Retirement Condominiums

Like owning your own home - without some of the hassles

Owning your own condo is probably the ideal way for many people to live in retirement. This gives you many of the same advantages as owning your own home without some of the maintenance hassles. The equity you attain through the increase in home value is one very important advantage to owning a retirement condominium.

There are many condominium communities where you can congregate with fellow retirees with the same interests. Many active living and independent living retirement communities offer the possibility of ownership.

While many people will be able to purchase a condo outright, it should also be noted that there are mortgage brokers and lenders who specialize in retirement condominium ownership.

Before you lock yourself into a condominium agreement, here is a checklist of things to do and think about:

• Review the entire property to make sure that it is up to your standards of cleanliness and order.
• Know about property maintenance in the community, especially concerning things such as snow removal, lawn-care, etc.
• Ask how well the budget is maintained and whether the condo community meets its annual budget.
• What amenities are you paying for and how do these meet your values? It makes no sense to be paying condo fees for services you don’t want.
• Be aware that for new condominiums, costs can rise once the builder completes the project and/or the community board takes over.
• Be aware of what property taxes you will pay.
• Find out the cost of utilities. For example, poorly insulated end units may give you a negative surprise when heating season rolls around.
• Consider how appealing the area will be for visiting relatives, especially children and grandchildren.
• In the event of a fire, how accessible is your unit to the street and to hydrants?
• Check the actual square footage of the condo unit to see if it matches that advertised in the brochures.
• Read all documents and agreements very closely before signing.
• Make sure your deposit is refundable.
• Don’t be afraid to haggle over price and get all the options you truly desire.
• It is best to begin with a condo community that you like then inquire about a unit that will be sized appropriately for you.

It’s intuitive that the cost of a retirement condo will depend to some degree on the area in which you are living, as you would expect with any form of real estate.