BUILDING YOUR DREAM RETIREMENT HOME: THE BENEFITS OF AGING IN PLACE

Aging in place is the choice to remain in your own home throughout your retirement years, maintaining independence, comfort and safety in a space designed specifically for you.

Rather than adapting to institutional schedules in retirement facilities or community-living spaces, aging in place means creating a custom home environment that adapts to your needs, allowing you to retire on your terms, in your space, surrounded by the community and lifestyle you’ve built over a lifetime. It’s about investing in a permanent solution that grows with you, rather than relocating to shared accommodations that may not align with your vision for retirement.

Consider all the benefits of building your dream home:

1. FINANCIAL FREEDOM

It is vital to find a retirement solution that aligns with your budget and offers long-term value rather than ongoing monthly expenses.

Traditional retirement homes cost between $6,000-$12,000 per month, totalling $72,000-$144,000 annually. Over five years, you could spend $360,000-$720,000 for a 420-square-foot room and shared facilities. Quality Homes offers a superior alternative: build your own custom retirement home as a one-time investment.

By choosing to age in place, you’re building equity instead of paying rent, and you can take advantage of government tax credits and benefits available to seniors.

2. DECLARE YOUR INDEPENDENCE

Maintaining your independence while staying close to family is a priority for many retirees, and there’s a solution that offers the best of both worlds.

Quality Homes’ custom builds allow you to maintain complete control over your daily schedule, personal space, and lifestyle choices. Unlike retirement facilities where you adapt to institutional schedules and shared spaces, aging in place means living by your own rules in your own home. For families looking to keep loved ones nearby while respecting everyone’s privacy and independence, an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) offers an ideal solution. An ADU is a self-contained, autonomous home built on your family’s property. Close enough for support and connection, yet independent enough for complete privacy and dignity.

The Laurel A Suite by Quality Homes

Benefits of an ADU for aging in place include:

• Your own separate entrance, kitchen, bathroom, and living space
• Proximity to family for assistance when needed, without sacrificing independence
• No monthly retirement home fees
• Flexibility to have family nearby for regular check-ins while maintaining your own household
• The ability to age in place with family support just steps away

Quality Homes specialises in custom ADU designs that can be tailored to your specific needs, creating a retirement solution that keeps you autonomous yet connected to the people who matter most.

Explore Our Suite Collection

3. SINGLE-FLOOR LIVING

Single-floor bungalow designs are ideal for aging in place, and they’re among our most popular plans for exactly this reason. By eliminating stairs entirely, you remove one of the most significant safety hazards for older adults while embracing the simplicity and ease of compact, efficient living.

Custom Woodstock Design by Quality Homes

Compact bungalow living offers distinct advantages for retirees:

• Everything you need is on one accessible level
• Less space to maintain means more time to enjoy retirement
• Reduced heating and cooling costs with efficient square footage
• Easier to navigate and keep organised
• Perfect for downsizing without sacrificing comfort

Quality Homes offers a multitude of prefab home designs with beautiful collections of bungalows that can be personalized to your needs and your property. Our most popular retirement-friendly designs feature thoughtful layouts that maximise functionality without wasting space.

Explore Our Bungalow Collection

Key features to consider for aging-in-place design include:

• Main floor laundry for convenient access without navigating stairs
• No basement to eliminate the need for stair climbing
• Open concept layouts that provide clear sightlines and easy navigation
• Wide doorways to accommodate mobility aids if needed in the future
• Walk-in showers that eliminate the need to step over bathtub edges

Every Quality Home can be designed with aging-in-place features, ensuring you can live safely and independently for years to come.

4. CUSTOMIZATION FOR YOUR LIFESTYLE

A builder who understands aging-in-place requirements and can customize your home accordingly is key to creating a space that truly serves your needs as you age.

Unlike retirement facilities with standardized rooms and limited personalization options, a custom-built home can be tailored to your exact specifications. Quality Homes’ experienced drafting and design team works with you to create plans that match your lot, your health and accessibility needs, your budget, and your retirement lifestyle.

Popular customizations for aging-in-place homes include:

WIDER DOORWAYS
Nowhere is off-limits! Wider doorways are a standard feature in our homes and give you easy access to all areas of your home.

ACCESSIBILITY TUB
Forget life’s daily worries with the solitude of a bubbly soak and a blissful calm in this jacuzzi tub. The tub can be raised to wheelchair seat height with a surround deck ensuring a safe and comfortable transfer.

GRAB BARS
Beautifully designed to match your faucets and bath accessories while providing you with peace of mind and steadier, safer transfers.

RAISED TOILET
A raised toilet is versatile enough to complement any style in your home, from contemporary to traditional classic. For instance, a toilet can be placed 16″ above the floor whereas a normal toilet rests 14″ from the floor. This extra 2″ allows for easier transfers from a wheelchair.

The beauty of Quality Homes’ process is complete transparency in pricing. Each modification is priced individually, so you can select exactly what you want. Working with our in-house Drafting Team, you have the freedom to create a home that truly works for you.

And because Quality Homes builds indoors using efficient modular construction, customizing your home won’t impact the timeline. You get exactly what you want without the unpredictable delays and extra costs associated with traditional site-built homes.

5. COMMUNITY CONNECTION

A reliable aging-in-place solution should allow you to stay connected to the community, friends, and services you’ve built relationships with over the years.

Quality Homes understands that retirement isn’t just about the home; it’s about staying rooted in your community. Our modular construction methods allow you to build on your existing land or choose a location that keeps you close to familiar healthcare providers, shopping, recreational activities, and longtime neighbours.

This community connection is crucial for maintaining social relationships that support physical, mental, and emotional well-being as you age. When you stay in your community, you maintain established healthcare relationships, social networks with friends and neighbours, familiar services, and proximity to family who can visit easily and provide support when needed.

Unlike moving to a retirement facility that disconnects you from your established community, a custom Quality Home keeps you exactly where you want to be. So you can continue with the daily routines and activities that bring comfort and joy.

6. LONG-TERM SECURITY & PEACE OF MIND

How will your retirement housing choice serve you many years from now? How does it protect your investment and ensure continued care options?

Quality Homes offers peace of mind for your golden years with homes built to last and adapt to changing needs. With our 10-year structural warranty and construction that exceeds Ontario Building Code standards, your investment is protected for the long term.

The Quality Homes advantage includes:
• One-stop shop: a full-service builder with a dedicated team of experts covering sales, design, construction, installation, and assistance with permits, all under one roof.
• Efficient indoor building process that’s faster and more reliable, so your home stays protected from the elements.
• Sustainability and lower carbon footprint: prefab homes produce less waste in the building process, and all homes include green features that reduce energy and cost.
• Guaranteed delivery date: we pay you an extra $250 for each day your home is delayed, ensuring your project stays on schedule.

Perhaps most importantly, retiring in a Quality Home gives you flexibility for future care options. As your needs evolve, you can bring in home care services, accommodate live-in assistance, or make future modifications as needed. You maintain control over your care choices rather than being limited by institutional policies.

A REAL-WORLD EXAMPLE

Carol and Brian’s story perfectly illustrates these benefits in action. After more than 10 years of visiting the Bruce Peninsula, this couple decided to make the region their permanent retirement home. As Carol wrote on her blog, The Cottage Wife:

“In the end, being in an efficient home, built to current code (or better) on a larger lot, in which we can choose every detail won out. We’ve worked long and hard after all, why not get exactly what we want so we can enjoy our ‘golden years’ without compromise.”

They chose The Woodstock bungalow model, a 1,426 sq.ft. single-floor design with main floor laundry and no basement. Through Quality Homes’ customization process, they added features like vaulted ceilings, extra windows, a covered back deck, and a new pantry. As Carol noted about the pantry:

“Getting a freezer in there can be an important factor for living up north where we get frequent winter road closures!”

What impressed them most was the transparency of the process. As Brian explained:

“The best part was that we could break down the modifications and the alterations, and she priced each individual item out for us, so that we could select what we wanted to change.”

Their experience demonstrates how a custom Quality Home can be tailored to support both your lifestyle preferences and practical aging-in-place needs, all while staying in the community you love.

Watch Carol & Brian’s Journey Here.

THE QUALITY HOMES LIFE TRANSITION ADVANTAGE

When considering your retirement housing options, the advantages of aging in place with a custom-built home are clear. Quality Homes has been building dream homes and cottages since 1987, with a dedicated team of experts who can help modify and personalize plans efficiently.

Your custom dream retirement home can be built and delivered in a matter of months (versus years) and designed specifically for your aging-in-place needs. You’ll save thousands compared to retirement home monthly fees while enjoying independence, dignity, and community connection that institutional care simply cannot match.

Unlike traditional site-built construction, which can’t guarantee costs due to the price of labour and materials, can’t guarantee timelines due to availability of workers, and risks delays from material shortages, Quality Homes provides certainty, transparency, and quality construction in a fraction of the time.

Ready to explore retirement with a custom Quality Home?

Let us help you build a home that’s ready for your golden years, a place where you can age gracefully, independently, and exactly where you want to be.

CONTACT US:

Send us a message online: click here
Give us a call: 1-800-265-2648
Send us an email: info@qualityhomes.ca