ShokWaveRider
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LWR has VERY high taxes due to CDDs at least where we looked. That is the only complaint I have after looking. Also a fair way from the beach.
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55+ community living?
- Thread starter albireo13
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LWR has VERY high taxes due to CDDs at least where we looked. That is the only complaint I have after looking. Also a fair way from the beach.
When considering a 55+ community you should be most concerned with the quality of life the community can offer based on your needs and wants. There will always be trade-offs compared to your current situation. It is a difficult decision, especially if you will be relocating to an area that is totally new to you.
To the OP, you state that you have found a near perfect house/condo but you have reservations about living in a 55+ community. I would first recommend renting there for a few months to a year to get a feel for the place. We did the opposite of what you are considering. We checked out the area first with rentals over 3 years and decided we liked the community first. Then we went house hunting.
I agree that older communities probably have an older age group. Where we are currently renting, built in the mid 90s, the average age is a bit older but you would be amazed at the number of people you see out walking in the mornings and the number of people playing golf. Seniors move here to enjoy their golden years to the fullest, not to just hole up till they are forced into assisted living. Just for reference the 55+ age requirement is a bit of a misconception. A 55+ community typically cannot limit the sale of preowned
homes to person(s) age 55 and over. Only the developer can control new home sales to the 55+ age requirement.
I know that many communities have deed restrictions, but I do not think they are restrictions because they are a 55+ community. They just want to insure that owners don't do things that would detract from the appeal that most owners desire and expect. Who wants to live where a next door neighbor has painted their house purple? Not me. Who wants to live in a neighborhood where a neighbor has wine bottle trees, a Barbie car as a focal point, and landscape with artificial flowers that they get from the cemetery. I have such a neighbor where I currently live but fortunately a block away from us.
After our due diligence we purchased a home in The Villages Florida. It is touted as "America's Friendliest Hometown". Not sure about that but I doubt there is a retirement community anywhere that can offer the range of entertainment and activities as you have here.
To the OP, you state that you have found a near perfect house/condo but you have reservations about living in a 55+ community. I would first recommend renting there for a few months to a year to get a feel for the place. We did the opposite of what you are considering. We checked out the area first with rentals over 3 years and decided we liked the community first. Then we went house hunting.
I agree that older communities probably have an older age group. Where we are currently renting, built in the mid 90s, the average age is a bit older but you would be amazed at the number of people you see out walking in the mornings and the number of people playing golf. Seniors move here to enjoy their golden years to the fullest, not to just hole up till they are forced into assisted living. Just for reference the 55+ age requirement is a bit of a misconception. A 55+ community typically cannot limit the sale of preowned
homes to person(s) age 55 and over. Only the developer can control new home sales to the 55+ age requirement.
I know that many communities have deed restrictions, but I do not think they are restrictions because they are a 55+ community. They just want to insure that owners don't do things that would detract from the appeal that most owners desire and expect. Who wants to live where a next door neighbor has painted their house purple? Not me. Who wants to live in a neighborhood where a neighbor has wine bottle trees, a Barbie car as a focal point, and landscape with artificial flowers that they get from the cemetery. I have such a neighbor where I currently live but fortunately a block away from us.
After our due diligence we purchased a home in The Villages Florida. It is touted as "America's Friendliest Hometown". Not sure about that but I doubt there is a retirement community anywhere that can offer the range of entertainment and activities as you have here.
My parents lived in a Del Webb 55+ community in Palm Desert and I visited many times. They had previously lived in a large home with a large yard. Their life was much better in the 55+ community. It had club houses, pools, gyms and lots of social clubs. They made many friends and had lots of house parties. In their previous home I mostly saw my dad tending to the yard and not spending much time doing fun things. At the 55+ community my dad played ping pong with his friends and he played the piano for his friends. There was the down side of the HOA people enforcing trivial rules. I saw a report that they gave my mother with 12 pages of violations that were about plants showing a few inches above the garden wall and a palm tree with a frond hanging down and some water spots on the wall from the sprinklers and things like that. She handled them diplomatically but I found it annoying as her place was quite tidy and she paid a lot for a gardener to keep it up. Overall though it was a good choice and much better than having a home in the suburbs where you hardly know your neighbors.
+1. Gators in pretty much every body of water here in Florida. I just wish the local kids would play sports or something else instead of feeding the neighborhood gators junk food by the edge of the waters edge of the nearby retention pond and nearby lake.
Did you hear and where you there when the Villages made the local news? Recently a convicted felon stole a security vehicle ( a car not a golf cart) and was chased by a local law enforcement sheriff vehicle. The wild high speed chase went thru the golf courses by the resident homes, almost crashed and killed nearby golfers playing their round of golf. The bad guy was caught when he crashed the car he was driving into a building. The golfer said in camera he did not expected to be run over by a vehicle when playing golf.
Yeah, that was a couple of weeks ago. I don't remember it well but I was thinking the felon was not a Villager. You hear all kinds of crazy stories about dumb things a few seniors do here like driving their golf cart inside the front doors of a Winn Dixie. The deed restrictions can't prevent dumb actions by residents.
Amethyst
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Isn't that amazing? You move in when you retire at age 65, and 25 years later there you still are, 90 years old, wondering what the heck happened! 
The issue I have with all planned communities isn't the architectural restrictions...there are good reasons for those. I resent paying monthly dues so a bunch of other people can do things we will never do...play tennis, P-ball, hang around the clubhouse etc. Also, privacy is never paramount in such communities, because the lots need to be small and densely packed so as to keep down maintenance costs. Unless you hole up in your house 24/7, you are always in public view.
The issue I have with all planned communities isn't the architectural restrictions...there are good reasons for those. I resent paying monthly dues so a bunch of other people can do things we will never do...play tennis, P-ball, hang around the clubhouse etc. Also, privacy is never paramount in such communities, because the lots need to be small and densely packed so as to keep down maintenance costs. Unless you hole up in your house 24/7, you are always in public view.
audreyh1
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Isn't that amazing? You move in when you retire at age 65, and 25 years later there you still are, 90 years old, wondering what the heck happened!
The issue I have with all planned communities isn't the architectural restrictions...there are good reasons for those. I resent paying monthly dues so a bunch of other people can do things we will never do...play tennis, P-ball, hang around the clubhouse etc. Also, privacy is never paramount in such communities, because the lots need to be small and densely packed so as to keep down maintenance costs. Unless you hole up in your house 24/7, you are always in public view.
The HOA restrictions never bother me either. Choose your community based on what you want. If you look at some of the neighborhoods not far from us there are serious eyesores due to lack of restrictions. Typical in TX.
Monthly/quarterly fees that cover common areas: again, you can choose a place with fewer amenities. In our neighborhood, specific social activities are not covered by the fees, they are run by residents and charge by the activity to cover it. Yard maintenance dominates the HOA fee. It doesn’t bother us to pay for the clubhouse and pool facilities, etc., as we do occasionally use those facilities and I like living in a neighborhood that has them.
There are benefits to the “lack of privacy” as you see it. People are definitely choosing smaller lots, much less yard space, etc. They don’t want the maintenance. Having the HOA take care of yard maintenance is a huge benefit and was a major draw for us. Our community always looks fantastic without looking sterile or cookie cutter. It was always beautifully landscaped with native flowering plants and trees, something that was a huge draw for us as it attracts butterflies like crazy, yet everyone’s yard looks quite different.
And you are not isolated. If problems happen, neighbors are around to call on. People look out for each other. Even if you needed to call out to someone walking past on the street you would get safe attention. Yes, people know who we are and greet us when we go out walking, or whatever. I enjoy that in spite of being an strong introvert. Regardless, we do have a great deal of privacy in our back yard and no one would bother us unless we yelled for help.
It’s easy for me to manage the amount of social interaction I experience. We have a lot of very interesting neighbors as almost everyone is very well traveled. We don’t partipate in community social events anymore, but I occasionally host a couple of neighbors for a get together. No one pesters us about not being “involved” more.
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ShokWaveRider
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We live in a country club environment in NE Florida. Not 55+ but there are very few families with children, we only know 1. Our HOA is well managed and they are not really anal about the rules UNLESS they affect others. Funds are in a surplus and cover all expenses. The neighborhood is well kept and some homes have included garden maintenance, others are estate homes with private maintenance. People walk all over on most days and we know most folks casually or by sight (from walking), but not as real friends. We do have a few close friends and do socialize with them on a regular basis. No one seems to bother anyone and it is live and let live for the most part. There is always someone to check the house while you are away and/or look after your dog at a moments notice if the need arises, we are one of those who help out in this manner.
Yes there are some busy bodies but honestly they do not bother us or others, in fact they keep us all informed on the important stuff. We only have 600 homes and there are only 6 unbuilt lots. Most homes are CIRCA 2000 - 2006. We are 2 miles from the beach in an "X" flood zone, that is GOLD for Florida. HOA fees are very reasonable and residents do not need to be Club Members. There are tiers available for membership and are reasonable. It is a private golf club, so not owned or managed by the HOA. However, they let us use the clubhouse for meetings and other HOA activities at no charge.
Everything we need or will ever need is within 5 miles for our home, we are on a Hospital grid so in 10 years the longest we have lost power has been 12 hours or so.
We thought we would like a 55+ for the additional amenities, but after checking out a lot of them, we decided they do not compare and the extra amenities are not worth the extra Taxes, Fees, CDDs, Cookie Cutter look etc. So we are staying put for now.
http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Marsh-Creek-Country-Club/
Yes there are some busy bodies but honestly they do not bother us or others, in fact they keep us all informed on the important stuff. We only have 600 homes and there are only 6 unbuilt lots. Most homes are CIRCA 2000 - 2006. We are 2 miles from the beach in an "X" flood zone, that is GOLD for Florida. HOA fees are very reasonable and residents do not need to be Club Members. There are tiers available for membership and are reasonable. It is a private golf club, so not owned or managed by the HOA. However, they let us use the clubhouse for meetings and other HOA activities at no charge.
Everything we need or will ever need is within 5 miles for our home, we are on a Hospital grid so in 10 years the longest we have lost power has been 12 hours or so.
We thought we would like a 55+ for the additional amenities, but after checking out a lot of them, we decided they do not compare and the extra amenities are not worth the extra Taxes, Fees, CDDs, Cookie Cutter look etc. So we are staying put for now.
http://www.clubcorp.com/Clubs/Marsh-Creek-Country-Club/
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Dtail
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We are in a gated community with a mix of residents with lots of diversity. Probably only 15-20% retired which works for us. We enjoy most of the community events and have made many new friends.
Semi cookie cutter look, but that's okay. We are more extroverted so having people around us enhances the experience.
Semi cookie cutter look, but that's okay. We are more extroverted so having people around us enhances the experience.
Gated communities can give a false sense of security. At my parents community there was a gate guard who would check membership cards and they scanned license plates, so it seemed safe. However people could just say that they were going to the restaurant in the clubhouse and get in. The biggest source of theft, according to my mother, was landscape contractors cruising around looking for open garages and going in and taking things.
ShokWaveRider
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This sounds like a poorly managed community. We have never had such issues. Yes one year some time ago there was a burglary, but that is all I can remember. Yes, there will be occasional issues here and there, but in general after 10 years in ours we have no complaints. Our community is considered well managed, and so far has proven so. We are also in a relatively mid to upscale area, but that is subject to debate I am sure.
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REWahoo
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My old boss lived in a high-end gated community with manned guards at the entrance. He was awakened late one night by the sound of an intruder removing his car keys from the nightstand beside his bed.
My neighbor's son works at University of California, Irvine. She retired and bought a condo at Laguna Woods, CA. She lives here during the summer. I've not been there, but it sounds amazing. She directed me to a study of elderly that started there and was profiled on 60 Minutes back in 2014. I find this information fascinating. Here's one Forbes article about it.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robins...weight-in-their-70s-live-longer/#2ac0537b695c
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robins...weight-in-their-70s-live-longer/#2ac0537b695c
My parents community was a Del Web and was well managed from what I saw. It certainly wasn't low end. They place sold for $400,000. I'm not sure what else they could have done. The restaurant needed the business so they let people in. Everyone had a yard maintenance service so how do you keep them out.
Tetto
Recycles dryer sheets
ShokWaveRider
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Interesting, sounds like a bit of a negative for the Del Web communities IMHO if they let anyone in to eat, sort of defeats the objective. I am not sure whether that is all Del Web properties or just hers. I will have to ask as we have one in Pointe Vedre beach that we were once considering. We have a restaurant in our clubhouse but it is members only and visitors can only come in with guests. I like to call our gate guards the "Gestapo", as they seem over protective, again in my opinion, but that may be a good thing.
That is not to say we live in Nirvana, but almost all issues were related to people being careless and leaving their garage doors open, along with their internal doors when they were away, or leaving their keys in an open car. But that would be the same anywhere I am sure.
Being a private golf club, our bunch may be a bit stricter on access than others.
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audreyh1
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We have an unmanned gate. It is open during the day.
So minimal security from an enclosure and gate, we don’t expect much.
It still does keep out a lot of traffic. Pretty much just residents, delivery services, contractors/construction during the day, and very quit at night.
Some folks are mad that the gate s not closed on weekend days. Doesn’t bother us as we’re not trying to live in a fortress.
We do have an interesting security situation though. We are crawling with border patrol agents and TX DPS. We occasionally do have nighttime “international visitor” wall climbers trying to sneak through the neighborhood to avoid detection. They are quickly apprehended. This heavy surveillance and activity seems to keep away other unwanted visitors such as would be thieves.
So minimal security from an enclosure and gate, we don’t expect much.
It still does keep out a lot of traffic. Pretty much just residents, delivery services, contractors/construction during the day, and very quit at night.
Some folks are mad that the gate s not closed on weekend days. Doesn’t bother us as we’re not trying to live in a fortress.
We do have an interesting security situation though. We are crawling with border patrol agents and TX DPS. We occasionally do have nighttime “international visitor” wall climbers trying to sneak through the neighborhood to avoid detection. They are quickly apprehended. This heavy surveillance and activity seems to keep away other unwanted visitors such as would be thieves.
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REWahoo
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Wow, this is a little nuts!
Yep. Apparently prior to searching for the car keys the intruder raided the fridge, then spent some time sitting at the kitchen table to have a snack and a beer.
audreyh1
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I agree that the restaurant should be members only and people should not be able to drive in uninvited. Apparently the residents are bargain shoppers and they only eat at places where they get a senior discount coupon and the restaurant was losing money, is what my mother told me.
Kroeran
Full time employment: Posting here.
If you buy or lease in a new 55 plus, you will get a fresh crop
of active retirees to mine friends from. Age diverse communities with busy families provide a smaller potential partier pool.
One trick is move in early in construction phase and milk builder subsidy, move or sell before handover.
Rinse and repeat in same area collecting new social contacts in each hood, getting in early, leaving before reality
of fees kick in post handover.
Our Florida place is age diverse with a resort orientation. I find the the crazy stuff to be entertaining, so far. Last week someone vandalized the refurbed basketball courts, but kids parents came forward to pay for repairs.
of active retirees to mine friends from. Age diverse communities with busy families provide a smaller potential partier pool.
One trick is move in early in construction phase and milk builder subsidy, move or sell before handover.
Rinse and repeat in same area collecting new social contacts in each hood, getting in early, leaving before reality
of fees kick in post handover.
Our Florida place is age diverse with a resort orientation. I find the the crazy stuff to be entertaining, so far. Last week someone vandalized the refurbed basketball courts, but kids parents came forward to pay for repairs.
When we purchased our weekend/vacation second home 8 years ago it was in a 55+ "active lifestyle" community within walking distance of the beach. The entire HOA is 34 units.
We were concerned that there would be too many rules, that everyone would be old and unfriendly, that having our children and grandchildren at our house would be frowned upon.
After 8 years we are in the process of selling our primary residence and moving to our "retirement" home full time.
We love the neighborhood and the neighbors. While we are still the youngest, we've made great friendships and get together with many of our neighbors frequently.
They all love our children and grandchildren. And they kind of like us too.
It's a safe and fun location, with everything we want in a home.
I would love to move into either a 55+ or 62+ community in New Hampshire but there doesn't seem to be anything available or the homes are too expensive.
We are actually considering a CCRC- Independent living cottages. Yeah- I know we are way young compared to the residents but at least it will just be one move and 15 years goes pretty quickly and at least we will already be "in place". (we are in our 60's).
BUT- they are pricey, so we will see. I want to put our house up for sale this Fall but not sure how we will move because we need the money from the sale to get something else- IF- there is even an opening.
I dread the logistics of the whole thing. I just don't get it. I wish there was a way we could afford to buy something now, but I don't see how we could. Running two homes is just way too expensive.
We are actually considering a CCRC- Independent living cottages. Yeah- I know we are way young compared to the residents but at least it will just be one move and 15 years goes pretty quickly and at least we will already be "in place". (we are in our 60's).
BUT- they are pricey, so we will see. I want to put our house up for sale this Fall but not sure how we will move because we need the money from the sale to get something else- IF- there is even an opening.
I dread the logistics of the whole thing. I just don't get it. I wish there was a way we could afford to buy something now, but I don't see how we could. Running two homes is just way too expensive.
I was looking at the ones around Florida too, especially the 'Latitude Margaritaville' in Daytona Beach. I'm a little hesitant about moving into a retirees' neighborhood since they seemed like mostly couples and I'm single, with no kids or grandkids to discuss, and have lived outside the U.S. half my life so tend to be a little different... lol.
