AAG, VGM coordinate aging in place

IRVINE, Calif. – Seniors may want to age in place, but their homes aren’t set up for it – that’s where a new partnership between AAG and VGM Live At Home comes in, says Scott Harkless, vice president of enterprise partnerships at AAG. 

As part of the partnership, VGM Live At Home members will now be able to connect their senior customers directly with AAG loan officers in their local areas to help them fund home modification projects. 

“We’re both trying to serve this demographic with really good service and it’s hard to provide really good service if you’re not acting in a coordinated way,” Harkless said. “How do you provide more of that one-stop shop experience? This partnership helps to coordinate the disparate parts of the market that are trying to serve these seniors.”  

AAG will also provide VGM Live At Home members with educational material about financing options like home equity loans. 

The partnership will go both ways, Harkless points out, with AAG loan officers also able to refer their clients to VGM Live At Home’s network of certified providers that can complete home modifications like installing shower rails, stair lifts or wheelchair ramps. 

“It helps me and my team to be able to say, ‘We have these people now that we can trust and that we can connect you with,’” he said. “You have to have a person, and seniors often don’t have a person.” 

AAG recently conducted research showing just how much more coordinated care is needed for aging in place. The company found that, while more than 80% of seniors wish to live in their homes for the rest of their lives, the vast majority are not aware of their options for paying for the home modifications needed to keep them there safely. 

“The biggest equity tool that seniors have is their home,” Harkless said, “and a reverse mortgage allows them to tap into that equity. It’s a tool designed and insured by the government to help seniors age in place.”