Retirement villages offering residents the chance to ‘try before you buy’

Making the move to a retirement village can be a stressful experience, especially when you’re handing over your life savings to move in.

Sometimes no matter how many times you inspect or visit a village, you can’t get a full picture of what life will be like in your new unit.

But several retirement villages in the UK have started offering residents the chance to “try before you buy” and it’s an idea that could become a new trend in the industry.

The Telegraph reports that several retirement villages are offering residents the chance to spend a night in their unit and test the facilities.

Retirement living company Bupa is offering trial stays at its Richmond Villages developments, giving prospective residents the chance to meet staff and residents and try out the facilities.

According to the Telegraph, a seven night stay at the Richmond Witney will cost £180 per night ($295).

Meanwhile another company offers one night complimentary stays like a B&B, with a second night costing £45 ($73.85).

Neil MacKichan from the retirement property website Retiremove told the Telegraph a long stay allowed you to examine the detail of a retirement living development.

“You have time to check things like the speed of the internet, whether you’ll have to downsize your bed to fit it in the bedroom, and see if there are good walks for your pet,” he said.

Well the idea isn’t established in Australia, there’s every possibility that its success could lead to a similar offering.

After all, you’d take a car for a test drive – who wouldn’t want to try out a night in a retirement village unit before they bought it?

What do you think? Does this sound like a good idea to you?