Mary and Jack are in their 70's and contacted Find My Retirement Home when they decided to downsize from their large family home in the Brisbane suburb of Carina. Although both were still active and independent, the five bedroom home was too large for their needs and Jack was tired of mowing the 1/4 acre block every second week during the summer.
Other reasons for downsizing included:
- Free-up capital to spend on travelling and fund their living expenses
- Have the flexibility to "lock-up" and go travelling for extended periods of time in their caravan, secure in the knowledge that their house would be safe while they were gone
- Moving into a single level dwelling (rather than their existing two story house)
- Smaller garden and yard to maintain
None of their children lived close by (one was in London and the other two were interstate) and they were undecided as to where they should even start looking for their retirement home.
Through our discussions with Mary and Jack we ascertained that Brisbane's hot, humid summers really knocked them about and reduced overall quality of life as their activities revolved around air conditioning! We recommended the hinterland regions of the Gold and Sunshine Coasts, as the higher elevations made for cooler, less humid summers and bracing winters (well, "bracing" from a Queensland perspective anyway!). Besides, the views are fantastic and both locations have a friendly village atmosphere.
Mary and Jack liked the sound of this, but hadn't been to these areas in many years, so they set off for some weekends away to investigate each location. At the same time, Find My Retirement Home conducted a Micro Market Analysis on both locations for Mary and Jack. This analysis showed what retirement living options were available in both locations and summarised the findings into a comprehensive comparison table. We discussed the findings with Mary and Jack and they decided firstly on a location (the Sunshine Coast hinterland) and secondly, narrowed their choice of sites to two retirement villages. Both complexes offered the "two bedroom plus study" home they were looking for, although one community was smaller and sold residences under the freehold model, whereas the other complex was larger, and sold through a Lease Loan, "Right to Occupy" style of contract.
Find My Retirement Home then conducted a Financial Evaluation on the two contract options. This exercise deciphered all of the fees and charges in the contract for Mary and Jack and modelled the financial outcomes. This process made it very easy for the couple to compare the financial differences of both villages. In this instance, Mary and Jack decided to opt for the Lease Loan contract, as the complex had a sale guarantee upon termination of the contract, in the event that they couldn't sell their unit within three months.
With the decision made on the location and complex, Find My Retirement Home then met with the sales agents of the complex and negotiated a purchase price for Mary and Jack. With our "insider" knowledge of the Lease Loan contracts we were able to negotiate a lower entry price in trade off for a higher deferred fee, and a lower share of the capital gain on re-sale.