Retirement flat/sheltered housing

Welcomestreaky if you type Sheltered Accomodation into the search box at the top right hand side of the page, there are lots of threads about sheltered accomodation. I don’t have first hand experience, but you’ve come to the right place for info, as I’m sure there are plenty of Grans who have!

I know 'future-proofing' is all very sensible but as you're only 71 and fit and healthy do you really want to live in sheltered housing? What about a normal flat - you would have more choice.

From what I can remember, not many on here live in sheltered housing.

I would think that trying to move to anywhere in London from almost any other part of the country is going to be pretty much prohibitively expensive. Unless you have a small estate somewhere.

My ex almost mother in law moved into a housing scheme with extra support and she absolutely loves it.
It has its own coffee shop and hair salon, and she can choose to be as solitary or sociable as she chooses.
There is a communal lounge where they can make coffee and have a chat, if they want to, and they find out how everyone's day has been.
She says she has more friends now than she ever has.

We have friends who moved into a retirement flat, and they love it. There is a resident's lounge, which holds regular entertainment. My DH's friend is one of the younger residents and helps with moving chairs etc when they have anything on. They have a fantastic sea view from their living room windows.

My mother moved into sheltered housing in her mid seventies and is still there 20 years later. She made new friends and is very happy. It also gave us peace of mind. If the boiler broke down or the shower leaked she didn’t have to phone us at work. She has an emergency cord in every room (only used once). My grandmother was so fit and well when she moved into sheltered housing that she used to do everyone else’s shopping. If you are moving anyway, then I would say it is a good choice.

I think if you can afford the very high. Maintenance cost then they could be worth considering. My sons MiL is just a bit younger than you and very fit. She loves the luxury but struggles to meet the high costs each month. She wishes she had waited until she was older.

Read the lease very, very carefully. Even solicitors don’t always pick up on some of the details.

I would look at:

restrictions on visitors. You may be limited to the number of nights in any one month, whether children are allowed, the number of visitors at any one time.

how the maintenance charge is calculated. Look for any clause that says “ varied at the discretion of..” Whether the tenants have any say in which company handles repairs and maintenance and what needs to be replaced or updated.

What you are allowed to do to your flat. Clauses that say “approval must be obtained”. Whether you have to employ workmen of their choosing.

The buy back/leaving penalty clauses. I have just seen one where not only could the company buy back at 95% of market value but they also took 1% of the selling price for every year that the tenant had lived there.

At 71 you could easily be there for 25 years. 25% of the selling price! You might say if I’m dead it doesn’t matter but supposed you needed a nursing home!

Lastly the tie in lease where even if you no longer live there the maintenance, council tax etc have to be paid until you can sell.

Sorry about the long post. I’ve been looking into this closely for my own reasons!

The costs sheltered housing do increase almost yearly. My mother lived in two different schemes as she moved nearer me when she got older. It was great for her particularly as she grew older as there were social events in the scheme, she was 95 when she died. But schemes differ completely. If you are looking I would talk to other residents before you buy and find out what they think. Oh and 71 isn't 'old' I'm older than that. Mind you there were residents in my mum's place who were younger than me. My mum rented by the way. There are a number of housing societies who have rented sheltered schemes-Anchor is one.

Well covered Eglantine21.

Hi my aunt ,did this ,she loves it ,you can be as social or anti social as you like! There are pets and gardens,and there is a hall and kitchen. And there is always something on,if you don't feel like doing anything don,t !
She is older than this lady and does not feel like she has suddenly aged,it's hard to catch her in!

There is this week for instance,spa day,forties Andrew sisters singing,table top sale,board games,hair stylist, steel drums,there is loads on ,and that's apart from day trips out,and theatre trips.

But there is always help if you feel worried or I'll ,you pull a cord and someone will knock at your door.

My aunt has no children or no family ,so it's ideal for her, birthday part is you can pick what you fancy.

It's sounds a great idea,check out what the community is like.
And you can get a good idea from having a look around it and speak to other residents.

The lady I know lives in a place owned by a housing association.
She has no money or savings, so I presume her costs are met in benefits, as she is fairly disabled, mobility wise.

I agree about making sure you understand all the conditions but my mum bought into sheltered accommodation at 72 and found it really good for her. She had her own front door so could go in shut it and have her privacy, on the other hand there were various activities some of which she joined in with. As she moved to be near us we were the only people she knew and it was a great help in making new friends. It was great for us as time went on as if we were away for a few days we knew the manager was keeping an eye on things although in her scheme they didn't do any shopping or care. Moving into London it could be a sensible option.

A lot depends on your personality. I'd say, if you can afford it, it sounds a good idea. You can be determined right from the start to not get old prematurely and join in with what you like and not go to what you don't like.

If you go in now, you'll be in the right place perhaps for when you really are old. Many people leave it too late.

I agree with other people who say read through all the conditions carefully.

If you can afford a sheltered retirement flat, then you can afford the same size flat on the open market. It will almost certainly be cheaper, the conditions will be less onerous and maintenance costs will be cheaper.

It really all depends on whether you would choose to pay extra for the confidence of moving into a community in an area where you know no-one but your daughter. If you think that you could build a community of friends for yourself and are confident that you can deal wit any household problems then look to where you will get the most for your money.

Streaky never acknowledged the replies - I sometimes wonder whether to bother replying to such queries from new names. but suppose we have to give the benefit of the doubt.

Where do these queries come from?