retirement housing

It took my ex over three years to sell his late mother's retirement apartment – at a loss. And of course, he was paying service charges and council tax the whole time. If you're concerned about your children having a legacy, such a move would need very careful thought and research.

Many people think that the seaside is a great place to retire to but remember that it is usually over-crowded in the summer and often quite bleak in the winter, not just because of the weather but because many shops, restaurants, etc. close down out of season.

Having researched online a number of retirement properties, besides having very small rooms, why do they all have electric storage heaters which from memory, when I used to have them, not only cost a lot to run but were ineffective in keeping my home warm during the day! Anyone know the answer?

Unless you need assistance with daily living I can't imagine why anyone would want to live in 'retirement/sheltered' housing - I would find it depressing.

lucy I suspect the developers think that the doddery old people will leave the gas on and blow the place up!

Riverwalk I do think that there is a wrong perception sometimes as to retirement living, there are as I see it some very good points to be had and they are now much more modern and airey than they where years ago all with modern fixtures and fittings etc,and many are built in areas where the community is shared with people of many walks of life.
Where we live is classed as "supported living" and it depends on the level of support the person requires I certainly do not need it but OH may just require help if he has a problem if I am away for the day,I then have peace of mind knowing support is available if he needed it.The 5 yrs we have lived here has proved the best move we have ever made.We have our own front door and garden/parking for my car/ nice neighbours /easy access to all transport facilities and no doddery old people

Retirement flats are made all electric because it costs less to build all electric flats and the builders justify it by saying that it is safer.

This might have applied once but cookers come with fail safe devices on burners and all properties of all types have to have smoke/fire alarms, and radiators can have covers. However, nowadays, when buildings are highly insulated and the design of electric storage radiators is so much better, an all electric flat is not as expensive to heat as it used to be and is effective.

Glammanana, I think you are very fortunate to have found retirement accommodation that is modern and airy with individual gardens. Except at the very expensive end I have never been in a retirement flat that wasn't cramped and inadequate and wouldn't drive me to drink or leave me with a death wish in months if I lived there.

FlickertyB I do think we are fortunate from some of the discriptions I have heard about,our Housing Association is very proactive with regard to investing a lot of their money into modernising all their properties over the past few years,so yes we are fortunate indeed.

So glad to have found Gransnet ~ am a new nan to a beautiful 8 month old girl• Am so in a dilemma would realy appreciate your input• I am a very young 61, live in london in a horrible area in a not very nice but roomy housing assoc flat, my mum is 87 in a care home nearb with dementia and chronic pain/in a wheelchair, my brother 7 Years younger than me lives not far away ~ is unhelpfull and a general pain ~ rarely visits mum. I moved my bed into the sitting room of mums flat when she could no longer cope on her own and cared for her for a year and a half. I was rushed into hospial and mum put into a care home ~ my brother and other relatives were nasty about me and mum stayed in the care home. I no longer speak to my family apart from my married daughter ~ she lives in Bristol ~ I hate where I live, my daughter wants me to move to Bristol ~ I hate where I live now ~ am lonely despite trying to join activities ~ bristol have sent me info about sheltered housing cos I am over 60, have been on sickness benefit due to asthma and depression caused by the fall out over my mum. I am so afraid if move into sheltered housing I will be surrounded by `elderly` people. I donl look or feel 60 and have loads of interests which I pursue at home ~ have heard that sheltered flats are very small and I would find someone coming into my flat on a weekly basis intrusive. I am no longer depressed but the asthma does restrict me a bit, now have to look for a job (the government have now moved my pension date twice so I now won't start collecting it until 2015. I used to teach and advise in further education/lifeskills ~ my daughter has suggested work in a shop•your input would be appreciated• I desperately want to be near my daughter and grandaughter•

busybea, welcome, yours is a real dilemma. If it was just you and you are so unhappy where you are I would think moving to be near your daughter was sensible, but it isn't that simple as you have your mother in care in London. Would your brother visit her more if you moved? Does your mother still know who you are and enjoy your company?

The Bristol Housing Association sound very proactive and willing to help. Perhaps next time you visit your daughter you could ask them to show you what kind of accommodation is on offer and discuss the weekly visit they make to tenants. It may feel intrusive but it means if you need help of any kind or there are problems with the flat you have someone coming in each week you can tell and who will make sure the problem is dealt with.

At 61 you probably will find that most of the other tenants are older than you but they are all obviously able to live independently with a little help so you may well find that they are mainly mentally and physically active and may share some of your interests.

As for work, with only a year or so before you reach retirement age, it really doesn't matter what you do as you will not need to do it for long. If you moved to Bristol any work would help you get to know the town and people in it.

I think you need to investigate all the options, carefully and then write a list of pros and cons of moving to Bristol or staying put, or perhaps moving but not before you reach retirement age for example. Seeing it in black and white on paper can be very helpful in making a decision.

Busybea Such good advice given by FlicketyB I think you would be surprised how many 55yrs + do live in this kind of accommodation,even if you accepted an offer from a housing association it does not mean that you have to agree to a visit every week,some of my neighbours just have the option of having a emergency call button or a polite telephone call from the Care Centre but you have the choice.We are far from being an old community yes we do have some older people living by us but they do enhance the neighbourhood as do the younger families who live nearby,so well worth looking at what may be available. Good luck and keep us informed

Thanks for your help and advice its much appreciated. I have contacted Bristol and am going to arrange to stay with my daughter for a week and go and see the supported housing ~ the staff don't live on site so I will arrange to meet them at whatever develpment they are at on a particular day. If there is an empty flat or a kind resident available may be able to see the inside of a property hopefully. I asked them about the room sizes too as having read what some of you put this worried me ~ the people spoke to at bristol were v helpful•. Re mum ~ to be honest not really sure if she knows who I am sometimes I am convinced she does ~ she cries when I arrive and leave and if I show her pictures of her little great grandaughter. I have spoken to the staff who say she is fine the rest of the time. I will have to talk to my brother about visiting her more but to be honest I don't feel I can trust what he sez ie he sez one thing and does another so couldn't rely on him ~ has his own agenda. All the caring has been left up to me including getting the care quality commission in to her last care home due to their leaving her bed soaked in urine etc plus going in all the time and organising doctors to visit when she was very ill for weeks ~ my brother didn't know about it so obviously wasn't visiting when he said he was•. Your comment about `it doesn't matter what I do re work has given me pause for thought ~ the thing is can't rely on the government date as they have already changed it twice so they may change it again which means I will be working longer than a year ~ have no way of knowing which actually makes me very angry, however have always wanted to work for myself and even when (and if!) I am ever allowed to retire by this unhelpful government want to go on working for myself hopefully as the gov pension isn't enough to live comfortably on. The idea was that should collect my pension this year 2014 which would have enabled me the time to concentrate on developing an on line business and work from home. Best wishes.

busybea I think the chances of your retirement date being changed again when you are a year from retirement are very unlikely.

If the state retirement pension is all you have to rely on make sure that when you get it, you check whether you are entitled to Pension Credit. This is a supplement given to all pensioners whose incomes (from all sources) are below £145 a week if you live alone and £222 if you are a couple and it can be a bit more. The site to look at is https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit

You will, of course also be entitled to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Welcome busybea to this site, it's a very helpful one. It's an awful dilemma for you isn't it? Nobody wants to leave their frail Mother in a nursing home all by herself with no visits from anyone, and your brother is no help at all.
if you lived in Bristol, could you still visit your Mother once a month?Travel is expensive I know. Can she read letters?If she can it may be lovely for her to get a letter from you every week. Can she speak to you on the phone also?
Are you happy with the nursling home? Any chance of moving her to one nearer to Bristol if you settle there?Hope that you find a happy outcome to your problem.

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What is it like in a housing set up like Anchor where you buy a flat(no rentals) but a warden ugh I hate the name, why not manager?
I am very active 70s Do you have real freedom , eg family visiting eg grandchildren , maybe a little one staying overnight in your own flat, not the communal one where you pay £30 on a different floor. How do you find out what it’s like to live there?

A very old thread, revived by a spammer.

I wonder what skate decided?