In the Palm Springs area, there are more than a dozen 55-plus community developments including Sun City (Shadow Hills, Palm Desert), Trilogy at La Quinta, Heritage Palms to name a few. Last week, we did an overview of the cons of buying in an active adult retirement community, which included the three most prevalent reasons, monthly fees, limited community resale, and restrictions such as dog breeds, parking in the driveway or grilling outside.
Last week after reviewing the cons, John Sloan Real Estate Group wanted to show the pros of buying real estate in a retirement community. Truthfully, our research showed that there are far more positives in buying in planned communities for 55 or better. Our sources are A Place for Mom, an online resource for seniors, AARP.org, the website for American Association of Retired People and Investopedia, the world's leading source of financial content on the web.
Investing or Buying in an Active Adult Community: According to Investopedia.com, the baby boomers are reaching the age of 70 and the case for senior housing will be on the rise. Nearly, 83 million people are going to be or will be 55-years or older in the next decade. The National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) said that between 2005 and 2015, accommodations for the grownup set yielded a more than 14% ROI. Just say, “YES!” (Daniel, Kurt, "Are Retirement Villages a Good Investment", Investopedia.com, October 4, 2016.)
Social Network: While the millennials hang on to their telephones networking only with an interface, active adults plan activities face-to-face, things like playing tennis, card games, shopping, and golf. According to the AARP, 55+ communities are for people interested in the person-to-person “benefits of living among peers”. (Ginzler, Elinor, “Which Type of Housing is Best for You?”, AARP.org, July 2009)
Maintenance Free Living: Most people complain about monthly HOA fees. The truth is these dues take care of landscaping, yard work, shoveling snow (for some places), roof repair, housekeeping, cable and wireless access are often also included. Furthermore, the dues keep other things in excellent shape such as the clubhouse for the nightly poker games, the weekly first-run movies, the tennis tournaments, and they take care of pools, where you and your friends gather. Less maintenance work for you means more time to play. That’s retirement in style! (Anderson, Jeff, “Why Seniors Prefer Senior Living Communities”, A Place for Mom, August 13, 2015.)