Has anyone seen any 'over 50's' retirement flats?

[LaurieFairyCake]

I used to see them, now I only see over 55's.

Anywhere

I'm 55 and cannot imagine moving to a 'older persons' complex for at least another 25 years or so... I have a demanding full time job, a 13 year old DC, busy social life, do all my own diy and gardening, can change a tyre, go to festivals and gigs, don't piss myself when I giggle, shop In river island and urban outfitters, I have a 'boyfriend' and (shock horror) have a sex life.. Dear God I'm don't see myself looking for a 'quiet life' and slowing down anytime soon. Some people do have a weird idea of what being 50+looks like...

Purple can relate to 25 year olds, really? With your own kids that is one thing but my 20's dc friends will always see me as for what I am, their mums age. I think like a 30 year old but I'm never going to be accepted as an equal on a night out with dc and their friends of going clubbing. Even if I was a brilliant mover on the dance floor it would still be a case of "Who's the old codger?" I'm 52 and still rocking Doc Martens and young thinking but my body looks and says differently.
You wrote quite an aggressive and ageist post. Are you sure these youngsters really think of you like that or is it really Peter's got his mum with him again, just humour her." ?

I think that these can be a fantastic idea for many people. If you are single, don’t have family around or just find that friends have moved away and lost touch then moving to a community early enough to build friendships could be a really positive thing to do. There are activities and things to do if you want to take part, often there’s a restaurant on site and everywhere is maintained so you don’t have to worry about it. I think part of the problem is that we leave it way too late to move to these places so don’t make friends or do anything and probably would be better in a care home. We need to see these as vibrant communities with opportunities not places to wait to die.

That said I’m in my fifties with a just teen DD and can’t quite imagine it. Another 10 years though and we’ll be looking at moving somewhere just for us rather than geared to our kids so who knows.

Good lord there are some very ignorant people on this thread.

Buying a flat with built in amenities doesn't mean you have to use them. The whole point of this type of system is that people can access as much or as little interaction with others as they like or need. There are many people who's lives are lonely and who don't have the confidence or health to get out and about to meet people. For those with poor health the on site services are invaluable. Not everyone has families to advocate for them.

As for inheritance, people are so greedy. It's not about how much you inherit but about the quality of life of the living person. So what if they buy for £200k but you can only sell for £100k? that's still free money that you wouldn't have had.

The over 55 or over 60 may be a local authority planning restriction. If there is seen to be a shortage of suitable accommodation for that demographic (ie for people wanting to sell family homes but remain in the area) a developer may suggest this as a way of getting planning permission. In which case it should be like any other flat, but without the risk or babies and toddlers living in the flat above. The downside is a restricted resale market.

That said there is a real need to look at the management arrangements (important in buying any flat.) resale restrictions, and their powers of eviction. Some management companies are greedy and some developments can move people, say with dementia, on if they start causing problems.

The lower age can be a younger partner who wants to live in a supportive community if the wife/husband is frail, or like a family I knew in my mum's very sheltered housing where their adult son, with mild learning difficulties and aged in his late 50s, lived in the flat next door.

As for inheritance, people are so greedy. It's not about how much you inherit but about the quality of life of the living person. So what if they buy for £200k but you can only sell for £100k? that's still free money that you wouldn't have had.

And that's the crux of the matter, greed.

I wouldn’t try to talk my parents out if it because it’s their choice. But it is a selfish choice to buy one, in my opinion. I wouldn’t do it to my own children unless it was literally a choice between that or a care home

Children who want to protect “their” inheritance can always invite their parents to move in with them. It solves the same problems as moving into an over 55 community.

Not willing to do that? Then let your parents crack on with spending their money as they like.

When people say they can't sell these flats for years, what does this mean exactly?

Surely if you reduce the price enough they will sell?

And presumably if they are cheap as chips to buy due to this they won't lose much money before they are sold again as the price is so low to start with?

Yes. And a not-so-stealth post about this absolute Utopia they are living in 🙄

This was our experience.

We needed to move my mum quickly, as she had had a fall and could not return to where she had been living. We identified a really good and popular very sheltered housing block with 24 hour warden, where 5 flats out of 90 were for sale. I was making decisions for her, and lending her any shortfall in funds, so made low ball offers offers on all five flats with a stipulation that we wanted completion within a month. (The private nursing home where she went for convalescence was £1,500 a week!) The flat which was in probate and the beneficiaries were a charity, so were the only ones to bite. (Presumably because they wanted the whole thing over and to minimise service charge and lawyer fees.) This allowed us to significantly underprice when we came to sell, which meant we got good buyers almost immediately, who were then prepared to wait till the probate came through.

If you don't need to be in your office or fancy relocating I really advise moving here. Lots of apartments (not age restricted) very nicely appointed and everything in east distance on the flat, lots of life - live music a couple of times a week, leisure centre right here... great community and lots of 50+ working but looking for a better life age group.

My kids are adults and I'm having a great life now. Never in

Yes, I have no intention to 'slow down' - I assume I will be working another 20 years - I work mostly online and go into the office a day a week.

I would just like to dump the half million quid of worrying mortgage for somewhere that only has a £200 service charge

I don't actually think my life will change that much 🤷‍♀️

To rent a 1 bed retirement place near me is £1100 a month - that's wasted money for me, I'd rather continue to pay my £2500 mortgage than do that

As I said before I think half the issues that people comment on would go away if most were built to rent and at sensible service charges. Those that have sold properties could bank the cash and use it to pay towards rent and service charges- those on very low incomes could claim towards rent. To be frank if house prices drop 15% and older people don't have the energy or cash to keep up with home maintanance it makes more sense beyond a certain age. It really depends on your personality though- I would be good, my H would hate it

Yes. I'm menopausal.

There are more than enough to go round, given that those who inherit them can't get rid of them. There must be a huge number of empty ones..

The good ones sell quickly and at a premium. The ones with something wrong, like high management fees can be very cheap.

My previous career meant I had to visit lots of older people in various types of housing and I really think it's horses for courses.
I saw many older people living in once much-loved houses which had fallen into dangerous, insanitary states of disrepair, with overgrown gardens and steep staircases, bathrooms they couldn't access etc. These people often had to go into nursing homes at short notice when things finally got too much, following falls, hospital stays etc despite having eventually accepted carers visiting. The house sale proceeds are quickly swallowed up in care home fees, leaving little or nothing for inheritance.
The retirement housing varied from very overpriced apartments with high service charges and facilities no one used, which were then hard for the families to sell, to places in fantastic locations at bargain prices which sold really quickly. Some of this housing is owned by not for profit organisations such as housing trusts and has care and adaptations available as people's needs change.
I would personally not choose this way of living too early, although I could based on my age, but certainly wouldn't discount it a bit later on!

Well at one level it is selfish, because the very point of them is, for a certain group of people, to give the owner / occupier a quality of life they desire. And putting yourself first almost always means a degree of selfishness. But if you can’t put yourself first when it comes to where and how you live in old age, when can you? And, if choosing an environment to live in that suits them is selfish, the flip side of that is anyone expecting them to choose somewhere that doesn’t suit them as much is also selfish, and more than a little entitled! But as another poster has said, sadly it comes down to money and the expectation that an inheritance is on the way.

@Tryingtokeepgoing we are the opposite and have for several years been trying to get my FIL to do something similar, as we want him to have a good life and company as he is now on his own- he doesn't like his bungalow or where he lives- problem is he has a lot of stuff, is in his 80s and wants another bungalow rather than a flat- he would like to live where we do but it's more expensive than where he is and detached bungalows go for a premium as not many of them - I would rather he spent his cash !!!

It means, in my case, that it took 3 years to sell. Dropping the price did not help as there is a different supply and demand ratio from the normal housing market. I agree, having said that, that my "inheritance" was my mother's money to spend as she wished. But, my parents worked really hard to move up the property ladder over the years and definitely saw their homes as investments. The final purchase of a retirement flat did not fit that model. I wanted to make a decent profitable sale for their sakes, to get their money back, not mine, if that makes sense.

I found it very hard to move on emotionally from my mother’s death due in part to the fact I could not sell her final home. The sorry tale had a happy ending eventually as the lady who bought it was delighted and I have kept in touch with her and she's very happy livIng there.

I've just been looking at the retirement flats in one particular block not far from me. It seems like 25-33% of the block (about ten years old) is for sale.

I looked up the sale history of one that's going for £120,000. It was bought for £233,000. Someone is desperate to get rid. It's been on for three months so far, so even at almost half it's 'value' people aren't flocking. It's been totally refurbished, too.

Exactly what I said earlier. There is more supply than demand. Therefore pricing is not the issue.

@Iwishmynamewassheilah I totally understand. The issues I've heard of rarely relate to peoples experience living in them- more to do with selling them and covering all the costs till they sell- especially when the deceased don't have loads of easily accessible surplus funds in cash. That's why I think rentals are a better idea or a law come in that service charges and council tax cannot be applied when empty in the case of these over 55 flats!