Community shopping online allows you to pinpoint some favorites before you plan an in-person visit.
While active adult communities are all designed to support an active lifestyle, there are many variations from one community to the next. Some communities are sprawling, resort-style locations while others provide more intimate neighborhoods. Each community has its own draw, whether it’s a championship golf course, active tennis facility, or a cozy clubhouse with a variety of social clubs.
While a search for a new home is a personal experience, there are some similar steps that potential buyers take along the way.
1. Choose a retirement location.
The first step is to decide where to live, and there are many considerations when choosing a retirement location. Climate is often a major factor, as well as proximity to family and friends. Though active adult communities have many on-site amenities, the area surrounding the community is equally important. There are communities that are set in small towns, suburbs, or close to urban centers. There are communities located near beaches, mountains, deserts, or even in northern towns.
2. Consider age-restricted versus age-targeted communities.
Though active adult communities are generally geared toward residents over the age of 55, not all of these communities are age-restricted. Age-targeted communities, though designed with amenities that appeal to active adults, are open to residents of all ages. Age-restricted communities are often quieter, while age-targeted communities may have a more diverse environment. Children and teenagers may be sharing the amenities and playing within the community’s open areas.
3. Plan your budget.
The wide range of active adult communities offer homes that meet many budgets. When planning to relocate, consider not only the cost of the home but any community fees as well. While many amenities are usually included in the basic homeowner’s fees, some communities may require additional memberships or fees for golf, tennis, classes or other activities. Be sure to consider the area’s cost of living as well, particularly in how it compares to your current location.
4. Prioritize your needs and wants.
How do you picture your lifestyle? Do you want to live in a golf community or play tennis everyday? Look over several active adult communities to see the kinds of amenities they offer and make our own list in order of importance. Think about desired features in both the home and community amenities. Consider features in the surrounding area as well, such as proximity to medical facilities or airports.
5. List your favorite communities.
When browsing communities online, it is easy to lose track of your favorites. Make a list of appealing communities with a few notes on what you like about each. Revise the list as you research, adding or removing communities until you have a few contenders. Using a spreadsheet or note cards may help track your reactions while visiting each of these communities.
6. Visit each community.
Make appointments to visit your favorite communities. If you are traveling, be sure to allow plenty of time at each community and, if possible, leave time to go back to your favorites more than once. The community may have a different feel on a Saturday afternoon than it does on a Wednesday morning. Be sure to ask questions while you are visiting, particularly about the community rules.
7. Explore the surrounding area.
Visit more than the tourist stops when researching a retirement location. While you do want to take note of dining, shopping, and recreational attractions, you should also remember your daily needs. Check out the nearest grocery store, banks, and pharmacies. Find the closest medical facilities and hospital. Driving through the neighborhoods just outside the active adult community may also give you an idea about the general area.
There are many impressive active adult communities around the country, and that can make it difficult to choose among them. Remember, it isn’t necessarily a matter of finding the community with the most amenities, but rather finding the one that is best for you.
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Awesome article Susan and perfectly on point. I would just add there is no better time to get started than as soon as possible. While retirement may be years off, potential retirees often look to the financial aspect of retirement and ignore the where question until much closer to the date they go.
Once we decided on what we wanted, what best suited our finacial position and what best met our needs, we bought at 51. It couldn’t have worked out better. We rented the house out during the winter months, helped pay the cost of owning and making improvements. It made us focus our vacation time on the property rather than off seeing the world, but that was a good thing.
Finally, consider that when buying in an older, more established community (we choose the origial Sun City AZ), we knew we would be making constant changes to the home (another cost factor to consider). Windows, doors and a slew of upgrades have been an ongoing process, but that too has made retirement more interesting. We got a lot of home for the little money we spent and now we have been putting our stamp on it and making it ours.
Planning ahead and giving ourself something to long for in that retirement dream clearly made it that much more desireable and pushed us to stay on task.
We are from North Carolina and have visited many communities. In Florida, The Villages, four Del Webb communities, two Del Webb communities in South Carolina(one near Charlotte NC) and one Del Webb in North Carolina. We loved The Villages but have decided we need to live closer to family but have not found the right one in NC or SC. We would like input and information on why and for what reasons people have chosen these communities and if there are others we have not seen in NC, SC or any states nearby. We are ready to find a community but do not want to make a mistake in the selection. After looking, they all seemed to look alike except The Villages. Thank you for your help.
LH