Retirement Apartments

Yes Carenza you are right. But the HA apartment would be something worth considering when one partner is left especially if no family nearby. Having said that our neighbour is 93 and living happily on her own, of course she has no mobility issues or health problems, as well as caring neighbours!

After returning to the UK from living abroad we looked at HA flats, as my sister in law lives in one. We bought a modern 3-bed semi-detached house in a village which was affordable for us with a small garden (for our medium sized dog). We are so glad we did, as our neighbours are a mix of ages and although in our early seventies - we don’t feel we are ready for such a predominantly ageist community.

When she was in her 70s I took my mother to see a retirement flat - at the time she thought she'd like one.

The kitchen was very small, with no dishwasher, not even a half size one like she had at home. And no room for one. When she asked the (young!) sales person why not, she replied, 'They didn't think old people would want them.'

Exit my mother, highly indignant! 'As if I haven't done enough washing up over the years!'

End of that idea, and just as well. She later developed dementia, which would have meant having to move anyway, and very likely selling the flat at a considerable loss.

ThanksGlammanana will certainly enquire!

Bluesky My Housing Association bungalow is also supported housing we where in a first floor flat where we where first allocated for this scheme but since OH's health has slowly worsened we where allocated this bungalow all done out for people with health problems,security link/wet room/grab bars for safety/garden maintenance every 2 weeks all for an affordably rent with the services of a support officer every day if we needed her but we opt for once weekly,have a look at the HA's in your area when you feel the need to move it's worth looking at.

If you think about it, for a fraction of the maintenance charges you could have a weekly 1:1 yoga instucter/ art teacher etc come to you!

Okay its not as social, but who is to say you'll end up in a friendly retirement building? Theyre just people and not every group gels.

And as Sara says, the whole business model works on re-sales! Even if you dont get frail they'll still see your flat as theirs to sell on at some point! They are more intrusive and restrictive than a normal rental landlord. E.g. you cant gut it and change the layout! Its never really "yours"

Being in the process of moving from a house, I did look at retirement flats. On some levels they were appealing. I liked the idea of activities taking place in a communal lounge - not having to leave the building. The room with washing machines and tumble dryers also appealed.
However, on the downside, I found them all so very cramped. Small living room and bedroom. Few 2-bedroom flats and kitchens in all of them were miniscule. Maintenance charges were exhorbitant, and none had garages (do not think were expected to still have a car). Where there was a carpark it only had limited spaces on a first come, first served basis.
So, I looked at normal 2-bedroom flats in the same area. Much cheaper on maintenance charges, often came with own garage. Good space and decent size kitchens, most I looked at had en-suite (with shower), as well as bathroom.
Guess which I am in the process of purchasing and hope to move into soon.?

EllanVannin I like the sound of that! So it's the Housing Association where is at? More for when one of us will be left on our own.

I have no worries where I am. A safe self-contained ground-floor flat which belongs to a housing association with support if needed. Affordable rent and some jobs at no extra cost. I have an emergency link line, again the cost is minimal for peace of mind if you're taken ill or happen to fall and a safe key where emergency services can enter if you're not able to let them in.
My particular flat has a patio door to the garden and my rotary washing line.

It doesn't matter how much or how little money you have. I sold a house when I came here in 2006 and have never looked back. Everything on one level and I feel so lucky to have such a place, which I appreciate immensely. My cats love it too. I don't need anything else.

I could never live in a communal and restrictive apartment. I don't mix too well and prefer my own company as well as that of the family of course. I speak to the neighbours when I see them and everyone keeps to themselves which is fine by me.

After the flat was sold, she didn’t even have enough to pay her nursing home fees for the years she was there, and she’d bought a garden flat, with a patio.

She definitely was very happy while she was there, but they were very keen to send her packing, once she started forgetting to lock doors, and admittedly once burning something which resulted in a visit from the fire brigade.

I know I'm "going on" but what really bothers me about retirement flats is that people buy them in the hope that they can stay in them longer than they would another home, but the opposite is often the case!

Retirement flats are not adaptable!

A normal 2 bed flat: you can have a craft room, then make it a room for a lodger, then later a room for a live in carer.

You can re-arrange the kitchen if yoi need to sit to prepare food

You can make space for your rehab exercises if youre recovering for an op

Family can stay if you need someone there while you recover from illness

You can change it with your changing wants and needs

Ive also never seen a retirement flat with a decent amount of storage so you do tend to see baskets and piles of things on the floor which then cause problems if someone gets ill and a bit wobbly....

They do communal "activities" but individual hobbies are discouraged simply because there is no storage space for your own bikes, golf kit, craft kit, gardening tools. Kitchens barely fit the basics so hard to do any elaborate baking in. There is rarely any work/desk space within retirement flats, it's as if they think that all people over 55 need to do is sit in arm chairs or eat a meal alone at a small table: there's no hosting all the ILs for a big family lunch in those places!

Notanan

I agree, and in our experience, not very caring. When my mother in law started showing early signs of dementia, they were constantly ringing us and complaining about something, I think they worried it might be catching, or else a slightly forgetful old lady, wasn’t the image they were going for.

In retirement flats the management company are thinking about the next sale on your flat as soon as you've bought it. So they can be pretty restrictive about you only using their approved firms if you want to change anything. Sometimes you have to do everything through them! I once visited a lady who was sold a garden flat but couldnt access the garden because the management company were dragging their heels about fixing her patio doors and uneven wobbly patio slabs, and she wasnt allowed to call in work people of het choice!

She paid extra for a garden flat.

IMO downsizing is a good idea to do when you don't need to, rather than once you do and it becomes harder.

But IMO you'll find much more adaptable flats that'll serve you well if your needs change on the open market compared to many retirement flats I've seen.

Yes they are a bigger outlay, but fees etc are usually much lower, and you can sell without a big loss if you need to at any point.

Do NOT assume that because it sells as a "retirement" flat that any consideration at all has been put into being frailty or dementia friendly. You may "outgrow" a retirement flat sooner than a regular flat if down the line you get frailer!

"Normal" flats are often much more frailty-friendly.

E.g.s of ways I've seen retirement flats being totally unsutable for anyone who deteriorates even slightly:

Bathrooms are often tiny, and dont fit aids well like perch stools at the sink

Internal halls and doorways often smaller than standand and dont fit regular sized wheelchairs or wider walking frames

Gardens hard to access. Steps and trip hazards.

HEAVY fire doors in communal halls effectively trapping frailer/weaker residents in their homes if they dont have someone with them to help them with the doors

Space is at a premium in retirement flats: if you take your own standard sized furniture it becomes very cramped/narrow.

Not dementia friendly as no "landmarking" allowed under terms of leaseholds (e.g. you cant have a blue front door or a distinctive mat or door wreath)

Cramped bedrooms making it more challenging for carers

There are more

I guess you get to a point where being safe and secure is more important than independence. I can see the attraction, but not sure it’s for me. Maybe one day.

Yes possibly a good idea if one partner was left and didn't feel confident to live on his/her own, especially if no family nearby. Would also provide some socialising. Obviously you pay for the privilege and again not everybody's cup of tea.

I think they can be a big comfort, my mother in law moved into one, and was very happy, quick walk to M&S, plenty of company, there were downsides, as someone said, limited storage, the bedroom window wouldn’t open at all, because it opened into a pathway.

It was all happy until she started to develop dementia, then the management became less than helpful, when she moved into a home she took an enormous loss on the price.

I’ve got a friend who moved into one recently, and she feels so much safer, she also likes the social side, there are activities every day, my idea of hell to be honest, but she loves it.

When my father died, my mother really wanted to downsize to a retirement apartment, I think living on her own she hated unsolicited knocking on the door, it made her jumpy. So I helped her do that and she was very happy there, right opposite the sea. The monthly charges were quite high, this was over 10 years ago now, something in the region of £180 I think. I can see where that money went there was a full time caretaker who lived on the premises, plus the common parts were very well maintained. After she died and we sold it, the management company took a percentage of the sale price, it was over a £1,000, cheeky b******s, they did nothing for that other than prepare an incy wincy bit of paperwork. However, it was what she wanted and it was her money. I'm glad she felt secure in the last years of her life. They seemed to have quite a lot of social events organised at her retirement accommodation, between there and her church, my mum was always doing something, I had to sandwich my visits in between her outings.

I'd love somewhere with a pool and gym, then I wouldn't have to drive there as I do now, sounds wonderful, not that I'm ready for a retirement apartment yet!

I enjoyed reading this as we are still young and working(59-62) we have a big bungalow with a huge garden and I think now would be the time for developers to make mid fifties into there structure. We have friends who live in a apartment with a gym and a swimming pool now that’s my idea of different!

Thanks all you have successfully put us off the idea of a retirement apartment! Seriously we also found out that while advertising pets allowed, they then said only existing pet, then replacement would be discouraged, both partners 60+ while I thought just one was enough to qualify, communal lounge sounds like residential home to me, and your useful comments on how we would not be able to resell at a profit, put the final nail in the coffin! Will stay put for the time being, eventually could look at a 1 bed apartment not in a retirement complex!

There are a couple of small lovely blocks of flats near to where we live. A neighbour moved into one, a few years ago, after being widowed. The flat wasn't new, but did have lots of storage, which many don't. She is very happy there.
Maybe, if you are considering downsizing, you could now take the time to research something like that, or a maisonette?
The restrictions would not be anything like the ones applied to purpose built retirement flats, I hope.

Oh they’re definitely not an investment. There’s usually a buy back clause (around10% to the company but sometimes considerably more), they tend to lose value in proportion to the rest of the market and the maintenance fees are high.

If you can’t sell at a later date you will still have to pay council tax and maintenance. That could easily be over £20,000 a year.

I still think they’re a possibility for me when Im old and alone but definitely not an investment?

Thanks all! Will alert DH! Perhaps will consider it at a later date! Nothing wrong with our house just thought of apartments as an investment as well as a secure place to live in old age.