Schowalter Villa

Schowalter Villa Retirement Community is a not-for-profit, Christian-based community that has been owned and operated since 1961 by the Mennonite Board of Missions & Charities of Kansas, Inc. It is a Continuing Care Retirement Community that provides a full range of care from Independent Living to Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Complete Nursing Care. They also have income-based rent in one of the sections (Independent Living) that is subsidized by HUD.

The locations are:

Arbor Vista (the oldest buildings) and are “cottages” (duplexes) are near the assisted living and health care center. They have various sizes but the bathroom access is “difficult” at best.

Hickory Homes is the HUD subsidized one bedroom duplexes and one bedroom apartments. The bathroom access is better but the rooms are quite small.

Lakeside Village is the “high rise” in the neighborhood and offer 1 and 2 bedroom apartments that either overlooks the lake (for a higher price) or the parking lot. They are close to the Water’s Edge restaurant the wellness center.

Lake Vista is the newest addition and are duplexes and fourplexes with up to three bedrooms and 2-car garages. They have a variety of floor plans and special features.

I am not interested in Lakeside Village at all. Ron would not be able to let Maisey out to potty and he can’t take her for a walk. Plus, I’m just not “into” living in an apartment building.

Hickory Homes could be an option, but they are only 1 bedroom, no carport (which would be difficult to load and unload Ron in bad weather), and the rooms are very small. Our bed would fill the bedroom and block the closet. But, Ron could access the bathroom easier. Not so with the kitchen (small, galley-style). Plus, no W/D hookups at all. Would have to use the on-site laundry facilities for $2-3 per load.

Arbor Vista has the least expensive option available (I’ll share fees and prices later). They were built first so they are NOT ADA compliant. They also are not designed in any way to make them ADA compliant. They do have some nice features (beamed, vaulted ceiling, carport, patio, some storage, appliances, etc.)

Lake Vista is the best, but it’s also the most expensive. The rooms are bigger and they were built to be ADA compliant and totally wheelchair accessible. They vary in size from 1112 sq ft to 1600 sq ft. They also include many amenities such as all appliances, 2 or 3 car garages (not carport), plenty of storage, patio, ceiling fans, and they are very well laid-out.

Fees and Prices:

Arbor Vista: These are the only ones that offer a month-to-month option without an entrance fee or 12-months advance rental payment. But, this is only available on the one bedroom duplex. The 1br rents for $550 per month and does not have a maintenance fee. It’s strictly month-to-month. The problem is the size; it is about 700 square feet and we’d have to sell or store most of our stuff. The kitchen is pretty accessible and getting into the bedroom would be OK. The bathroom would be tricky (at best) and the tub nearly impossible. I could possibly get him in the door with the transfer wheelchair (forgot to check that out) but I don’t think he could do it by himself.

The 2br rents for $750 plus $439 maintenance fee. It would require a $3450 upfront payment (due at contract signing), but if and when we transferred to the “permanent” duplex, we would not have to re-pay it. It has 960 square feet. They usually require the 12 months of rent in advance but she said they may be able to waive that requirement since we’re shooting for moving to the other place. If you pay 12 months in advance, then you’d only pay the maintenance fee each month for the first 12 months and then go month-to-month after that (rent + maintenance fee).

Each section has four options for living there. Option A gives you a fixed 75% refund on your “up front” money when you move, Option B gives you 85% refund, less 5% annually (down to 50%), Option C gives you 90% refund, less 10% annually (with no downward limit), and Option D is strictly rent. Each option also involves a monthly “HOA” fee (they call service fee) and this is $439 per month. All but Option D also has an entrance fee of $3450 (2-3 bedrooms) or $2450 (1 bedroom). The up-front amount varies from a low of $35,950 (1-br duplex – Option D) to $97,950 (2-BR, 2BA – Option A).

Ron did think he could get into the bathroom with his leg and walker. Honestly, I’m not sure. I’m thinking we may need to get a bedside commode for him and I’ll just have to get over myself and take care of it. He’s having incontinence problems so it may be a moot point anyway if he needs to go into Depends. He can (hopefully) change them during the day if he has a problem. Not sure about that, either. If he has trouble standing long enough to remove soiled clothing, I don’t see him being able to stand long enough to remove a soiled undergarment.

Lake Vista: These are my favorite (of course) and the most accessible as far as Ron is concerned. They are beautiful, have fully equipped kitchens, and laundry area in the hallway (behind closet doors). The kitchen is accessible for Ron and the rooms are big enough for him to get around in. Major drawback… Have to pay 12 months’ rent in advance, plus the $3450 entrance fee. (If we paid that fee for Arbor Vista we would not have to re-pay it if we moved to Lake Vista.) They range in size from 1112 square feet in a 2-BR, 2BA fourplex to 1600 square feet in a 3BR duplex. Their options are the same as far as refund percentages. The amount of money needed to move in there would be $19,000 ($1350 * 12 + $3450). Last time I checked, I didn’t have that much money laying around here so that isn’t really a possibility (unless someone wins the lottery or Mega Millions and buys me into the place – or someone like Oprah or Ellen – hahaha – jumps in and takes care of it). The duplex is more accessible than the rooms in the fourplex (according to the marketing director). The up-front money for these go from a “low” of $107,950 (2 BR fourplex) to a high of $179,950 ( 3 BR duplex, sunroom, 2-car garage). As much as it would be nice to have a 3-BR with 2-car garage (which would be about the same square footage as what we have now), it’s not necessary. I’d just like the extra space for visitors and such. Plus, I don’t have the money to move in there anyway – in any way, shape, or form.

If I had to move him to assisted living, they have various room sizes and the cost is from $88 per day to $109 per day. They have a single room, a larger room, 2 rooms, and a 2 room suite. On top of that, add nursing care from $25 per day (level 1) to $53 per day (level 5). At the cheapest level, that is over $3,000 per month ($3390 on a 30-day month; less for February and more for 31-day months) that we would have to pay for. At that point, I would not be able to afford to live anywhere except a one-bedroom (if I was lucky and still had a job). (After today – which will be another post – that possibility is more of a probability, and soon…)

I was looking at getting him a hospital bed that would raise up and down but they are pricey and I’m not sure what I’d do with our King-size bed (I would then sleep on the sofa or an air mattress).

I honestly don’t know what to do. If I even think about it I start crying and can’t very well sit here bawling all day. Doesn’t look good for me.
Someone – please figure my life out for me and tell me what to do…..