Did you know you can haggle for a retirement home?

Did you know you can negotiate the price of a retirement or assisted living community, just as you can with a car, house or other large purchases? According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal, although most people don’t know it, you certainly can negotiate with senior living communities.

According to the newspaper, after the recent economic recession, the retirement savings of millions of Baby Boomers and seniors across the United States and Canada have been severely hurt, meaning that many seniors who were looking at retirement communities five years ago don’t have the money today. That means that for seniors and Baby Boomers who still have retirement savings are now in a stronger position to negotiate for better prices, better amenities, and more favorable terms in the contract.

Irvin Schorsch III, president of Pennsylvania Capital Management, a firm which helps seniors, told the Journal that seniors and their families who are looking for retirement communities should keep a checklist of the various homes they look at, comparing the prices, neighborhoods and anything else of interest to them. When they have that kind of information at their fingertips, they can get the most competitive price possible, he said.