Aging in Place in Monroe Township, NJ: Home Modifications

Homes in Monroe Township

Monroe is a younger housing stock than most of New Jersey. The median home went up in 1995, and fewer than a third of units predate 1980, so you will find fewer cramped pre-war bathrooms here than in the older towns up the Turnpike. What you find instead is a split between two very different kinds of home. Most units are detached houses, and the rest include the attached villas and townhouses that fill the age-restricted neighborhoods.

That split drives the work. In Clearbrook, Rossmoor and Concordia most homes share a wall, so a ramp or a widened doorway often has to respect a shared entry, a community architectural rule or a neighbor's property line. In Regency, Encore and Renaissance every home is detached, which leaves more room for a ramp and an easier route for a lift. In the family neighborhoods outside the communities, two-story colonials and bi-levels make stairs the bigger question.

With 39.6% of residents aged 65 or older, and nearly all homes owner-occupied, most households here own the house they want to stay in.

Source: Census Bureau, median year built and age

Aging in place in Monroe Township, NJ starts with the kind of home you own

Monroe has three very different settings, and the first useful question is which one is yours.

Attached villas. Clearbrook, Rossmoor and Concordia are mostly single-unit attached homes. Everything is usually on one level, so the first jobs are the bathroom, the front step and the doorways. Walls are shared, so plans stay inside your own unit.

Detached homes in the newer communities. Regency, Encore and Renaissance are fully detached. There is room beside the entry for a ramp, and the second floor, where there is one, is the stairlift question.

Family neighborhoods. Two-story colonials and bi-levels make the stairs the main event. The bedroom and the only full bath may both be upstairs.

Not sure which describes you? Send a few photos and the contractor will sort it out. You can also look at stairlifts and home lifts in Monroe Township if the stairs are what worry you most.

Community rules, owners and the approval question

With 91.1% of homes owner-occupied, the choice is usually yours. In an age-restricted community there is one more step. The Census Bureau tabulates nine of them in the township, and about 76% of residents aged 65 and older live in them. Many associations review exterior changes such as ramps and rails.

Source: Census Bureau, survey table and owners and renters

Here is a simple way to handle it:

• Ask the management office for its modification or architectural request form.
• Take photos of the entry and note the rise from the ground to the door.
• Share the form with the contractor so the drawing matches what the board expects.
• Get approval in writing before any work starts.

Interior work such as a shower or a wider door usually draws less attention than a ramp, but ask anyway.

If you are arranging this for a parent in Monroe

Many requests come from adult children who live elsewhere. You can start from a distance. Here is what helps most.

• Photos of the front steps, the bathroom and the stairs.
• The width of the bathroom door, measured edge of the frame to edge of the frame.
• Whether the home is in an age-restricted community, and which one.
• What your parent finds hardest day to day.

Ask your parent to be part of the plan. A change they chose gets used. One that was done to them often does not. When you are ready, call (315) 640-3590 or fill in the short form to take $100 off your first project.