page 3 of 4 -- Explore the option of moving to a retirement villa, or adult lifetsyle community on page 4.
