What Is the Right Kind of Community for Your Retirement (It Might Be More Than One)?

Thank You for posting. The "Retirement" concept is new to me. It does not matter to me where I live whether it is U.S or Canada although do prefer U.S. as can always visit Canada as need.
This article does help the Decision process as lead's me to what is my preferred living style. b

Hmm, never had to think about this and didn't realize there was so many choices. I can see you have to have a nest egg or gold mine to retire in some of these places and a plan that needs to be put in place years in advance. I didn't even realize there was a steep land lease fee for mobile home communities. I appreciate you explaining all the options and makes me think aging in my home is the way for me. I can update and make it senior friendly and have friends and activities here. You got me thinking that what I need is right under my nose and I better start making my aging in place plans.

We like FL in the winter, yet we find it difficult to find a rental place for a month. Most places require 3 months on the gulf side. We are considering buying a manufactured home in a community. Most listings indicate that there are maintenance or community fees, yet don't list the amounts. Does anyone have any ideas about the ballpark figures, pros or cons? We would keep our home in TN, cuz we really like it here.

Caps we looked into a manufactured home/RV community and knew nothing about land leases, which many of these communities are. We thought it was a hefty monthly expense and when we looked a few years ago the one we liked was $600 a month. But it did include the amenities like pool and fitness center, and garbage collection, landscaping etc. I don't think you will find these hidden expenses on a community's Facebook page or home page you have to call them and ask a lot of questions before you get the bottom line. That said, I think there are some really nice ones with lots of nice amenities hence the hefty monthly payment. I'm not sure if $600 a month was average we only looked into one of this type.

Thank you Paula. I don't know if my hunch is correct, but I am hesitant to let our realtor know that we want to know more about those type of communities, because I'm thinking that they will want us to purchase something much more expensive, due to the large difference in commision. Does anyone know if there are other ways to find out about those community fees by ourselves?

You can normally find out what kind of fees apply by contacting the community or the HOA directly. They have an obligation to disclose them to buyers. Established communities with HOAs probably more willing to share. You should level with your realtor about what you want, if too expensive tell them you are looking for something less posh. Or find another agent. You are in charge.

When we were looking for a retirement home, we selected a location and a 55+ community. On the last visit we had selected a site, layout and finished and were going to make the deposits etc. I asked for the covenants and HOa documents. I was given the mass of documents and set about reading, which I encourage everyone to do. I presented the factory with about 45 questions to ensure I understood the meaning. I was given polit responses at first, but as the questions got more detailed, they had to call in more people to try and answer. During this more experienced staff response we were told no less than 8 times to just trust them, the situation asked about would never happen. That was a huge red flag, so we said we needed to think more. Then we casually asked about post move in, how does the HOA manage requirements to which we were told, that they have a full time staff member that walks around daily and tracks non compliance of terms. THAT was the final red flag, so we ended the meeting and terminated our plans for that site and firm. The rule I encourage all to follow is read the documents, use a lawyer and trust your gut. We dodged a bullet and are now very gun shy of HOAs and managed communities.

Excellent points, Bruce. When folks read the docs, look for something called “limited common elements.” Unlike common elements ( e.g. parking lots, common landscaping, lampposts), limited common elements are parts of some homes but not all in a community or neighborhood association. In our group of 28 condos, 20 suffered some damage to their second-floor porch decks. Our group of 8 condos do not have the porch decks. The Board — all members live in those 20 units — voted to replace ALL the decks; some suffered no apparent damage. We complained but, in the end, were assessed $14,000 payments like everyone else. In essence, we subsidized our neighbors repairs. At point of sale, I had not read the documents which defined the decks as limited common elements. Caveat emptor.

Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone out there has information about West Park in West Des Moines, Iowa.
It's a 55+ community.
We are making a visit up there next month. Any feedback is appreciated.
Thankyou!
brenda