Fortune Manning Offer Advice on Choosing a Retirement Village

If you are contemplating retirement, Fortune Manning have broad experience with retirement villages, residential care subsidies, reverse annuity mortgages and other elder care issues, and retirement villages.

Many people are attracted to a retirement form of living as a true retirement village offers the opportunity to move from independent living through to serviced apartments and then to rest home and hospital 24 hour care.

This type of village offers the best long term security for those wishing to make a long term decision as to their accommodation.  A move into a lifestyle or retirement village cannot be considered a financial investment, as in most cases 20 to 30 percent of the entry price will on termination be deducted (“facilities fee”) and there will be no entitlement to capital gain.  It is important therefore to ensure that the services provided by the village give you value for money.

Similarly, the economic viability of the village itself is something that must be considered very carefully.  Every operator of a village is an “issuer” pursuant to the Financial Reporting Act 1993 and required to prepare and register audited financial statements.  These can be found on the Companies Office register.  An operator has an obligation to provide intending residents and current residents with copies of the financial statements upon request.

It is also important to know what security of tenure you are receiving for your money.  Is it in the nature of a unit title or cross lease?  The majority of units or apartments in villages are held through Occupational Right Agreements that do not have a registered interest in the land or buildings and where generally residents do not have control over the sales process.

Intending residents need to know who is responsible for undertaking repairs and maintenance to the village, in the units and the chattels supplied by the operator in the unit. In some cases residents are responsible for internal repairs and maintenance of units and operators for the exterior of the units.  However, some villages/operators are now taking a different approach and carrying out repairs and maintenance to both the interior and exterior and charging the actual cost to the particular resident. 

A decision to purchase a unit in a retirement village is quite different from the purchase of a usual suburban home, so to find out more about Residential Care Subsidy NZ, Auckland Lawyers and Asset Planning please go to www.fortunemanning.co.nz .