Is more affordable housing the key to your retirement freedom?

Take a large family home, add a shortage of cash and an extra large dash of maintenance, stir all together and the outcome isn’t a recipe for a relaxing and rewarding retirement.

What are the alternatives to traditional retirement housing or staying in your own home with all the above pain?  And importantly, what is the best alternative for you?

Do you stay in your now oversized house with its ongoing maintenance costs and use the equity to get cash through a reverse mortgage?

Do you look at a retirement village with expensive deferred management fee options?

Or do you sell up, downsize, and look for a viable, affordable option that provides all the benefits of still owning a home but without the maintenance issues?  And frees up capital to enjoy your retirement years?

Or do you consider something different?

There is a new category emerging that is breaking the mould of retirement accommodation.  A fairly newly coined category called ‘Residential parks’, or otherwise known as ‘manufactured home parks’ are offering an alternate lifestyle choice for the Over 50’s.  The parks are providing active and independent senior community living with a range of social and recreational facilities, in a gated and secure environment, without the usual costly entry and exit fees.

One of the largest players in Australia, Gateway Lifestyle Residential Parks (GLRP) Director Trent Ottawa is quick to get excited about what his company offers. He thinks the ‘manufactured home park’ model is working so well as an emerging retirement living model because it offers high quality new homes without the cost of buying land.  Instead the owner rents the land from the park operator, and pays for the house that sits on it for a total capital expenditure of between $175,000-$300,000.  It is a fairly low outlay for a two or three bedroom house in highly amenable areas.

Homes are built with the potential to be relocated in the future but are designed to be onsite for the long term.

“Retirees looking to downsize can have a high quality new two or three bedroom home, pay a weekly site fee and can enjoy a range of facilities without having to worry about lawn maintenance, rates or body corporate charges,” said Mr Ottawa.

Gateway Lifestyle, one of largest in this category have been operating since 2009 and now run twelve residential parks across New South Wales and Queensland, a region which has been researched to require around 15,000 new retirement dwellings per year.

The idea of not owning land is highly desirable for some retirees who want to spend their time travelling and enjoying life rather than mowing the lawn and cleaning the gutters.  And the community aspects of a residential park with like-minded people can make for a very active social life even with  a tight budget.

Have you ever visited a Manufactured Home Park or Residential Park?  Do you feel you understand the difference between these and traditional retirement living offerings?

This post was sponsored by Gateway Lifestyle Residential Parks.  For more information please call 1300 361 311 or register your interest on www.gatewaylifestyle.com.au.