Once the kids leave the nest and people approach 55 or older, it may be time to think of buying in a 55 or older community. There are many advantages. It could be a good time to downsize because supporting a big home is costly. Two or three bedrooms with a home office could be plenty. Open concept with a great room and dining area and a nice yard could be sufficient for entertaining. Most important will be all the things that you have in common with other people who live in the community. There is a good likelihood that you all will be at similar stages in life, which causes commonality. And usually because of it, it is easy to make new friends because you have so much in common.
One thing to beware of is making sure the community is grandchildren friendly, if you have some, so that when you have family visits, you can take your grandchildren to the community pools. Some 55 or older communities do not allow visitors to use the facilities, which for us anyway would be a problem.
I recommend gated communities as best. You will pay a little more both in home price and in HOA dues; but as we get older security is paramount. Next are amenities and activities. Buy in a community with a great club house with pools, pickle ball, bocce etc. Using a common area pool is preferable to having your own pool in the backyard to avoid the maintenance expense.
We are seeing many 55 or older communities springing up all over the country. They are growing in popularity because 78 million baby boomers are turning 65 at the rate of 10,000 a day for the next 15 to 20 years. The demand is there and builders know it. Paragon can work with you to make the move. We specialize in assisting customers with selling and buying homes, moving household good etc. to make moving as easy as possible. Maybe now is the time to make the move. Think about it.
