Main question: Do you live in a 55+ community or aspire to live in one?
Optional feedback:Please talk about how the numbers work or don’t.
I’ll go first. I don’t live in a 55+ community, and should I need one, it would probably be an Atria/Sunrise type of rental deal as opposed to buying,
My dh worked for a complex where the units literally remain at 2010 prices due to 5k/mo Hoa condo fees that heirs remain responsible for until resale. The HOA has been buying them up and marketing them as a rental after an “entrance fee.” Again, I could get that at an atria and get meals too all without an entrance fee or a toxic property.
I mean, we won’t be around for the end of any new 30 year mortgage. Why make such a commitment with either a loan or cash when rentals are readily available in these communities?
Downside is it sometimes feels as if one is back in high school, with gossip, romances, and some cliques. However, you don't have to participate in any of it, if you don't want to do that. There are plenty of really nice people here, and we help each other out.
Our community is similar to https://rossmoor.com. There's no big buy-in fee up front. I feel that the perks we get (even though I am not at present using them) are well worth what we pay.
Your community sounds like this. https://rossmoor.com/ This is where my cousins wished their parents went 15 years ago when they could enjoy the two golf courses and three swimming pools and other amenities there. Do such amenities justify your likely substantial hoa bill?
Home values keep rising in this community. Buying a home is a good investment. When it's time to move into one of the many assisted living or memory care facilities nearby, homeowners sell this home and buy into their final one. If they'd rented, they'd have no equity to use for The Last Pit Stop.
Heirs have turned over condos to the hoa where my dh worked just to get out of hoa fees. Hopefully you aren’t in a situation like this, but if you don’t mind me asking, how do equity and hoa fees compare to non 55 places?
We have a little nestegg that may help us stay in an AL. Which is another option for me if I feel thats the way I need to go.