Answers For Elders Radio Network

If you're caring for a loved one who is cognitively impaired, this hour is for you. Dr. Shawn Weiss joins Suzanne this hour. This segment provides an overview of mental impairments, including dementia.

12-18% of those over 60 years old have at least some mild cognitive disorder, and that is expected to grow by 20% by the year 2040. 80% of seniors in senior living communities have some kind of impairment. Most people want to age in place, particularly after Covid, and people are feeling ill-equipped when it comes to caregiving. People are looking for ways to help mom or dad, to improve their quality of life.

There are more than 100 types of dementia. People have language deficits or an expressive aphasia, taking unnecessary risks, memory losses, confusion, decreased concentration, and some personality changes are some of the symptoms.

Get a free guide for cognitive impairment strategies at https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/freeguide.

Learn more:
* Shawn Weiss: https://answersforelders.com/shawn-weiss/
* Senior Health and Wellness website: https://www.seniorhealthandwellness.org/

Hear more podcasts about:
* Aging in place: https://answersforelders.com/tag/aging-in-place/
* Dementia: https://answersforelders.com/tag/dementia/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean advises to always pay for moving by weight, not cubic feet, and to inspect the empty truck at the end of the move before the crew leaves.

9. Always pay by weight, not cubic feet.

Move by weight, not volume. Cubic feet is not a precise measure. The same boxes can be arranged to take up different amounts of space. Scammers can leave big open gaps within stacks of boxes on a truck, so that the boxes appear to take up more space than they really do. If you don't have a precise measure, you don't have control over the price. The military, governments, and corporations all ship by weight for a reason. The scale is your best friend, weight is an absolute measure.

10. Inspect the empty truck after delivery, before the crew leaves.

It's on Jordan River Moving & Storage paperwork, to initial that you've inspected the truck. Nobody wants to have items accidentally left behind on the truck. You'll feel more comfortable knowing that if you can't find something, it's somewhere in your house, and not on the truck. It gives you closure.

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. This segment, Sean advises that you pre-plan your space in your new house before you move there, and observe the truck as it's being weighed before and after loading.

7. Space plan at your destination before your move.

Make sure you know where you want your furniture to go in your new home. You need to be able to show the movers where to unload items. If you haven't done that ahead of time, local movers are being paid by the hour while you decide. Sometimes you don't end up liking where you wanted that couch to go, and they'll move it to an alternate spot. On a long distance move, they've only been paid to put your couch in one spot, and will have to charge extra for moving it to various spots in your living room.

It starts with marking your boxes clearly, and not in cursive. Most movers are foreign, and cursive can be hard to read.

If you're moving from a larger house to a smaller one, space planning is essential. Joseph says, "People are not prepared for moving bigger to smaller. So many times movers have to stack boxes all the way to the ceiling, and then the people couldn't get to them to open them. What could we do?" Arrange for offsite storage or have some of the boxes placed in the garage.

8. Observe the truck being weighed before and after packing. 

Personally observe the truck on the scale before and after packing so you know how much your stuff weighs, because that is the basis for the price you're being charged. You also have the right to have the truck weighed at the destination. 

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean advises packing boxes fully to avoid damage, organize your house for the move, don't sign blank forms, and stay with the crew but out of the way.

3. When you pack, fill up boxes all the way to avoid damages.

If you're doing your own packing, the moving company is not liable for damages to boxes. To avoid damage, prevent items from shifting inside the boxes. To do that, fill each box completely. If they're sealed and flat, they can be stacked faster in the truck. Line the bottom, pack in layers, and if you have empty space, stuff it will filler so items won't move around.

Always mark the room it's going to, and the contents if you'd like. A good company will provide color-coded smart tape, so movers can quickly tell by color where each box belongs.

Local movers are working by the hour, so save money and seal your boxes. If they're unsealed, movers will have to spend extra time to seal them. 

4. Organize your house for the move.

Movers want to arrive and just see furniture and boxes. Then they don't waste any time, and can get started right away. If packing isn't completed, or boxes aren't taped, it takes them more time. 

5. Do not sign blank paperwork under any circumstances.

Scammers work by saying they have to change their estimate, then get you to sign a blank paper. Make sure you get a copy of their estimate. Jordan River Moving & Storage uses tablets; when something changes on the estimate, they will send a new completed electronic estimate.

6. Stay with the crew, but stay out of the way.

Let the crew work, they know what they're doing. Observe all the time. If you have questions or problems, don't hesitate to call the office.

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River Moving & Storage, joins Suzanne this hour to share his top ten tips for a successful move. In this segment, Sean urges people to get an in-home estimate and pack yourself to save money.

1. Get an up-front, in-home estimate.

Joseph says, "A move is a big deal. You're giving them everything you own. Don't you want to see who you're dealing with, to build trust?" Choose a local company from the neighborhood. An in-home estimate is your insurance. You want them to come out to you, to meet them. While there, they can survey your items, and they won't be able to charge more than 10% above  the amount quoted in their free binding estimate. You can ask the proper questions, and they'll estimate the number of boxes you'll need, and the types of boxes you'll need. Most people underestimate how many boxes they'll need. If you don't have time, you can meet virtually, but definitely do hire a local company, where you can visit their offices. 

2. Pack yourself to save money; supply deliveries should be free; don't order boxes online. 

Online boxes are cheap, not strong enough or durable enough for a move. The company that did the quote already knows from their estimate what boxes you'll need. A firm like Jordan River Moving & Storage will deliver the right boxes for free, and only charge for the ones you use. They'll also bring additional boxes if you need more, with no delivery fee. Jordan River has the option of providing good used boxes for a discount. They also will pick up your used boxes once you've unpacked after your move, so you don't have to recycle them.

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Joan Rettmann, Regional Director of Sales in the Seattle area for Skyline, a unique life care senior living community. She clears up misperceptions about life care communities and explains how they work.

Joan says, "Skyline has an extra special place in my heart, because this is actually where I got my start in the industry... Many residents that moved in 15 years ago are still here. Many of them have utilized what we call the Terraces at Skyline, and have used the various components to our continuum of care. And it's been really lovely to see all of that support in place just as it was intended."

"A lot of people don't necessarily know what life care specifically is. So a quick mini lesson on that: there are three core types of CCRCs, continuing care retirement communities. The term "life care" is actually different than life plan. Life plan is the umbrella term in which types A B and C fall under. So type A and "life care" are one and the same. How it's different than A, B, or C, is that under the life care plan, you have priority access to higher levels of care at a fraction of what the market rate cost would normally be for any care level as long as you need it. So it really serves kind of like if you think of the best possible long term care insurance policy you could buy, that would be similar to having that here at Skyline. 

"Type B can offer some discounts, but it's limited in some way, or limited to the care levels. And type C is paying market rate. So type A offers the greatest peace of mind for financial protection in the future. And our residents really love that. There are certain things that you need to explore when you come into the community, and you talk to a sales and marketing team member to make sure that you qualify for it, because there are certain pre-existing conditions that would prohibit that, age requirements and such. That can all be part of the planning process when considering moving, so it's always good to get a head start and looking at your plans to see if that's a fit for you."

Learn more:
* Skyline
* Hear more podcasts about senior living

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Suzanne highly recommends Jordan River after her experiences with the company helping move her mom twice.

Suzanne says, "You guys did two moves for my mom. And I remember each time it was just a breeze, it was easy. Your staff was wonderful. They were kind, they were gentle, they listened to what she had to say. There was a lot that we had to do, especially in the first move, where we had a lot of stuff to get rid of, but you guys just handled it perfectly. So I always say thank you. That is really important to me, that you're not like anybody else. And I mean that."

Sean says, "I would like to provide a good service to people. I remember my business partner, Kobe, we started in Boston working for my brother in Philadelphia, and we learned how to provide quality service. And we went back to — we originally were born and raised in Israel — we went back to Israel. One day Kobe come into my house and said after seven years, we already had a baby each, he said, 'Let's go back to the United States, let's do moving the way we believe moving should be, high-quality service. He didn't say let's go to the United States to make money. Let's do moving services with high quality. We picked Seattle because we wanted a place that was safe, education was good, public schools and everything was high grade, a low crime ratio. And really from the get go, we emphasized customer service."

Sean adds, "We are born and raised in Israel, which is a very family-oriented country. Take care of your parents and respect grandparents."

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Sean describes everything to do to make sure you have stress-free move.

Sean says, "People need to understand the process of the move, what they need to expect, and how to create and complete a simple move in a good way, that shouldn't be stressful. The moving company could take so much stress away. Make the right first move. Call for an estimate, gain trust with the person from the company. Second, discuss either on the phone or in person what services would you like. We can do a full packing for you, so you don't need to worry about anything. Leave your house as is, we'll come and pack it for you: bring our boxes, our smart tape, sharpie to write the contents of the boxes and the location, and everything like that. Or you want to do your own packing? We can supply the boxes. I think it's very important, we deliver boxes to you for free. Do not order boxes online, the boxes online are not good. They're not thick enough. They will cause damage to your items, I guarantee that. They're not the right sizes, the proper sizes for a movie. We have all type of boxes: specialty boxes, picture boxes, and all the rest. We will charge you [for what you use] the day of the move, so you don't need to stress about ordering too many boxes.

"We would like you to prepare your house for us for the day of the move. Which means we would like to come and find boxes and furniture. The boxes packed all the way to the top, sealed, and marked with the location. First, we're going to load all the boxes in the truck. Then we're going to disassemble the furniture, wrap the furniture at the house. That's one of the differences between us and other moving companies. There's two way of handling the furniture. One is when you take the furniture as is to the truck and drop a blanket on it, or shrink wrap, which I think is a joke; shrink wrap does not protect anything. So we disassemble the furniture, wrapping the furniture, protecting mattresses with a heavy-duty mattress cover, and load them on the truck.

“Fully inspect the house. Walk around, open every cupboard, every cabinet, every closet, everything, make sure nothing is left behind. I instruct our crew to open everything with the customer. Don't rush out of the house to save 20, 30 bucks and leave stuff behind. Take five minutes, do the walk through.

"At the destination, we're going to unload all your furniture first. Make sure you know where you want the furniture, because moving it around will take time for no reason. And we're gonna place the furniture, reassemble the furniture, set up the house. Once you say [everything is OK], we're going to bring the boxes in, place them exactly where they need to go in each room based on the customer direction. And then after we're done, we ask the customer to inspect the truck, even if it's a rainy day in Seattle, make sure you inspect the truck. I we got a few comments recently from customer that said, 'wow, it's the first time your crew insisted we check the truck, and we appreciate it.' They want to make sure nothing left behind. This is the proper way to do it. It's on our paperwork, too, that you need to initial 'I did a walkthrough and I inspected the truck.' We don't want to take any of your items back to our warehouse by mistake.

"If you use our boxes, we'll gladly come and pick up the boxes. Call us [after you unpack], we don't want you to get stuck with all these big boxes and figure out where to recycle them."

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. They continue their conversation about moving company scams to watch for.

Sean says, "I'm a board member of the Washington Movers Conference. And every time, we're talking about education, education, education. People need to be aware of scams. The scan is very simple. The company tries to get you in at a certain amount of money, and then double it. 

"First, stay away from brokers. Brokers won't admit they are brokers. Brokers always charge a 35% deposit... If the company asks you and try to move you based on a cubic feet, run and hang up the phone. You don't want to move by cubic feet, because this is not a precise measure... [A scammer] will create a hole in the middle of the truck to inflate the amount of space they're using... Pay attention to blank paperwork. They must send a bill of lading three days before the move... Don't sign a blank paper.

"Recently [scammers] have been using the same tactic of a binding estimate fee... Legitimate companies will not charge for an estimate. Any time you hear that, it's a scam."

Regarding red flags to look for on a company's website, Sean says, "It's tricky. Look up their department of transportation number. You might not want to use a brand new company, which is if their number starts with a 3. Look up their DOT number to see if they're a broker or a carrier. It's simple math, the broker is charging more. 

"Do not pay for a binding estimate, do not move by cubic feet, make sure it's not a broker, try to avoid brand-new moving companies, and ask for an in-home estimate, so you can look them in the eye, so they can get a visual estimate, and get something in writing. Always use a local moving company. Look at their contact information. If it doesn't have a full address, run."

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

• Washington Movers Conference: https://wmcmovers.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Suzanne is joined by Sean Joseph, CEO of Jordan River International Moving & Storage, a nationwide firm that specializes in working with seniors. Moving has changed with the internet, making the whole United States one big neighborhood, and leading to scams. Seek local companies, and get an in-person estimate.

Sean says, "People sometimes fall for fake reviews and flashy websites. When you put your precious items in the hands of movers, don't you want to get something in writing, and be able to look them in the eyes? Ask for references from a friend. Ask local companies if they can come up to your house and give you an estimate. If they won't come to your house, that's a red flag. It should be a free estimate. There's no reason to pay for an estimate.

"If they can't come to your home, that means they're from out of town, and they're probably going to hire another moving organization to come get your stuff. All they are is a middleman, they're going to mark the price higher, right? Because they have to make a profit, this transportation broker. If you ever pay more than a ten percent deposit, which should be refundable 72 hours before the move... don't ever pay 35%, because the broker takes that money.

"The broker doesn't give you a magic price somewhere. They use the magic phrase, 'based on your information.' When I come to your home, and give you an estimate, for free of course, I am obligated by law to set a cap on the estimate. There's no way I can charge whatever I want. Those who don't come to your home, and go by your information supposedly, they can say you were wrong, and can charge you double, triple.

"90% of the brokers are selling out of Serbia, Tijuana, Tel Aviv, Bogota. Ask for local companies in your area. You can visit their headquarters or local branch. Younger people are getting scammed just like seniors. Be careful of the internet. Watch for phishing, cybersecurity, retargeted ads. They're very sophisticated."

Learn more:
* Jordan River Moving & Storage: https://answersforelders.com/jordan-river-moving-and-storage/
* Jordan River website: https://jordanrivermoving.com/

Hear more:
* Senior moving: https://answersforelders.com/tag/senior-moving/
* Moving to senior living: https://answersforelders.com/tag/moving-to-senior-living/

Answers for Elders is part of the Senior Resource Network: https://www.seniorresource.com/
Check out our affiliate podcast Alzheimer’s Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.