You may have reached the point in your life where you are sick of maintaining a large home and garden and would like to downsize.
There are many options to consider, some of which are:
- Buying a small house or townhouse with a small yard;
- Buying in a retirement village which usually involves taking a lease or licence over the unit;
- Buying a manufactured home in an over 50s village; or
- Building a granny flat in the backyard of your child’s property.
This is just a few of the possibilities. There are advantages and disadvantages to each of these options.
In this article we will be looking at buying a manufactured home in an over 50s village.
The first thing to be clear about is that you are purchasing the home itself and not the land that the home sits on. You will need to rent the land (site) that the house sits on from the village operator.
By paying the site rent, you will have access to whatever community facilities and services the village operator offers to residents.
The rent for the site will increase annually and the site agreement you will receive from the village operator will set out how this increase will be calculated. This is an ongoing expense that you will need to be aware of.
As with your current home, you will also need to pay for all the utilities associated with the property for eg: electricity, water consumption, gas, phone, internet. The operator will usually also expect you to maintain your site and attend to any lawn mowing or gardening required.
You will need to pay for all maintenance and repairs associated with your home and you will also need to hold your own insurance for the home.
You will also need to be able to live independently as not all villages offer additional care services. As your health declines, there may be opportunity to arrange for care services to attend to you at your home so that you can continue to live in your property reasonably independently for as long as possible.
If your health declines to the extent that you are no longer able to live in your home, even with support, you may need to consider selling your house to move into higher care. There may be delays associated with marketing and selling the house as it could take several months and you being in a position to be able to pay a deposit to secure a spot in an aged care facility pending sale of the house. Depending on your age and health, this may be more of a concern however it is a consideration when deciding what type of accommodation best suits your needs now and into the future.
Not all parks charge the same fees, so it is worth shopping around to compare pricing and service offerings before you decide on a park.
Before proceeding, it would be beneficial to engage with your solicitor to discuss the terms of the purchase contract and site agreement prior to executing these documents.
It would also be beneficial to speak with an accountant or financial planner to discuss the various options and the financial implications for you of each option.
