Addition to our home for elderly parents to live in and so we can provide care.

Justjules2332, it great that you want to add an addition to your house so that your parents could live with you. The addition would need to be a mini nursing home... such as the bathroom large enough to handle a wheelchair, plus a walk-in shower large enough for a shower seat, wider door frames, etc. And your own home may have to be fixed over so that your parents can come to your side of the house to visit.

One thing to remember is to look into the future. With your parents medical conditions as you know it will only get worst. A year or two your Dad might need either in-house caregivers to help him, or be moved to Assisted Living/Memory care... same with your Mom.

If either or both need to go onto Medicaid, Medicaid will notice that your parents had paid some money into the addition, and that could throw a monkey wrench into your parents qualifying and monies used by Medicaid for their care.

Oh gosh, there is so much to think about.

First thing you need to determine is if you can add to the home under your city/township's building department rules. If the addition compromises setbacks, you'll have to plan something else. So talk to the people at the Building Inspection Department before going any farther.

If for what ever reason you can't get a bank loan, I suspect there may be some credit issues, or perhaps house standard issues (i.e., house isn't up to code). That's not a criticism, just a concern. If that is the case, it could be hard to find a lender.

The VA does offer some help and loans for retrofitting, but someone in the family would have to qualify. I doubt if you could find an investor; they're going to look at marketability and what they can get out of the situation.

Counties sometimes have home improvement loans; check with your local county.

Start with your county agency for Aging and Disabilities. I know that my own county agency had information regarding grants to make home improvements to help keep a disabled adult living in their own home - I am assuming the same would be true for the elderly.

Good points made here. I would explore all the possible issues, before making the investment, as mentioned above about zoning. Would you get the investment back, if you sold it later? Also, I'd be concerned about any funds your parents might spend on it, if they later needed Medicaid. There is a lookback period where they would examine where their money went.

I'd also consider, as some others said above, that your parent's medical conditions could progress to the point that you would not be able to keep them in the home, especially, if they needed skilled nursing care.

Have you considered converting a den or living room into a bedroom for your parents? It's not ideal, but, it would be low costs. Of course, you still have the problem of needing wheelchair accessible doors, bathrooms, shower, and room for caregivers if some outside help is needed.

Justjules2332, let us know what you plan to do. We always like hearing follow-ups because we can learn from them.

Thank you everyone. Your advice is very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to answer. Have a great day all!!