Retirement properties

blinko

Hi all my mum is close to retirement and fancies a Retirement properties

what if any are the advantages or disadvantages of her buying a Retirement property

would she be better off with a normal lease/freehold

thanks

lincroft1710

Disadvantages : High maintenance/service charges. Surrounded by a lot of old people. Probable limited car parking availability. Overpriced if newbuild.

Advantages : No screaming kids (except when neighbours' grandchildren visit). Surrounded by a lot of old people. Resident warden (or similar).

seven-day-weekend

Advantages: Low maintenance.

Disadvantages: Small, high service charges and surrounded by old people(I am 60).

Errata

Advantage: living amongst your peer group
Disadvantage: being marooned in an OAP ghetto

whomy5

Hi there,

I would definitley recommend that you do some research and look around lots of different types of retirement properties.
Depending who you buy a property with, the monthly service charges which most retirement/sheltered housing complexes charge can vary hugely. Some high end retirement places charge several thousand pounds a year, housing associations are usually a lot less. For a lot of them this cost will include having a Warden/Scheme Manager (residential or non residential) maintenence, gardening, 24hr alarm call cover, building insurance etc.
Do be aware that there are some companies that take quite a percentage of a sale when a relative dies and the property is sold. Also relatives are often left with the service charge bill until the property is sold which can soon mount up, but with some companies/housing associations this can usually be frozen if someone has died and the costs will be taken from the sale of the property.
It often takes a little longer buying a retirement property too...all the legal stuff with solicitors takes longer for some reaosn when buying a retirement property.
On a positive note...alot of older people feel alot happier and more secure when they move into a retirement property and quite often gives them a whole new lease of life!
Good Luck with it!

Richard_Webster

Pays to look around.

A lot of people who buy such flats are usually downsizing and in some cases moving out of area to be near younger family members so won't know local values.

For instance, if you were moving out of London and selling your semi for say £400K developers would love you to pay £175K for a brand new one in my area, which might be rather silly because you could get a perfectly OK 20 year old one for say £100K, or less.

zaksmum

We looked around a Mc Carthy and Stone retirement flat and it was like the grave. With a communal lounge with high backed chairs like a residential home, and a notice board offering coach trips to places like British Legion clubs...I think they're geared up to people in their mid 70s to 80s really.

How old's your mum, OP?

blinko

my mum is 53 and currentl living in a new build which she bought brand new( !!!! ) and she has lost about 20% in negtive equity and all that


she is looking to move after 5 years and will probably have paid off the mortgage, (she rented for 25 years)

so i think after 5 years she will probably get back what she paid for it165k so she will be looking to move and this will be her last chance to move

she is considering retirement property
my concerns are
1.service charge (she currentl pays 150 per month at current place) for someone on a pension this is alot so i recommended buying a freehold
2.also does the retirement property revert to the leaseholder eg private company can you get a freehold retirement property (does sound odd)
3.treatment of OAP's eg they have her over a barral and technically can get away with murder (probably literally haha)

thanks alot

zaksmum

blinko wrote: »

my mum is 53 and currentl living in a new build which she bought brand new( !!!! ) and she has lost about 20% in negtive equity and all that


she is looking to move after 5 years and will probably have paid off the mortgage, (she rented for 25 years)

so i think after 5 years she will probably get back what she paid for it165k so she will be looking to move and this will be her last chance to move

she is considering retirement property
my concerns are
1.service charge (she currentl pays 150 per month at current place) for someone on a pension this is alot so i recommended buying a freehold
2.also does the retirement property revert to the leaseholder eg private company can you get a freehold retirement property (does sound odd)
3.treatment of OAP's eg they have her over a barral and technically can get away with murder (probably literally haha)

thanks alot

The service charge on Mc Carthy and Stone Properties was around £40 a week and there's a "surface water" charge on top of that.

The leasehold aspect was that the lease ran for 150 years then ownership of the retirement property reverted to the leaseholders.

Not that any of us will be worrying in 150 years but still...made me feel like it was a bit of a rip off.

But blinko...if your mum's only 53 she is NOT an OAP and would quite probably go round the bend in a retirement property if the one I saw is typical! She's still relatively young and I wouldn't think a retrement property is right for someone of that age at all.

My husband's just turned 60 and we'd have been the youngest there by about 20 years!!

seven-day-weekend

I had considered one of these as the one I saw advertised was relatively cheap for the area it was in. My husband said 'No way Jose' or words to that effect.

I have just told him what zaksmum has reported and he said that would be what he expected. That is why he would not consider one (that and the astronomical service charges). Also he would have nowhere to put his motorbike.:D

We are 60 and 61 and really not into trips to Bingo or British Legion clubs Maybe when we are in our 90s!

Spartacus_Mills

Also, one other thing to bear in mind with Service Charges, is to check if the annual increases are capped or not.

Some companies have been levying large increases in the service charges and there are exit charges for sale.

http://www.24plusnews.com/retirement-homes-management-fee-scam/