Choose Retirement Villages South Australia for a Simple Lifestyle

About South Australia

When you are considering what retirement villages South Australia has to offer you’ll want to know a little bit about your potential new home.

South Australia is a state of Australia, located in the southern central part of the country with over 1.6 million people, which is less than 8% of the entire Australian population. 70% of South Australia’s population is in the Adelaide’s metropolitan area.

Retirement Villages South Australia

You’ll find the climate to be Mediterranean, with the average temperatures in the mid 80’s in January and around 60 in the summer months. It isn’t uncommon for January and February to hit 118 degrees. Australians boast that "Australia rules football" with South Australia having the highest attendance rate.

If you choose one of the retirement villages in South Australia you should plan you to attend the football games. South Australia has the highest participation rate of people participating in the sport. Australians also play cricket in the summer months, followed by basketball and motor sports.

Types of Retirement Villages in South Australia

Living in South Australia, you’ll find several types of retirement villages:

  • Resident Funded Units – sold at market value; the resident does not own the unit but purchases a loan/license agreement with their entry contribution which in effect gives the administration of the village an interest free loan and the resident a license to reside in the village.

    The cost of purchasing the loan license ranges between $70,000-$500,000

  • Entry Contribution Units – offered by non-profit organizations and churches. These can suite people with limited assets or those who wish to have capital remaining after selling their home.

    The organization requires an entry contribution ranging from $18,000-$60,000, in exchange for the right to occupy a unit. In most cases it is not refunded.

    Retirement Villages South Australia

  • Serviced Apartments – similar to resident funded units, but provide services such as laundering of linen, meals and cleaning.

    These units are bedsitters or small one bedroom units and the entry contribution ranges from $50,000 to $350,000.

Examples of Retirement Villages

The decision to move into one of the retirement villages in South Australia means you’ll be in good company. There are approximately 325 retirement villages South Australia has for you to consider. 77% of the retirement villages have less than 50 units and only 3% have more than 151 units.248 of the 325 retirement villages South Australia has are in the Metropolitan Adelaide.

You’ll quickly discover the full array of retirement villages South Australia has available:

  • Campton Gardens is near Brisbane City providing your choices in the retirement villages South Australia region.

    The Campton Gardens community has 274 independent living units and 26 serviced apartments. You’ll have your choice of joining a scrabble group, having morning tea together, swimming, or the putting green.

  • New Macarthur Gardens is a new development in Campbelltown with 55 communities comprising of 235 villas, with two-bedroom, single garage homes.

    This new community will have a clubhouse, gymnasium, swimming pool, theater (Australians refer to as a cinema), billiards room, dance floor, café, craft and computer room, plus health and beauty facilities.

  • Tasmania’s Huonville in the Huon Valley has 28 new two-bedroom senior housing units. Each has grab rails; lever style door handles and taps, as well as catering for the residents with limited mobility.

    The complex will enable residents to live close to the Huonville shops and services. The community allows residents to remain independent for as long as possible.

  • Azure Blue is another option for living in one of the retirement villages south Australia has under development. The construction plans are for six retirement villages located in Beach Redcliffe.

    Azure Blue will feature 122 apartments; 100 are one, two or three bedroom apartments and 22 serviced apartments.

    You’ll spend your days swimming; or in the gymnasium, recreation center, or library; or even at the hairdresser or at the café.

Legal Aspects of Living in South Australia

When you move to one of the retirement villages South Australia has available, you should have a good understanding of the regulations pertaining to retirement villages. Retirement villages South Australia operates under specific legislation to protect the rights of the residents.

The retirement villages legislation applies to:

  • Residents, prospective residents and former residents of retirement villages South Australia; and

  • The owners and operators who are referred to as administering authorizes

Under the legislation, each of the retirement villages South Australia provides must have a certificate of title. You should confirm the certificates of title are endorsed by the Registra-General.

Moving Into a Retirement Village

When moving into one of the retirement villages South Australia, you need to follow these procedures (before you sign any contract).

The administering authority must give you a copy of the following:

  • Any residence contract you must sign to become a resident

  • The financial statements presented at the last annual general meeting of the residents

  • A ˈpremises condition report for the unit

  • The residence rules

  • The remarketing policy of the administering authority

  • Any code of conduct to be observed by the administering authority

  • The dispute resolution procedures for the village that are applied by the administering authority.

The administering authority must not charge you a fee for preparing or providing these documents. If you ultimately sign a residence contract, it will be deemed to include a warranty that the information in the above documents is correct, subject to any alterations you agree to with the administering authority.

Comparing the documents provided for different villages will help you to choose which of the retirement villages South Australia has available.

Contracts Will Be Required

Retirement Villages South Australia

Once you have followed the steps above, a contract will follow.

When you look at the retirement villages South Australia offers, the residence contract will provide you:

  • Give you a right to reside in the unit you have chosen

  • Give you right to use the shared village facilities and to access the services provided at the village

  • Set out your rights and obligations while living in the village as a resident and the fees and charges you must pay

  • Set out what will happen when you leave the village

There is no standard or prescribed form of residence contract in South Australia, so the terms of the contract will differ between villages.

You should be aware of a cooling off period. After signing a residence contract you have the right to cancel it and receive a refund of all monies paid under the contract within a cooling off period of 15 business days after the date you sign the residence contract or the date you receive the last of the documents required to be given to you before you sign a contract.

Settling in period is another right you have when signing a contract for one of the retirement villages South Australia. You have a right to terminate your residence contract within 90 days, starting on the: date you sign the contract or the date you are admitted to occupation of your unit, whichever happens last.

Retirement villages South Australia differ in relation to the types of title that residents obtain when they purchase a right to reside in the village.

The most common types of titles are:

  • Freehold-where you purchase the legal title to the unit and occupy the unit as its owner

  • Leasehold – where you sign a long-term lease over the unit, generally for a term of between 49 and 99 years

  • License – where you sign a contract that gives you a long-term right to occupy a unit in the village

The Financial Picture of Living in South Australia

When you begin looking at the retirement villages South Australia has available, you’ll want to know the financial implications.

You’ll have three types of charges:

  • Recurrent charges – upkeep of the property; employee salaries and administrative expenses

  • Capital replacement – bigger expenses, such as a new heating or air conditioning system

  • Sinking funds – for long term maintenance typically unplanned expenses such as replacing the gutters

You may also have charges relating to specific services provided to you as a part of your personal needs. A few examples include: cleaning of your residence; care services; and meals.

Although all of the charges are subject to increases, the recurrent charges cannot be increased beyond a level deemed to be reasonable.

Final Tip

Your final tip for considering a move to one of the retirement villages South Australia offers is to try before you buy. You should think about spending a week in a village to see if you like the layout, lifestyle, pace and surroundings.

Of the 325 retirement villages South Australia has, most will allow you to stay for a week with no obligation. In this capacity it’s more like a hotel, but you’ll know if this is the right community for you.

The furniture is supplied and you don’t have to cook, meals are supplied. You’ll be treated like the other residents in the village and you can join in all of the activities.

This experience will give a glimpse of your potential future.

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