60 + property - why?

luxor4t

Robin9 wrote: »

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The problem we face is - when do we make that move ? I want to make that choice and not have someone make it for me.

At the risk of sounding too simplistic, make the move before you think you need it so that you can choose and adapt readily.

MiL talked about moving 'one day' but by the time her physical health required suitable accommodation she refused to accept that she would benefit from a move, and ended up in a very similar situation to your family members. Had she been in a more social setting I am sure that her later years would have been far happier in many ways.

mumps

Sometimes it is to do with planning permission. When I was working in a local village as Parish Clerk a development company got permission to build to 5 bed detached houses but there had to be a "social housing" element to the development so they built some sheltered flats, I think half were let through a housing association and half were for sale, it might have been shared ownership on the ones that were sold.

simonineaston

We none of us ever imagine we're going to be infirm and unable to climb stairs, cut grass etc.etc. - and why would we want to admit to that sort of dreadful future, but the sad thing is we are all of us going to get sick and die someday. The trick is to get your head around it all in time to make a difference before it happens... (the weakness, that is - not the death) Am, literally, off to my dad's funeral tomorrow. :-(

simonineaston

The Welcome Pack arrived y'day, and I can confirm that the development at Fry's in Keynsham at least, is a genius plan to create a revenue stream from the moment the retiree decides to buy in to the idea.
Apart from the large lump sum required to buy the lease, there's monthly service charges that are more than I've ever paid out on any mortgage, then when your time comes and your family have to sell, they buy it back, less charges to bring it up to standard and selling fees and then when the new arrival moves in, the whole cycle starts again! I imagine they might even have their own 'private ambulance' service - for a fee, of course!
Hard to fault them for seizing an opportunity and fulfilling a need.

margaretclare

simonineaston wrote: »

We none of us ever imagine we're going to be infirm and unable to climb stairs, cut grass etc.etc. - and why would we want to admit to that sort of dreadful future, but the sad thing is we are all of us going to get sick and die someday. The trick is to get your head around it all in time to make a difference before it happens... (the weakness, that is - not the death) Am, literally, off to my dad's funeral tomorrow. :-(

I'm very glad that my first husband and I took the decision, way back in 1990, to move from a 3-storey Pennine cottage to a 2-bed bungalow in Essex. He didn't live long to enjoy it, but my second husband and I have continued the process of modernising and making it user-friendly.

We actually looked at McCarthy & Stone complexes and we've looked at 'park homes' but nothing has convinced us we'd be any better off than where we are now.

Cutting the grass, cleaning windows - we pay people to do these for us. The back garden is becoming a wildlife haven. Our new mobility-friendly bathroom has been an absolute godsend.

The other point is - do you really want to live in an old people's ghetto?

Fizzy11

My mother in law lived in a development in Abergavenny owned by Peveral within the contract was she had to repay 10% of the resale value. The development was constantly being painted without due need. When they bought there was a permanent manager by the time she sold a manager on call & no reduction in charges for these changes.

Personally I'm 60 & I would hate it as I would get bored. Daft things like putting the washing out & sitting out in the garden not looking my best are things I would miss.

fangoose

There are cohousing projects where people band together to buy a block of housing and run it themselves , the younger ones look after the older ones a bit and you can sell on if need be.

search for owch org uk for an example

There are quite a blocks of flats available for purchase, just need the right "partners"!

[Deleted User]

margaretclare wrote: »

The other point is - do you really want to live in an old people's ghetto?

Ten days on my one saga cruise was enough and an eye opener. Many of the (very nice) ladies that I spoke to were from McCarthy and stone properties, the upside was that they could safely leave their homes and go on cruises but I was bored rigid after three days. Most tended to be over 70 and I mean with older mindsets too. Just pure old, sitting and doing quizzes, crosswords and soduku, to stop brains becoming unused. Waited on at every mealtime with every care met. Well no thanks, not for me. I have a myriad of hobbies, all taking considerable space in my roomy comfortable house. Then there are my bikes, note plural and my allotment

When I think I am too old to cope, even with bought in help, then I will go on a nice fast cycle ride up a big hill

mumps

We have a family friend who bought one of these, we had doubts at the time for all the reasons mentioned above. Her flat is very nice and she has french windows onto the garden and has always maintained the small garden that is hers. She has been very active, goes to the local church and goes to pensioners lunches there twice a week, goes out other days with friends she has made and also goes to the theatre regularly. It doesn't appeal to me much but she now has dementia and is very frail, no way would she have managed at home if she had stayed in her previous bungalow. She is in her 90s now and I think it is probably the lesser of two evils, she would have been moved into a care home a few years ago if she hadn't had the support she gets where she lives now.

Personally I think 60s is too young to be thinking of these places but maybe late 70s or early 80s would give you 10 or 15 more years of living independently. I suppose it depends on alot of things, for this lady losing her husband made moving to somewhere she felt safer was probably a big part of it.

The charges do seem high but in her development the residents took over running it themselves, they sold the flat the manager used to live in which gave them a nice "fighting fund" to start off with and for the more able ones the jobs of running the place with a paid 9 - 5 manager seems to keep them active.

Fizzy11

The problem is that some of the developments have it written to the lease that they can't stay in the properties if they need carers.