Part 2 -Are You Prepared for a Green Fried Computer?
June 6th, 2008 categories: Fairfield, Ohio, Liberty Township, Ohio, Real Estate News, Relocation, West Chester, Ohio
Judging by the emails I received, I guess there is a lot of interest in “online storage”. The previous article “Are You Prepared for a Green Fried Computer?” raised questions and I took the liberty copying one of the emails into the comments because it covered several very good points.
It seems as if the “senior sector” has spawned all sorts of new relocation types of services, usually free to seniors, but often requiring hefty referral fees from vendors.
Today many assisted care facilities are partnering with relocation companies to provide end-to-end services. Occasionally problems arise when the facility’s management team does not disclose to the incoming seniors - that they will be ”pushed” to utilize the services. Many of these seniors do not require or want the services-yet they must deal with repeated calls and micromanagement from a relocation service provider - usually located in another city.
If a family member, living in a distant location, requires help with a move I would suggest you check with their community senior services groups to find help. Or check with the real estate agent to determine if they have a “services department”. (Or call me 513-300-4090 and I will find the right agent for you) Several brokerages offer access to preferred vendors and these contractors are usually bonded and insured.
Also The National Association of Realtors (NAR) has a professional designation Senior Real Estate Specialists (SRES). The training enhances a realtor’s ability to work with the 50+ age group. Several real estate web sites allow you to search by designations. A quick search of the just the SRES site rendered 17 names of agents serving the 45069 zip code.
However the online data storage component is another story and I did not have any luck finding companies offering a service to handle inputting the information as well as providing storage.
Sometimes the solution is as simple as using the online tools we access on a daily basis.
Both Google and Yahoo offer free online “storage” for documents. Google Docs and Yahoo Briefcase allow you to upload documents for storage. I have used Google Docs extensively and am able to create new documents and spreadsheets to share or store. My son told me about Yahoo Briefcase and it was very easy to upload a current document to the site. Both of the services require a sign-in/ password to activate.
A friend of mine has taken a much easier approach- he emails “stuff” to a free email account (in this case Hotmail). Many of the documents are sent as attachments and the attachments are password protected. By the time I study all the alternatives, this may be the easiest way for us to “store” information too.
The article that peeked my initial interest (but no actual activity on my part) was written by Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal at the end of 2006. The article titled “These Services Make Backing Up Your Files Safe and Inexpensive” provides detailed explanation on a few services. Another of Mr. Mossberg’s columns in the Wall Street Journal and a recent issue of PC World review SugarSync- a software product which allows users to keep multiple devices up to date. For owners with a variety of computers in many locations- this may be the best bet for keeping information.
Finally a quick search of ConsumerSearch.com provides a good comparison of several sites/services available for back-up.
Stick with what works for you- if you make it too complicated you’ll never follow through with compiling and retaining the documentation.
If you would like to share information on real estate for ”seniors” or online data storage -post a comment below or send an email.
| Discussion:
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
