Unpredictability and uncertainty of fees have long worried retirement village buyers, but one retirement group has vowed that this should no longer be the case, pledging to offer a new level of clarity to retirement housing buyers.
Aveo has recently announced that they want to make the purchase process simpler for inquiring buyers and the general public making decisions about retirement accommodation. They have done this after surveying 5000 residents and prospective residents from their villages and listening to the feedback offered.
Since Starts at 60 began, people have told us how challenging they find it to understand the process of buying into a retirement village. Over time, we’ve discussed the deferred management fee models with them and tried to unveil the big costs for our readers, but until now it has been difficult, relying on the villages themselves wanting to be open about their businesses. Today we are excited because Aveo is standing up and saying they want to be transparent, which is a good thing for retirees and older homebuyers who are trying to traverse what has been, until now, quite a complex offering.
Aveo have announced four key areas that people need greater transparency in as they make housing related decisions.
We interviewed the AVEO team, who have pledged to provide greater transparency, and asked them in each case: ‘what does this mean?’
Financial clarity over the fees and costs of living in a village
“We have listened to our residents and are offering a solution to the market based on best practice modelling from around Australia and overseas” said Alison Quinn, Executive General Manager of Retirement for Aveo Group. “And to us, that is no small commitment. We want to be open with people about the potential costs and charges right from the beginning so there are no surprises. We know that residents love living in our villages, we ultimately want to remove the barriers preventing more people doing it”. These are the costs they detailed:
A cooling off period and approach to a change of circumstances.
One of the largest fears in retirement village purchasing seems to be “what if I don’t like it”. And this is what Aveo are aiming to improve on by providing a cooling off period and a number of other assurances. It means that you have flexibility to account for a sudden change in circumstances in the first year. For instance:
Better clarity around how to change levels of care and service
There are many types of different services in retirement village living and one of the largest challenges is to ensure you can move around and access the level of care and service that you need at the right times in your life.
Hassle free sale
The next interesting offering is a hassle free sale process which is, as far as we know, quite unique across villages in Australia. The team at Aveo have made it clear that when a resident leaves, it is important to them that the process and obligations, both legal and financial, are transparent and made clear from the start so there are no surprises.
Retirement villages have for a long time been a bit of a mystery box for buyers, and it looks like this could be a turning point in the demystification of their costs and obligations. Have you been through, or attempted to go through, the process of entering a retirement village?
Choose your video below and tell us: how would you like to spend your retirement?
For Queensland, South Australia and Victoria viewers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=J0GqxpSxAQI
This story is sponsored by Aveo Retirement Living. For more information on your lifestyle options take a look at the Aveo website or call 13 28 36.