A Guide on Retirement Villages
Seniors often have a hard time deciding where to spend their retirement years. This article provides a few tips for seniors that would want to live in a retirement village.
What is a retirement village?
Retirement villages are housing complexes designed to accommodate seniors. Although they encourage independent retirement living, residents share common facilities such as recreational grounds. Members pay a small fee to enjoy the various services and facilities offered in the retirement village.
Benefits of living in a retirement village.
In a retirement village you live independently, and therefore you have a lot of freedom regarding visitors, movement and diet. Residents in retirement villages are free to form interest groups such as book clubs, religious groups and volunteer associations. Most retirement villages have a range of recreational facilities such as tennis courts, golf courses, swimming pools and indoor arenas for games such as chess and darts. Some retirement villages only admit residents sharing particular interests. For instance, they may admit retired army officers, teachers, people of a specific faith or members of the LGBT community.
Choosing a retirement village.
Below are some of the considerations you should make when choosing a retirement village:
- The location of the facility should be such that friends and family can easily visit you. Choose a retirement village that is close to amenities such as hospitals, shopping malls and banks.
- If the waiting list is too long, you may have to wait for months before joining the retirement village.
- Some retirement villages will ask you to pay an up-front payment to get onto their waiting list; inquire if this money is refundable.
- Besides recreational facilities, some retirement villages have support staff to conduct house chores for residents.
- What is the management's policy regarding pets?
- Inquire about the exit process; some retirement villages charge an exit fee.
Retirement village contracts.
You may choose to own, lease or rent a unit in a retirement village. Purchasing a strata title unit is similar to buying a house. You pay the agreed price through the seller's agent and have the unit's title transferred to your name. In a lease contract, you will pay an annual fee to live in the house for a period of between 49-199 years. You can also choose to rent a unit at the facility and pay a monthly fee up to when you leave the retirement village.
Retirement villages are independent living facilities designed for seniors. Residents pay a maintenance fee to enjoy housekeeping services and recreational facilities. You can either purchase, lease or rent a house in a retirement village.
