IS LIVING IN A RETIREMENT FLAT AS COSTLY AS YOU THINK IT IS?

Sat 18 Oct 2014

If you think living in a retirement flat will incur high costs think again! Its interesting to see the amount of people wo are surprised when we first mention the ground rent and maintenance charges which are involved with living in a retirement block. However, surely what needs to be taken into account is the relatively low asking prices?

The question a lot of our applicants ask us is 'Why would we pay high annual maintenance costs, but a low purchase price to live in part of a retirement block when we could buy a leasehold flat for a reasonable amount of money and not be committed to high annual spending included and incur lower costs?... Well you have to balance the initial low cost of the purchase price and maintenance charges with the price you would pay for a average 1 bedroom flat in Bournemouth -

Lets break this down for you and calculate the typical annual coasts + the purchase price to see what your spending could be over an average 10 year occupancy. (Only an example)

Retirement Flat:

Maintenance + Ground rent (annual) = £3,500.00

Purchase Price = £80,000

Spending over a 10 year occupancy = £115,000

Leasehold Flat:

Maintenance + Ground rent (annual) = £1,200.00

Purchase Price = £130,000

Spending over a 10 year occupancy = £142,000


Its also worth bearing in mind that whilst there are no regular maintenance payments with some flats, with no regular maintenance being carried out, the condition of the overall property can deteriorate. There is always the possibility of a large one-off bill at any time if, for instance, work is required on the roof or drains, and it can be difficuly to budget for that.

Whereas with a retirement block standards of maintenance are very high, and the regular cost does include quite a lot, such as services of a property manager, careline support, window cleaning, interior and exterior maintenance of the block and grounds, individual water and sewerage charges, etc. 

A flat in a retirement block is particularly secure for peace of mind, a particularly useful feature if you like to take long holidays.

If you are considering whether a retirement flat might be a good option for you, why not call in and discuss this in more detail with us, and we can also show you around 3 flats we have on the market at the moment.

Please do take a look at details of one of the retirement flats here