Types of Retirement Communities

Golf and Country Club
Golf course communities, also referred to as Country club communities are extremely popular. Courses can range from fairly modest to extremely upscale. Many communities have more than one golf course. Most have at least one clubhouse with such amenities as a fitness center, practice facilities, pro shop, restaurants and bars, banquet facilities, even full service spas, so that you can enjoy a massage after that tough round of golf.

Some golf courses are private, meaning you must be a member or the guest of a member to play there. Membership rates vary among country clubs depending on the location and caliber of the course. Keep in mind that most private courses have a food and beverage minimum, meaning that you have to spend at least “x” amount of dollars in their restaurants and bars within a designated period of time. Thankfully, sometimes purchases in the pro shop can be applied towards meeting your food and beverage minimum. If you lose as many golf balls as I do, you should have no problem reaching your food and beverage minimum.

Many country club communities have equity memberships, which pass from one party to another through the sale of real estate in that community. If this is the case with the home you intend to purchase, be sure that the real estate contract includes the right to the membership. Your real estate agent can help you with this.

Some communities have both a private course and a public course. You can own a home in a community such as this, not be a member and instead choose to play the public course exclusively. Surely, though, if your budget allows you will probably want to be a member of the private course to give your golf game some variety.

Country club communities with a golf course that is always open to the public are also an option. Be aware, however, that public courses tend to be more crowded than private courses, although this can depend on the time of year, the level of the course, and the price you have to pay to play. Some new communities allow the public to use their golf courses until there are enough residents and consequently enough members in the community. This is both good common sense and sound economics.

If you do not play golf, you may want to think twice about buying a home in a golf course community. Many boomers who do not play golf resent the fact that they are sometimes required to help fund its operations through their homeowners’ association dues. Whether or not this occurs depends on how the homeowners’ association and club budgets are set up, so you might want to look into that before you buy.

Active Adult / 55-Plus communities
55-plus communities are communities where the majority of the homeowners are over the age of 55. For a community to qualify for the 55-plus designation and to be marketed as such, at least 80 percent of the units have to be occupied by at least one person over 55. A common misconception is that everyone must be over 55 but that simply isn’t true. On the other hand, this does not mean that someone under 55 must be allowed to purchase a home. A community– through its deed restrictions– can legally deny someone the ability to purchase a home if they are not yet 55 years old.

Some 55-plus communities have limits on how long relatives such as kids or grandkids can visit, but those instances are usually limited to mobile home parks. While there are still many 55-plus communities in operation and more springing up all the time, research suggests that some people, particularly baby boomers do not want to move into a 55-plus community due to some of the restrictions involved and because they associate it with being “old.” If you fall into this category, you may want to seriously consider a maintenance-free lifestyle community as an alternative. But even still, the business of developing and building 55-plus communities is… excuse me… booming, and those who do it right are experiencing amazing successes.

Maintenance-Free Lifestyle Communities
If cutting grass, landscaping, painting, pressure washing, and general upkeep of the exterior of your home are appealing to you, skip to the next section. Still with me? Okay then, a maintenance-free community might be for you. While some maintenance-free communities are designated 55 and better, most are not. But because maintenance-free lifestyle communities often have restrictions such as no fences, no swing sets, and no basketball hoops, they tend to discourage many families with young children from moving in.

So in maintenance-free lifestyle communities you might enjoy a little more peace and quiet but at the same time be free to have your children or grandchildren visit how often and how long you like.

Maintenance-free communities are those in which you pay a monthly, quarterly, or yearly fee (sorry, the “free” in “maintenance-free” doesn’t refer to the cost) to a homeowners’ association or resident association, and in return, the association contracts with outside vendors to take care of certain maintenance and upkeep. Some homeowners’ associations fees just include the cutting of your grass and leave the homeowner to take care of other items or contract with vendors directly to have them done. Others include complete landscaping such as shrub trimming, mulching, fertilizing and spraying of the yards, painting, and pressure washing.

Most maintenance-free communities are highly amenticised, with clubhouses, swimming pools, billiard and card tables, craft rooms, fitness centers, and activity directors. The idea is that you fill your time doing the things you enjoy, while leaving the work to someone else.

Resort and Club Communities
Imagine arriving at your condo, villa, or home and all your favorite groceries are in the fridge, your linens are freshly cleaned and beds made, the wine is chilling, and while you’ve been away you have actually been making money by letting the management rent out your home while you’ve been gone. This scenario describes what it might be like to own a home in a resort and club community. In these types of communities, which are often amenticised just like a five star resort, you can elect to have your home in the rental pool, or keep it out, whichever you prefer.

Resort and club communities are great for those who might not be quite ready to make a full-time retirement move, but would prefer to take baby-steps in that direction. However, with residents in and out all the time, it can be hard to forge solid relationships with your neighbors, a factor that may make this option less attractive for some.

Gated communities
Gated communities are gaining in popularity across the nation, especially in the Sunbelt. They can either be manned, with guards posted at the gates and patrolling the streets regularly, or they can be unmanned, with arms or gates that open when you press a button on your garage door opener or enter your secret code in a call box. Guests will either be required to stop and speak to the guard or call your home from the call box before proceeding into the community. While this can sometimes be inconvenient for some people, there is no doubt that gated communities do a good job at keeping solicitors, sightseers, and general riffraff out of the neighborhood, as well as protecting and enhancing the value of the homes in a community.

If your new home is just going to be a part time residence, you might enjoy the added peace of mind that a gated community can give you while you are away. Guards in some communities will even check your doors and windows for you while you are gone. Some can act as a sort of concierge service, accepting packages for you and putting them aside for you until you return. When considering a gated community, be sure to ask your salesperson or real estate agent what level of service you can expect from the guards in the community you are considering.

If you get a chance, speak to a guard and see if they can give you any tips either on the community or the area you are considering. Guards typically see hundreds of people every day and therefore have their fingers on the pulse of the community.

Do not let the fact that a community is gated lull you into a false sense of security. No community, gated or otherwise, is immune to crime. Crime can happen anywhere, it does not discriminate based on zip code. Remember to keep your doors locked, garage door closed, and store any valuables in a safe place.

Photo credit: danperry.com on flickr