When Lee and Ellen Robinson of Centennial took a cell phone call in sunny Kenya during one of their frequent trips abroad, it wasn’t good news.
Their kids back in frozen Colorado were reporting that the couple’s pretty 4-bedroom two-story home in Fox Ridge had suffered a burst pipe upstairs, and that water was running down the street.
The damage to their place would end up being about $80,000.
For the Robinsons—well past retirement age but who are looking good and could probably stay in their big house another ten years—that event set the clock ticking to plan a move somewhere with lower maintenance.
Now the Robinsons are packing up to head for Wind Crest Senior Living in Highlands Ranch. Seniors Real Estate Specialists at The Steller Group/Senior Solutions Division are helping them get set for that, and are readying to market their home.
“One of the main drivers for moving was we wanted to be able to go and not worry about it. Lock and leave,” says Lee Robinson.
Robinson adds that the couple had told a neighbor across the open space about their plans to pack up. “She said, ‘You guys don’t look old enough to move. We’re going to be carried out of our house, feet first.’”
Steller Seniors Specialist Blair Bryant, who will handle the sale of the Fox Ridge place, says thatap a common sentiment among Coloradans who have owned their homes for decades.
“We’re always meeting senior-aged residents with well-loved homes who have a hard time facing the fact that a move is coming. They often feel like anything is better than having to give up the single-family way of life.”
But the Robinsons have a different perspective on that quandary. They say that their move isn’t about abilities, itap about time.
“I’m on the boards of three nonprofits; I’m busy,” Lee says.
“When I retired 12 years ago, I needed to because I didn’t have time to work. Now, my life is full and I don’t have time to be messing with the house anymore.”
That perspective gave them a new way of evaluating features and services that senior communities offer when they began visiting some of them — including Wind Crest, where they felt an immediate connection.
“We got an ad from Wind Crest and we knew some people who live there,” Lee says. They hadn’t expected to like it, he adds.
“We loved it. There’s so much more to do,” said Ellen Robinson. “Everybody who we’ve talked to who lives there loves it.”
However, Bryant says that the appeal of Wind Crest comes with a caveat:
“You have no idea how popular active lifestyle communities are becoming, or how limited the inventory is,” he notes.
“You have to expect a wait before a new apartment is ready, and that means you need to be exploring the possibilities now.”
“Putting off the decision to explore is risking having some unexpected event that speeds up the timetable, and that steals freedom in choosing where you want to be,” Bryant says.
Indeed, the Robinsons first looked at Wind Crest in 2024, but they just received the call two months ago that a couple of perfect units were ready.
The Robinsons had also attended a Steller seminar back in January that gave them tips on downsizing, decluttering, and finding a mover experienced in senior moves.
Steller also has in-house contractors for needed remodeling or fix-ups.
Steller’s ability to help with all aspects of a senior move owes to their team of professionals, bringing together all aspects of decision making, move management, and estate planning, not to mention renovations and a staging team to ready a home for showing.
Bryant is a regular presenter at the series of free seminars that Steller offers on senior downsizing. That includes an ‘Estate Sale Road Show’ with a genuine antiques appraiser, that Steller has planned for Highlands Ranch Senior Center May 27 at 5:30 p.m. Contact The Steller Group if you have interest in having a valuable appraised at the event.
For details on upcoming seminars visit DenverSeniorSeminars.com.
The news and editorial staffs of The Denver Post had no role in this postap preparation.
