Luxury bus tour featuring all Wichita KS Patio Homes was fun and informative! Our first field trip was a smash success…
June has been full of excitement for Empowered Seniors.
At the beginning of the month, we had our June Empowered Senior Series at Botanica. We discussed decluttering and downsizing. (If you weren’t able to join us, be sure to watch a recording of the seminar here).
We also had our first field trip, Summer Parade of Patio Homes. It exceeded our expectation. Over 40 seniors joined us! We had a fun filled active day. Getting on and off a luxury bus touring patio homes hosted by Randy & Katherine Ambrose (aka Ambrose Team). Everyone was greeted outside the gates at Botanica with Empowered Senior canvas bags, donuts, and lots of smiles! We loaded on the bus at 10am and headed out for an adventurous, fun-filled day.
We toured every Wichita community that had Patio Homes ready to show us. And got updates on every other community throughout the city and beyond. We even ventured to Derby and Andover.
We visited models at Sienna Lakes, CastleGate, Courtyards at Auburn Lakes, and Cypress Point.
Lunch was at Castlegate. Christine Ketzner gave us some history and insight into Patio Home living:
Benefits include having no steps and a ‘lock and leave lifestyle.’ Those are great features because they enable you to travel and have more time to visit with grandkids, friends and family.
Say goodbye to yard work! Exterior maintenance like mowing, watering, snow & ice removal are all taken care of by the home owner’s association.
Enjoy community involvement as much or as little as you want. Communities often organize various social events, card games, bible studies and more. Clubhouses, swimming pools and other community amenities are something you can utilize. So be sure to share with your family and friends that come visit!
Many like living in a neighborhood where the neighbors share common interest in terms of a quiet and more carefree lifestyle.
Christine mentioned that she sees many couples setting each other up for the future. And that moving into a Patio Home gives your entire family peace of mind.
“One of the most loving things you can do for a spouse is to set them up for a brighter future. Making sure they are living in a home and a community that will support successful aging.”
On our second to last stop, we toured the clubhouse at Courtyards at Estancia. We enjoyed a Q & A reception with Estancia homeowners. These friendly and fun neighbors told us all about the lifestyle they love. What it is like to move into a Patio Home and why they did it. We heard so many touching stories!
Lastly, we were treated to a dessert and sparkling toast reception at Cypress Point. We met the Developer, Mark Eaton, and one of the Builders, Jeff Wein. Jeff is trained in Universal Design. Jeff explained how Patio Homes are carefully designed for successful aging.
On the way back, we discussed how federally backed Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM). Available only to Seniors 62 years of age, they are an incredible opportunity to leverage your savings or stretch your monthly budget. HECM are an interesting tool that might make all the difference in making a move into one of these beautiful homes. Easy to qualify for and depending on age a down payment of 25%-40% and have the option to not make any payments. Contact Justin Rocheleau for details: 316-347-1409.
We returned to Botanica at 3PM having made new friends. Gained new knowledge and perspectives. Shared lots of laughs and got our exercise in for the day!! Quote of the day from an attendee:
“A lovely way to spend the day!”
Special thanks to Justin Rocheleau and JR Mortgage for sponsoring the luxury bus! Brian Speer for making our delicious lunch. And Home Health and Hospice of Kansas sponsoring the ingredients and providing bottles of water and snacks! Dee Haskins, Busy Dee Bookkeeping, for volunteering to make it all a success! And attorneys, Felicia Steiner and Doug Coe of Legacy Legal for the donut reception. Because who doesn’t love a yummy donut, needless to say everyone enjoyed!! A special thanks to all of the Realtors®, Builders, and Developers that made it possible for Realtors® and Empowered Senior founders, Randy & Katherine Ambrose to provide this innovative tour.
It was a great day Empowering Seniors. This tour allowed us to educate seniors about buying, renting and Senior Living communities. Click here to see more great photos from this event. We look forward to doing more of these types of tours, so we can continue to provide seniors with the tools and education. And be sure to join us July 8th at Botanica as we tackle Mistakes to Avoid When Updating or Selling Your Home in our July Empowered Senior Series.
Patio Home info and complimentary private touring can be arranged by reaching out to Katherine Ambrose, (316)686-4500 or Randy Ambrose (316)312-3069.
