These facilities are equipped to provide some skilled nursing services and can accommodate the changing needs of residents. Consumers should be aware that some continuing care retirement communities do not have state contracts and are not regulated. 24-hour security , emergency call systems for each resident's unit, housekeeping and laundry services transportation, personal care assistance with bathing, grooming, dressing and toileting medication management social and recreational activities. Aside from standard safety and fire codes, there are no federal regulations on the operation of ALFs. Therefore, it is important to ascertain what services are available at a particular facility.
Costs vary with the residence, room size, and services required by the resident.
There may be supplemental costs for certain services. As noted above, financing assisted living can be prohibitively expensive for many people. However, if the individual owns a home, it may be possible to use the equity from that home to help pay for residential care. A reverse annuity mortgage can give a homeowner a loan against the value of the house, allowing the person a monthly stipend. There are several types of home equity conversion loans in which a homeowner can either sell home equity or borrow against the equity.