who lives in lock and leave

[HillCountry]

Still 5 years to go; but it is never too early to look for the retirement home.

We found a lock and leave single family community. We are both quite interested. Typical house is between 2000 to 3000 sqft.

We plan to travel about half of the time in the first 15 years after retirement. So the lock and leave might be perfect for us.

But we never lived in anything like this before. Just wondering what is the downside compared to regular single family community.

 

[CaliKid]

I'd be interested in your definition of lock and leave.

 

[njhowie]

I'd be interested in your definition of lock and leave.

What is a Lock & Leave Community?

 

[Alan]

We did this for the first 7 years of our retirement and it worked really well for us. We informed them at the front office before we left on our multi month trips and they kept an eye on the place. I set up a web cam and then later added a Nest thermostat so that I could monitor the temperature as I didn’t want the A/C to fail without spotting it and failing to get maintenance out to fix it before things went moldy.

The main issue we had when doing the extended trips was checking the mail, and there are various options to tackle that. I’d spent a few years getting everything I could electronically but every year we were away something unexpected would come in the mail that required attention.

 

[CaliKid]

What is a Lock & Leave Community?

 

[Meadbh]

OK, so what you mean by “lock and leave” is a condominium. It can be an apartment style or a single family home. I live in an apartment style condo. One downside compared to an individual home is that your neighbours may not have the same pride of ownership as you do. Neighbours may disagree about how the condo is managed. A condominium may be self managed, but that requires a lot of commitment on behalf of a small group of people, and there is a tendency for them to become autocratic. Other condos, especially larger ones (like mine) have professional management. It’s worth the cost to have the expertise. The condo board has to follow the law and its job is to oversee management of the property such that owner investment is protected and sufficient reserves are in place to cover likely future expenses. The quality of volunteer boards varies, and the best way to ensure that the board is doing its job on your behalf is to join it. It’s OK to be away for some board meetings, unless you are the chair. If there are no safeguards like regular depreciation studies (a legal requirement every 3 years where I live), some condo boards will put everything on the long finger, keeping residents happy with artificially low fees, but this will catch up with them eventually when major repairs are required. This is a trap that condos with a predominantly elderly population tend to fall into, because they think they will no longer be around when the roof (or something else) needs replacement.

 

[Souschef]

For about 25 years we lived in a townhouse development. It was as close to "lock and leave" without being called that. All the exterior maintenance was taken care of by the condo association.
We had no qualms about leaving at any time.
We now live in an over 55 park, and it is about the same here. All the exterior maintenance is taken care of, and we have a timed drip irrigation system for our foliage.
We generated a checklist for all the things we should do before we leave, and use it.

 

[joeea]

We plan to travel about half of the time in the first 15 years after retirement. So the lock and leave might be perfect for us.

But we never lived in anything like this before. Just wondering what is the downside compared to regular single family community.

Never heard of the term "lock and leave". But we live in a 55+ community with HOA rules whereby the Association handles the outside of the house.

We have a number of snowbirds who leave for several months. They key for them seems to be finding someone to check on their house and be responsible for it in their absence. My wife and I do that for several of our neighbors. It seems to work well.

Before you buy, make sure you check the financials of your association.

 

[HillCountry]

Thanks for the response. This will be a new development of about 70 single family houses. All exterior is maintained by the HOA. It will be gated. I am not sure about the fee, etc, as the builder does not provide the information yet.

Up to now our family go on vacation for weeks. We can control the AC remotely and we have he security system. I set lights on schedule. And other switches can be turned on and off from the phone. It is outside we have worries. Like this past Christmas, it was very cold; and I was worried that the sprinkler might freeze and water pipe might break. And we always locked our back yard, so gardener cannot mow it.

 

[Cayman]

OK, so what you mean by “lock and leave” is a condominium. It can be an apartment style or a single family home. I live in an apartment style condo. One downside compared to an individual home is that your neighbours may not have the same pride of ownership as you do. Neighbours may disagree about how the condo is managed. A condominium may be self managed, but that requires a lot of commitment on behalf of a small group of people, and there is a tendency for them to become autocratic. Other condos, especially larger ones (like mine) have professional management. It’s worth the cost to have the expertise. The condo board has to follow the law and it’s job is to oversee management of the property such that owner investment is protected and sufficient reserves are in place to cover likely future expenses. The quality of volunteer boards varies, and the best way to ensure that the board is doing its job on your behalf is to join it. It’s OK to be away for some board meetings, unless you are the chair. If there are no safeguards like regular depreciation studies (a legal requirement every 3 years where I live), some condo boards will put everything on the long finger, keeping residents happy with artificially low fees, but this will catch up with them eventually when major repairs are required. This is a trap that condos with a predominantly elderly population tend to fall into, because they think they will no longer be around when the roof (or something else) needs replacement.

The point about budgeting and collecting funds for future HOA expenses is critical. If the reserves aren't fully funded (a must for me), you want to know about any deferred maintenance or other deferred expenses that you will be on the hook for. If available, you may review the bylaws, budget, reserves, and past board meeting minutes.

 

[Ready]

Is there any difference between "Lock and Leave" and a condominium?

If something goes wrong inside the condo aren't you still responsible for dealing with it? It seems like the main thing a condo provides is freedom from having to mow the lawn, plant flowers and shrubs, repaint the outside of the home, and do outside maintenance. While it's a bit more convenient than owning a single family residence, I don't think it really provides a completely care free situation for being away from the home for extended periods of time.

You can always hire a gardener to mow the lawn, and you can deal with exterior paint and maintenance when you're back in town. It's unlikely you are going to have a lawn or paint emergency while traveling.

 

[Meadbh]

Is there any difference between "Lock and Leave" and a condominium?

If something goes wrong inside the condo aren't you still responsible for dealing with it? It seems like the main thing a condo provides is freedom from having to mow the lawn, plant flowers and shrubs, repaint the outside of the home, and do outside maintenance. While it's a bit more convenient than owning a single family residence, I don't think it really provides a completely care free situation for being away from the home for extended periods of time.

You can always hire a gardener to mow the lawn, and you can deal with exterior paint and maintenance when you're back in town. It's unlikely you are going to have a lawn or paint emergency while traveling.

Very true. You could, for example, have a washing machine rubber pipe burst, causing a leak that extends downstairs. This has been a major headache for a couple of our owners. It’s still wise to have someone checking on your property from time to time while you are away. Your home insurance may require it.

 

[brett]

Duplicate

 

[brett]

We have a lock and leave home. HOA takes care of snow removal and all gardening. A neighbour checks our house every few days to ensure that the heat is still on (winters). We turn the water off at the mains, then flush the water out of the toilets and turn the water heater down.

We moved most of our mail to email a few years ago. Our neighbour collects what little mail we do get every week or so. We have no pets or house plants to worry about. So far so good. We have very good neighbours and a well managed HOA.

 

[Sunset]

A regular condominium apartment or rental apt is a "lock and leave".

My DM had one on the 3rd floor, so when she locked her Medco lock on the only door into the apt, it was secure.
She loved the ability to lock and leave.

 

[Just_Steve]

some condo boards will put everything on the long finger, keeping residents happy with artificially low fees,

Had to look that one up.

 

[Meadbh]

Had to look that one up.

Apologies, it never occurred to me that people wouldn’t be familiar with this phrase. It means to procrastinate. The Oxford Dictionary has the most appropriate definition, because the example is about retirement planning!

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/put_something_on_the_long_finger

 

[bmcgonig]

Apologies, it never occurred to me that people wouldn’t be familiar with this phrase. It means to procrastinate. The Oxford Dictionary has the most appropriate definition, because the example is about retirement planning!

https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/put_something_on_the_long_finger

Only heard the term growing up in Ireland.. Never in US

 

[brett]

We rented in a condo building for four years. It was lock and leave. Even so, we had someone check on our unit every so often and empty the mailbox.

We actually feel better about where we are now. Half duplex in a higher end HOA over fifty five cul de sac. Good neighbours who keep a sharp look out.

The condo was experiencing security issues. Too many rental units, not enough owner occupied. People moving in and out.

When we leave in the the fall we only need to turn our water off. Heat is not an issue. Even so our neighbour still checks if only for insurance purposes.

 

[LastOfTheBoomers]

One tip in researching a lock and leave is to see if the HOA rules require a deck to be shoveled after a snowstorm - if so you will probably have to find a service.

 

[Sunset]

One tip in researching a lock and leave is to see if the HOA rules require a deck to be shoveled after a snowstorm - if so you will probably have to find a service.

Wow..... someone walking across the carpet in their wet shoes, with their dirty shovel... Not my idea of lock and leave.

 

[CaptTom]

Is there any difference between "Lock and Leave" and a condominium?

That was my first thought.

If something goes wrong inside the condo aren't you still responsible for dealing with it?

And that was my second.

In any place with "real" winter, you'd want to get every bit of water out. Flushing the toilet isn't enough. Every drain has a trap full of water. The washing machine will have water left in it. Pipes, fixtures and fittings have standing water. Even the pipe up to the shower head needs to be drained. I've personally seen every one of these items burst after freezing (fortunately not all mine!)

In multi-unit buildings, units adjoining or (worse) above yours can also leak water into yours.

Being reluctant to either sell our house, or leave it unattended for long periods, is one of our biggest dilemmas in retirement.

 

[pb4uski]

.... If there are no safeguards like regular depreciation studies (a legal requirement every 3 years where I live), some condo boards will put everything on the long finger, keeping residents happy with artificially low fees, but this will catch up with them eventually when major repairs are required. This is a trap that condos with a predominantly elderly population tend to fall into, because they think they will no longer be around when the roof (or something else) needs replacement.

Our association dances with this.... they have underfunded roof replacement reserves over the years to keep fees affordable and now we are close enough to needing new roofs that the day of reconing is on the horizon. At the same time they crow about how our fees are so much lower than other associations.

The odd thing is that state law would require fees be at 100% reserving (expected replacement cost less current reserves divided by remaining years to replacement) and that is the default... the law provides that an association can chose less than 100% funding if approved by a majority of the members... if the board chose not to offer an option of less than 100% funding then the default would be 100% funding.... but our board choses to offer less than 100% funding each year to "keep fees affordable" and the members keep voting for it even knowing that when the roofs need to be replaced there will likely be a need for a special assessment. I keep asking that if the members can't afford higher fees to fully fund reserves then where are they going to get the money to pay the special assessment when it is needed and have yet to get a sensible answer.

 

[brett]

After downsizing and selling our home we lived in a rental unit condo for a few years. We also did some research on condo units in our city and the prevailing legislation. We were also fortunate enough to meet a lawyer at a social event who headed up a firm that specialized in condo litigation. His comments proved very worthwhile to us. Add to that two condo assessments in our 8 year old rental unit in four years and a friend who was on the exec. of a condo board in her building.

These combined to convince us that a condo was not for us.

 

[Meadbh]

Our association dances with this.... they have underfunded roof replacement reserves over the years to keep fees affordable and now we are close enough to needing new roofs that the day of reconing is on the horizon. At the same time they crow about how our fees are so much lower than other associations.

The odd thing is that state law would require fees be at 100% reserving (expected replacement cost less current reserves divided by remaining years to replacement) and that is the default... the law provides that an association can chose less than 100% funding if approved by a majority of the members... if the board chose not to offer an option of less than 100% funding then the default would be 100% funding.... but our board choses to offer less than 100% funding each year to "keep fees affordable" and the members keep voting for it even knowing that when the roofs need to be replaced there will likely be a need for a special assessment. I keep asking that if the members can't afford higher fees to fully fund reserves then where are they going to get the money to pay the special assessment when it is needed and have yet to get a sensible answer.

This is very foolish for two reasons.
1. The residents will have to come up with the money to pay for the (expected) special assessments. If they have not been saving for this, some of them may end up having to sell their homes.
2. Who in their right mind would buy into a condo with an underfunded reserve? Property values will drop because these condos come with a large future liability. This is why a buyer should always insist on seeing the finances and the depreciation reports.

I should add that your reserve fund does not need to be immediately 100% funded to cover all potential costs, particularly a new building. But that should be the ultimate goal, as costs will increase over time.