Firstly thanks Cindy for all the work put into the special news letter its great and very timely.
We took a deposit and exchanged contracts on our home in Mount Riverview on Friday 29/9, we have been investigating our options for the last 12 months looking at over 55s, Retirement villages, home units and villas for a while it was all very confusing but eventually we gathered enough information to make a decision, and we will be buying a villa quite close to where we now live.
Just to give a comparison we considered a retirement village recently opened in Kingswood and they were asking $675000 to 780000 for a three bedroom 1.5 bathrooms a small single garage, $700 per fortnight in ongoing fees and over a period of 7 years you loose 33% of your capital and when sold NO capital gain, some friends said but you are paying for a lifestyle you have a bowling green a swimming pool and a small Gym and a small alfresco area, with a group of people your own age but nowhere nearby to store our van and the nearest shops you need a car.
Our decision we are purchasing a 3 bed villa with 1.5 bathrooms a large single garage 13 other couples our own age who have a happy hour every Friday the purchase cost was $20,000 below the cost of the village our strata fees are $700 per quarter not per fortnight we keep all the capital gain and we dont loose 33% of our capital, Panthers have a multi green bowling club just up the road there's an olympic size pool less than 1 klm away and a very nice park just at the end of the street with a good range of shops within easy walking distance. our van is stored at a friends place along with another from same group of villas.
No lawns to mow no external maintenance and we can head off in the van any time knowing our home is safe. what do other forum members think
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Life was meant to be enjoyed Australia was meant to be explored
Happily doing both to the Max.
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I think you've been very lucky. We still like the idea of having a big block but know the end is drawing near. So much bad stuff on TV about retirement villages makes one pretty worried when the time comes to downsize but looks like you are on a winner.
We have contracted to move into an over 50s village. Totally own the house and perpetual lease on land. Have a 20m heated pool, spar, recreation room, craft room, mens shed, libary, bowls, tennis, gym, sauna. Not much else we need. Had it all checked out with a lawyer and conclusion , contract is very much in our favour. Not all have such friendly contacts though.
If you are considering find a lawyer familiar with retirement legislation in your State.
Neil
We retired to a one hectare rural/residential block in WA wheatbelt , for less than $390k we have a brand new house , 20X20 barn shed , and a view - town has all facilities (2 km away) ... a nice view across valley . When we travel in van we have no city to go through .... nice and quiet .
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So work like you don't need the money,
Sing like no-one is listening,
Love like you've never been hurt &
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Buyer beware , these village are there for one reason , That is make money . Not for you our financial advisor you must get legal advice and do lots of research .
Retirement villages can be very ''clicky'' places to live in. If you don't fit in with the ''dominant group'' they can make your life very uncomfortable.
We couldn't stand being completely surrounded by ''old farts'', slowly getting carried out of their units one by one in a pine box. How depressing is that?
The street we live in has a children's playground two doors away from us. We enjoy talking to the young families around us, it keeps us young at heart.
We have a low maintenance garden with an automatic sprinkler system. We spend 6 months of every year away spread over 5-6 trips.
We love travelling & love coming home to our home by the sea.
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Cheers Keith & Judy
Don't take life too seriously, it never ends well.
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There is no single answer that will suit every one. until recently I would never have considered a retirement village or lifestyle village but over the last 18 months things have changed quite dramatically.
Several major medical problems plus minor problems have made me reconsider. I no longer have a drivers licence due to a car accident which is presently going through the courts, may get my license back sometime in the future.
We are now looking at a lifestyle village and a far as I can calculate my yearly living cost should be less, no rates to pay, insurance is less because of the lower risk, smaller newer home equals less maintenance, no gardens to look after, rent allowance from Centrelink.
The facilities are all looked after by someone else, there are indoor and outdoor pools, bowling greens, tennis courts, gymnasium, Men's shed and BBQ's and picnic areas, a short walk to the shopping centre and a community bus for access to larger shopping centres etc, if you no longer can drive yourself, and as my wife will probably be still alive long after I have gone there will be no need for her to find somewhere else to live if I am no longer around, our present home would be too much for one person to maintain on their own.
Another benefit would be the release of capital from our present home to be put aside to give a better quality of life and not be dependent entirely on the age pension.
Too me it appears that it is better to make the move now rather than have the decision forced on us due to deteriorating health at a later stage.
Each one of us has to make the decision as to what is right for us there is no one size fits all.
The caravan and 4wd needs to go, but that would probably happened in just a few more years, I am 79 and looking forward to a quite a few more active years ahead, but they will be different than the last 10 years with new activities and challenges.
Cheers
David
Retirement villages can be very ''clicky'' places to live in. If you don't fit in with the ''dominant group'' they can make your life very uncomfortable.
We couldn't stand being completely surrounded by ''old farts'', slowly getting carried out of their units one by one in a pine box. How depressing is that?
The street we live in has a children's playground two doors away from us. We enjoy talking to the young families around us, it keeps us young at heart.
We have a low maintenance garden with an automatic sprinkler system. We spend 6 months of every year away spread over 5-6 trips.
We love travelling & love coming home to our home by the sea.
But arent you the "Old Farts" ??? I bet the people with those cute kids you talk about
Yeah it's a tough one. We are just starting on our second attempt to build a new retirement special. The last effort, completed about three years ago turned out to be too big for two people, and the orientation towards the sun was not quite right. In Victoria where we are based, a north facing back yard is the best for old folks to sit in the sun and have a cuppa!
Age comes into it, we reckon it pays to be settled permanently by your early seventies, we are late sixties right now. Very late. A close friend left it til age seventy five, struggled a bit to make the change from town to the bush, and after three years ended up in an Alzheimer's facility. He reckoned, in his lucid phase, that he left it a bit late.
We have been through the retirement village thing with my wife's parents. It worked out really well for both of them. Of course it was a money hole, but this was in NZ, the village owners were family friends, and the financial deal was a bit better than the one aussieyraveller described. We are too ikey to pay the fees and give up the property gains. I just think it is a bad financial deal for us.
We had to sell our home, to get a bit of equity out, so we did that and built in a nearby new subdivision. It has turned out extremely well. The people are battlers, our old house was in a fairly upmsrket location and our old neighbours were judges and surgeons etc. I always felt a bit conspicuous in my old 74 Cruiser ute. The new neighbours have formed a very tight, self supporting community. We bought our second block, in the same street, off the neighbourhood website. It really is great, and we could not be happier. Added to which, instead of paying a million bucks for a block we have paid about a quarter of that.
And we have been able to build suitable new houses, low maintenance, energy efficient, for not much money. Of course they are standard designs by bulk builders, but we are well past caring about appearances. At our age, who is left to impress? This time we are going the hog with solar panels, batteries, double glazing and the rest. Still get change from three hundred thousand dollars. So there you go.
New subdivision, NBN, good roads, parks and wetlands, shops a five minute car ride away, a great sense of community, familiar faces, low maintenance low cost living, we are under control and self managing! Can't recommend it enough. And the little profit we made on our first effort....we are going to buy a good quality caravan and hit the road.
There is no shame in living carefully, it is actually a source of satisfaction and pride.
I agree with brickies expert advice and heaps of research across the various options offered by the industry, choice has a good article on retirement village contracts and charges well worth reading if you are considering one and remember the Federal .Government is currently conducting an enquiry into the industry.
and good luck you will need it.
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Life was meant to be enjoyed Australia was meant to be explored
Happily doing both to the Max.
Life is like a camera, focus on what's important & you will capture it every Time
Hi Everyone, Brickies is quite right. Anyone looking at retirement villages or lifestyle villages should most certainly seek independent financial and legal advice. This is a point made repeatedly in the GNT ‘Special’. I should stress that we produced the issue in response to requests from readers and did so in an independent and professional way. As always, our editorial integrity was of paramount importance. We take our responsibility to provide honest and accurate information to readers very seriously. We spoke to a number of grey nomads about their experiences in these village. The President of the Association of Residents of Queensland Retirement Villages also wrote an article for the issue. In all cases, there were repeated references to the potential pitfalls, as well as the potential benefits. It is very clear that these villages are not for everybody. However, it is equally clear that they are for some people, and that there is a lot of interest in them from many downsizing grey nomads. Hopefully, the ‘special’ went some way to giving people a greater insight into the way these villages work. Of course, it cannot be stressed enough that seeking proper advice and conducting thorough research is vital for anyone looking at this as a future accommodation option.
