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Being a senior (73 and retired at 62), I have looked at a lot of places. I put them in two groups:
1. One lives on their own as in their own home. The amenities to do things are there and one either takes advantage of them or not. Even Del Webb Sun City communities can vary. Some are loaded with on site amenities ala Sun City, Hilton Head (Bluffton) SC. (golf courses, tennis courts, pickle ball courts, base ball fields, lawn bowling, wood working facility, etc.). Others such as Sun City Charleston SC offer little more then a clubhouse and a pool. There will always be some dissension in any facility between those wanting more and those wanting less. Golf courses are always a hot bed subject especially among those that do no play. Whereas myself, I would not live there unless there were golf courses.
As to how active one wants to be is a choice one makes. If not wanting to be active, then choose a place that has few activities. I believe one poster said they went from a very active community (loaded with amenities) to one that had much less and they preferred the much less style. To each his own.
2. Continuing Care Retirement (CCR) where the next level of life services you may/want need are available. Theses places are more aging in place facilities then known for offering amenities. Their levels of offering can vary from totally independent living (can buy services as wanted) in a private home upto and including bed ridden. One can be as active as they want but generally one needs to go outside the facility to be such. Two of my former golfing buddies live in such facilities with their wife. Each live in a very nice, two bedroom apartment type building. One receives (pays) for more services (meal package, housekeeping) as his wife is disabled.
My wife and I live in a small patio home HOA (113 units, non 55+) with all outside services (landscaping, home shell maintenance) provided by the HOA. We have no amenities. Quite a few professionals live here as they do not require amenities nor desire to work to maintain a home. It is a very quiet, carefree lifestyle here. The only move I would consider would be to a CCR (#2 above).
Twice in this thread, someone has mentioned golf as being a bone of contention in older-folks' communities. Why is that? Is it because the golfers are trying to force the non-golfers to subsidize the golf course? I would imagine that as residents age, their ability and indeed, desire to play golf will wane. I should think it would be life-shortening, to still be forced to pay thousands per year to watch other people playing the game you used to play.
"Who pays for what" should be stated up-front in the by-laws, and if you don't play, you don't pay the fees and can't access the course (no doubt, some of the residents would get great pleasure out of swooping down on a non-golfer who dares to stroll on the pathways). Is that not how it works?
Quote:
Originally Posted by johngolf
Golf courses are always a hot bed subject especially among those that do no play. .
In AZ the community we lived in was originally was set up that golf would be self supporting. The recreation board hustled through a change so that everyone pays. The then board president owns a golf course facing home.
We bought our first condo in an all age complex as empty nesters, still working. I gave away my lawn mower then and haven't missed it yet. There have been two 55+ condos since.
The first condo, though all age was mostly folks without kids and retirees because all the units were two bedroom and families want more than two. Some were snowbirds. It was walking distance from the beach in FL.
Two things can be said regarding 55+ communities: they are all different, and they all have rules.
Some have rules about what kinds of plants you can put outside your front door. Some have rules about whether you can have pets, and if so, how many and what kind. Some have rules against leaving your garage door open. And so on.
(A 55+ community near me has a total pet prohibition. As a cat "owner," I don't get that.)
You don't have to LIKE the rules, but when you sign on the dotted line, you're agreeing to live by them. So read them carefully before you sign; in fact it's a good idea to have a lawyer read them too, to maybe catch something you might have missed.
We are looking into a 55+ community. One household member must be age 55 or older. Dogs under 25 pounds are permitted. This was a 5 star manufactured home community. Monthly lot rents started at 473.00 per month up to @ 600.00, depending on location. Higher lot rents were on the golf course. The most expensive home listed for sale was 179.000. Taxes were between 20.00 and 30.00 per month. Amenities included water, trash pick up, club house, swimming pool, exercise room. Most of the people we saw were riding in golf carts. Appeared to be a very friendly, active community, and the place was well kept.
Twice in this thread, someone has mentioned golf as being a bone of contention in older-folks' communities. Why is that?
We live in a 55+, my husband plays a couple of times a week but not at our subdivision. He joined a country club. His reason for doing this is because, 1) it's hard to get a tee time here and 2) a lot of the golfers are residents who think they should play because they pay and they slow the game down. He'd rather play with seasoned golfers. Do we mind paying for the GC in our HOA? Would rather not but, on the other hand, I have happy neighbors so if it makes them happy then I'm ahead of the game. <--no pun intended
I did not realize that many places force all residents to pay for golf. I would not go in for that. I have lived in a development that had it and it was separate and have known others that had courses; always separate. They can be quite pricey.
I did not realize that many places force all residents to pay for golf. I would not go in for that. I have lived in a development that had it and it was separate and have known others that had courses; always separate. They can be quite pricey.
A golf course brings up the value of your real estate, it's a huge green area which keeps the subdivision from feeling crowded and cookie cutter in appearance. I love walking by it and on it in the winter. It's serene and worth the extra cost. It's the same reason why someone might pay an extra $30,000 for a lot that backs up to woods.
There's no cookie cutter answer for this. I've seen developments been regular and have a 55+ section. The only difference was you had to be 55+ to live in that section. Seemed weird to me.
Around here we have numerous 55+ communities and every single one has different rules and regulations. The rules and regulations can also change at any time.
During the economic crunch, I've watched many housing communities change. I have seen a few that were originally started as one thing and when finally completed or picked back up years later, they dramatically change it. If you go with something brand new, make sure it's close to completion and the activities such as a pool have been built. You'll be paying for those things with HOA's dues most likely. Also make sure you can afford the HOA dues. They will always increase. They won't go down. Not every place has HOA dues either and sometimes you're stuck paying for things out of pocket. There's a ton to investigate and every single one is different.
Even communities with different sections can have a different HOA. I used to manage a condo/townhouse development that had 4 HOAs....it was a NIGHTMARE. There were condo sections and townhouse sections. Then there was the community section which covered the clubhouse, pool, etc.
A golf course brings up the value of your real estate, it's a huge green area which keeps the subdivision from feeling crowded and cookie cutter in appearance. I love walking by it and on it in the winter. It's serene and worth the extra cost. It's the same reason why someone might pay an extra $30,000 for a lot that backs up to woods.
It can bring up the value of real estate. It all depends on location! And what type of course it is and how well it's maintained. There are plenty of courses out there that are not properly maintained and look like groundhogs have taken over.
There are also developments where the houses are packed in like sausages around golf courses. Just because there's a green space doesn't mean there are buildings smooshed right up to it.
You also have to think about the age of the development. When I lived in SC, there was a development from the 70's and their golf course looked like a dog park. The houses were priced ok, but the fees for golf were insane. The course was not properly maintained throughout it's lifetime and still wasn't yet they demanded people pay thousands of dollars a year for the thing. It really needed to resodded.....it was soooo horrible! I don't even golf and I could see how crappy it looked.
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