Grab bars are practical for every home and downright essential for homes with elderly parents living or visiting there. They are not very expensive and fairly easy to install. No, I've never actually installed them myself. However, I watched my plumber do it and asked plenty of questions while he was at it. He explained what was required and is the one who told me they were fairly easy. :)

In one older bathroom remodel, I didn't have much space to work with. Even so, I was able to have him put three grab bars in for my senior mom. One was by the toilet, one was in the shower, and one was in lieu of a towel rack, in order to save space. It worked quite well for the towels and was right beside the shower in case she needed assistance as she stepped out of the shower. A big plus is that I've never had to worry about it falling out of the wall, as have so many of my cheap towel racks in past years.

In a brand new house I purchased, I made sure grab bars were on the list of upgrades in two of the three bathrooms. Originally meant for my senior parents, I was so grateful for them when I broke my ankle and ended up on bedrest for several weeks! Even my grandchildren have used them when they weren't feeling well.

They don't even have to be limited to bathrooms. I've read of people who added grab bars to walls beside a bed as well as putting them outside to help elderly parents when they were out working in the yard. 

Grab bars are a low-cost, high-value addition to any home. Your elderly parents will definitely appreciate them and the rest of your family probably will also.

In addition to SandwichINK.com, I have recently expanded by adding SandwichINKrealEstateInfo.com. This will give me a chance to write more specifically about Sandwich Generation property investments as that is one of my core interests. Whether we are buying or selling our homes with an eye to caregiving needs, helping our aging parents deal with their own homes, giving advice to our adult kids, or even getting involved in a real estate business, there are definitely challenges specific to the Sandwich Generation and that's what I enjoy learning about and sharing with others.

Some of the articles I've written include:

• Home Warranties for This Tool-Challenged Grandma
• An Insurance Question For Your Property Investment
• 8 Interesting Real Estate Tweeple
• 3 Reasons Sandwich Generation Tenants Need Rental Property Insurance

The big headline today is that so many of us in the Baby Boomer Generation are getting older. But that means our senior parents are also getting older, and needing more of our help, including with real estate needs. The goal of SandwichINK and SandwichINKrealEstateInfo continues to be to provide information, resources,and encouragement to help us all as we work together to help our aging parents, along with our growing families.

Today and tomorrow I am posting a two-part series on Moving tips for the Sandwich Generation and others at my primary website, http://www.sandwichink.com/the-sandwich-generation-moves-part-1 . Join me there as we discuss a checklist of things to do when moving, along with some tips for moving with elderly parents, grandchildren, etc.

I just listened to some interesting podcasts by Australian real estate technology speaker, Mike Andrews. You can find his podcasts at http://mikeandrew.podomatic.com/entry/2008-12-09T23_02_15-08_00 or by typing Mike Andrews into iTunes. They are short, but full of good info. It's primarily geared for teaching real estate agents how to use Social Media to increase their business, but as I listened to it, I realized it provided some new criteria I needed to add to my list for selecting a new agent to help me sell my next house, starting with someone well-versed in using video tours to promo houses!

Property Taxes! Two due dates every year that can't be missed. They are easy to be overlooked by elderly homeowners though. Not paying these bills can be a problem and if they are forgotten for several years, the consequences can be enormous.

The late fees are hefty. Using Placer County in California as an example, the late fees total the sum of a 10% penalty plus a $10 cost. Additional penalties are charged if the taxes are not paid by June of the following year. Other counties have different fees, but they are all pretty hefty.

Even worse, if your elderly parent keeps setting aside the tax bill, and it goes unpaid for several years, they could lose the house totally if the government sells the house to recover the unpaid taxes.

Discuss this subject with your elderly parents. Follow up to make sure they are actually paying the bill, as sometimes they can get confused and think they paid it when they didn't. Many counties offer the option to view and pay tax bills online. This can be especially helpful for long-distance caregivers. Look up the government website for the county your parents live in. This should direct you to the website for the agency that collects the property taxes.

Property taxes are not popular, but not paying them is worse. Give your elderly parents an early Christmas gift by checking in with them to make sure they've paid them.

The other side of the coin for elderly parents, from yesterday's post - many do want to stay in their own homes. For them, a reverse mortgage might be a help. Smart Money has a good article on the Sandwich Generation, including a section covering this topic - http://budurl.com/ReverseMtg .

I was very interested to read the article in the New York Times describing the problem many seniors are experiencing due to the downturn of the real estate market. Unable to sell their houses for an acceptable price, they are having to stay put in houses that are too big for them and are not elder-safe. This situation can impact their adult children as well, particularly those members of the Sandwich Generation who are caring for their own children, maybe even grandchildren, and trying to help long distance elderly parents who can't move closer to them. You can find the entire article at http://budurl.com/ElderlyCantMove .