Retirement apartment

My mother was very happy in her flat which she bought in a complex managed by Peverel. Nice garden that she could enjoy and various social events in the communal lounge. She felt relieved of property maintenance and safe. She also felt it was a good investment but would have been upset at resale price after her death plus a percentage went to Peverel.

MIL lives in a McCarthy and Stone/Peverel block of over 100 apartments on the edge of a rural city. She has spent her life following us around (slightly irritating as have always felt responsible for her well-being). She is a happy moaner and that glass is resolutely half empty, but even so has excelled herself with ongoing complaints since she moved. To be fair, some things are justified and I wouldn't put up with it, but I do feel that she is pushing to move in with us (I couldn't do it - my life would be hell). My father lived in a much smaller block in a small town and loved it, so I think key is not moving to too large a block. The other advantages should be that you are living with folk your own age - much more in common than with other ages - and you have an on-site support network of like minded people (chewing over a problem, going shopping, helping each other through difficult times). I will not, not, not, moving to such a place in my older years!!

rose that is so true about the gardens, unfortunately we like a natural look - not weeds, but never 'little maids all in a row' Both our neighbours are fanatical - spend every hour they can in their gardens, and it shows of course, so we are very lucky, surrounded by beautiful gardens in our own oasis of wilderness (if you can do that). Each to his own.

tanith I only know from SIL living in one; hers is well over 15 years old (could be 20?) still looking very smart, well-maintained and she has just had a conservatory built onto it. There is a garage and a reasonably sized garden. However, no garden shed is allowed, but greenhouses are.
Some of the very old homes on the site have been removed as people have died and are being replaced with new ones.
However, they are not cheap and the ground rent seems quite high to me, as well as having to pay council tax on top of that.
That being said, when we go to visit I am always most impressed how well-kept and smart they look, all vying with each other to have 'the best kept garden' by the look of it!

Well, I am not sure on that point - ours came with a 10 year guarantee period when if anything went wrong with the structure, then the Company who built the home would rectify this, there is a 25 year sort of guarantee - we have put away all this information, and to be quite honest when we moved here we did not expect to still be here after the 10 years, (13 years ago)we are considerably older than some of the other people who moved in when they were just in their mid fifties, and all seem to be content with their lot and happy. It really very much depends, I think on how well you maintain your home, if you allow it to become in need of serious repair and so impair the general overall appearance of the site, then obviously the site owners are going to ask you to either move or do something about it. These are as you know on a lease, and you only lease the piece of ground under your home, the home is yours, and is classed as mobile, hence the low council tax, but the chances of ever moving it are remote. We were fortunate in as much as we found a new site and could choose which home we wanted. I have sent you a pm. (I hope) so that you find our home on google world if you have it.

PRINTMISS we toyed with the idea of a park home , can I just ask is there a limit to time allowed before your park home has to be replaced or can you stay in the same home indefinately?

We have friends who live in a communal retirement complex, where there are vast grounds beautifully kept, but their little home is just that "little". They have no means of direct access to these grounds, they have to go along corridors to get to the main entrances, and the space they have to live in is minimal. I have no idea how much the running costs are, but have heard a moan or two from them about these continually rising. We down sized to a park home, we have a garage, and some garden space, quite a large amount as we are at the end of the site, the people around us are friendly - mostly younger, and enjoy a social life, a walk to the shops will always involve a chat as people treasure their little plot, and work hard to keep them looking smart (a little bit of one-up-man-ship). It is not as cheap as people seem to think, the homes do need some regular maintenance, but it is private, and spacious, by some standards.

SIL and DB moved to a Park Home; it is on a lovely site with friendly neighbours, a good social group and amenities close by.
They also have a lovely little garden, which SIL could not manage without (nor could I, not keen on gardening but I have to be outside when the weather is good, being in an apartment would drive me bonkers).
Since DB died, SIL had the support of her neighbours - however, the only downside seems to be that they are all getting old together, becoming ill and eventually dying.

There is also the consideration of the fees they charge when buying and selling, this can be up to 20% I believe.

Thank you all for your replies. I agree there are lots of things to consider. Lots of negatives and not many positives. I think we are going to have to have a long chat about what we plan.

The other thing to be careful with when looking at these flats is that when it is sold a proportion of the sales price, I think it can be as much as 25% has to be paid to the leaseholder.

Friends of mine considered moving into one of these flats but were put off them completely by the really onerous charges; both maintenance and cut of the capital. They too, took their time and bought a ground floor flat in a town centre development and will pay for care when they need it.

Although the charges are still high, it may be worth considering a retirement village, these usually have more faciltities and include a care home so that indiiduals can move from home to care, within the same community and with their partner, if they have one, close at hand and still keeping the same friends, expensive though.

My mum considered buying one but we looked at a few and she didn't like them as they're quite small and "institutional" looking. I think they're really bad value because as annsixty said they're extremely difficult to sell. I think, at least in some complexes, flats can't be rented out if the owner dies or goes into a home but the high monthly charges still have to be paid. They don't really offer any meaningful support. From what I recall, the warden wasn't there all the time and seemed to deal mainly with admin matters rather than offer much assistance to residents.

If it were me, I would do as Crafting and her husband did - don't rush but spend plenty of time looking for a flat - and research the area thoroughly to make sure you really like it and it meets your needs in terms of shops, transport, etc. Although you would still be paying charges, I doubt they would be as high as those in retirement properties, and that should leave a little more money available to buy in any practical help you might need in the future.

Alges I am not in a retirement complex but DH and I did downsize from a detached house to a two bed flat. We spent a long time looking at lots of different locations and lots and lots of flats before we chose the one we now live in. We had to wait for a couple of years before one came up for sale but are really pleased we made the move. We love our home and get on well with the neighbours.

algeswifeval thank you for posting this as I too am thinking of going to look at one of these and the posts are very helpful. Putting me right off actually, but better to change my mind now rather than buy one and regret it

I went to look at a retirement flat. It was lovely, but I couldn't live there. There was nowhere that one of us could go to do our own thing. The rooms were very small. It did have two bedrooms, but knowing DH's capacity for hoarding collecting things, it would be full in no time.

My Dad lived in a complex for the elderly, and I would have to endorse the fact that the service charge was unbelievable and this made it very hard indeed to sell when he died.

He got little for that charge - mowing of communal lawn; a common room where residents themselves could organise events,but none were organised for them; and a resident warden who rang them each day to check they were alive, and that was all.

I too share the dislike of a one generation living space - I would like to see young families around me.

What would worry me would be the lack of variety in neighbours. It's good to live where there are young and old.

We lived in some flats for a couple of years. Lovely flats with wonderful grounds. They attracted the elderly. I am sorry to say there were a curmudgeonly bunch!!!!!

Nothing was good enough and you could not please them. They seemed to take pleasure in disagreement. DH was on the management committee. I must say we are late 60s,so not spring chickens. (I do know people of any age can be a pain.) Just a little warning

I have posted before on another thread, retirement apartments can be very hard to sell as there are so many on the market.

<shudder>
Sorry Val but that's my gut reaction.
I agree with Teetimne i'd rather pay for services as and when I need them.

We went to look at a MCarthy and Stone in Grantham. It was lovely but small and very overpriced and the service charge was horrendous, little storage and nowhere to put washing (not allowed to out it out). There were no dedicated car parking spaces and nothing under cover. When our time comes we shall look for a good roomy 2 bed apartment not built by one of the well known companies and contract with a care line company rather than paying huge fees for a live in warden.