How To Choose A 55+ Active Adult Retirement Community
By: RetirementAbodes
The first time Jane Weatherman, 55, and her husband, Sam, 58, looked at a home in Sun City Summerlin in early 2019, they didn’t realize it was an 55+ age-restricted community. But the more the they learned about the activities there, the more they were ready to downsize from their home in Seattle WA.
“We liked the idea of being around people closer to our own age, whether they were retired or not,” says Jane. “This community likes to do all the things that we like to do.”
The couple moved into the community in September 2019. “I went from working all week back home to working all week and having fun here in Sun City,” Jane Weatherman says. “When you get older, you need to have fun and be around people that are also happy and having fun.”
Strong Interest in 55+ Active Adult Communities
The Weatherman’s aren’t the only ones attracted by the activities and sense of community afforded by a 55+ active adult community — even if they’re not quite ready to retire.
Interest in 55+ Active Adult Retirement Communityies (they’re not called retirement communities anymore) like the one the Weatherman’s chose is strong. In fact, builder confidence in the single-family, 55+ housing market hasn’t been this robust since the National Association of Home Builders started compiling an index in 2008.
But if you’re contemplating moving into a 55+ Active Adult Retirement Community, finding one that’s right for you takes work. While active adult communities generally offer the opportunity for a lower-maintenance (and sometimes lower cost) lifestyle, they vary enormously.
Today’s 55+ communities range from “lock and leace” complexes like Trilogy at Summerlin in Las Vegas, NV to single-family homes situated on a gated golf course like Siena in the Summerlin area of Las Vegas, NV. Most are owned by their occupants, but a growing number are rentals for future retirees buying early and renting their home for a few years before retirement. Typically, at least one occupant of each property must be at least 55.
Before settling into an age-restricted community, ask yourself these questions:
What Can I Afford?
In addition to factoring in the cost of rent or mortgage payments (if you’ll still have them), you’ll need to add in the cost of homeowners’ association fees, which often run around a $115/month or more per month. Make sure you understand what those fees cover.
While some 55+ active adult communities have restaurants within them, your fees won’t cover meals or health care. So budget separately for those. Monthly fees do go toward exterior maintenance, such as lawn care and possibly snow removal, as well as community areas like a clubhouse, gyms, clubs or pools.
If you’ve recently retired, or are planning to do so soon, sit down with a financial planner to run the numbers to make sure the ongoing costs of your new home won’t impact your long-term financial security.
You can get a sense of what’s out there by searching RetirementAbodes, which offers more information on activities and amenities for hundreds of communities in ARIZONA, NEVADA and NEW MEXICO. ( click on the links )
How Active is the Community?
The “right” answer to this question will depend on what you’re hoping to get out of the development — both now and in the future.
Some communities have several clubhouses, dozens and dozens of organized clubs and social calendars with everything from holiday parties to local attractions. Others might have few structured activities. If you don’t find the popular activities in the development appealing, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere on RetirementAbodes.
Some developments will let you stay overnight in a model home like Ovation At Mountain Falls in Pahrump ( 50 miles from Las Vegas, NV ), NV for a few nights to get the true experience of what it would be like to live there.
Will I Be Able to Stay Here Over the Long Term?
While you may be lured by the “active” part of “active adult” communities, if you’re planning to remain in this home throughout retirement, your needs will likely change significantly over the course of your stay. Planning now for your housing in a decade will let you remain in your home independently for longer.
Look for a home with “universal design” features like no-step entries, single-floor living and wider doorways and hallways to allow for wheelchairs, in case you’ll need them one day. Such features are fairly common in most 55+ communities, though they may be seamlessly blended into the architecture.
“We do a lot of things that our customers don’t even notice when they’re buying it,” says Jay Mason, vice president of Market Intelligence with home builder PulteGroup ( Del Webb ). “We put additional blocking around the tub, so if you want to add a handle, you just have to go in with the screws. We do wider interior doorways, that most people don’t even notice until they need them.”
Would I Like the Surrounding Area?
Even in communities with a host of recreational amenities, you’ll likely want to leave the gates once in a while. Make sure you can easily take advantage of things you enjoy off-campus, such as shopping, taking in a show or hiking.
If traveling or having regular visitors is important to you, consider the convenience of the closest airport. This is particularly important if you’re moving to a different region of the country. Of those who plan to move in retirement, more say their new home will be in a different state, according to AARP.
The reasons for such moves often include the weather, a lower cost of living or being closer to grandchildren as well. One of the biggest amenity for retirees today, is to move near their kids and grandkids. That’s one of the reasons that active adult communities are expanding into new markets.”
Think, too, about how the surrounding area would serve your needs in the future. Ideally, this means a walkable community or one with a robust system of public transportation. You’ll also want easy access to health care, including a primary care physician and specialty doctors and hospitals you might need in the future.
If any of those reasons to retire in a 55+ Active Adult Retirement Community have your interest, we invite you to start your home search by checking out RetirementAbodes.com