Carolyn Monaco, from Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty, is hosting a special presentation about Senior Needs on June 15.

The presentation will be at The Senior Center, 293 Murray Hill Road, Bergenfield at 10:30 am, with caretakers and seniors being invited to attend. Carolyn Monaco is a Senior Real Estate Specialist (SRES) and is certified by the state of New Jersey. She has 25 years of real estate experience, and is certainly well qualified to give useful information to seniors and caretakers about services offered by the county and state.

She can give marketing advice for a seniors current home, according to whether it will be rented or sold, and can help seniors find appropriate new homes. In addition to being a licensed Realtor, Monaco is a certified license fee appraiser, a licensed title insurance producer and Notary Public.

There's no doubt that there is a real need for all types of senior housing, especially as the recession has been devastating for many older Americans, and has also had a considerable impact on the ability of local communities to meet the needs of older residents. A recent survey by the National Association of Area Agencies on Ageing (N4A) found that most communities haven't been able to move programs and services forward to any real degree, due to declining government budgets.

 

It found that subsidized housing availability has fallen from 70% in 2005 to 63%. With millions of baby boomers now reaching retirement age, a much higher level of progress is needed to ensure that there are an adequate number of retirement homes available.

Sandy Markwood, CEO of N4A had this to say: "Although communities have done an admirable job to maintain the status quo considering the economic conditions we faced, given the dramatic ageing demographics, the status quo is not good enough. These findings should be a major wake-up call for local governments."