WD 67Live your best life
Thebestwaytodecideif a movetoa villageis rightfor
youis tobooka tourandchattosomeoftheresidents
abouttheirexperience.Toexplorea Unitingvillagenear
you,callthefriendlyteamatUnitingon1800 864 846
or visit uniting.org/independent-livingprogram,whichaimsto
harnesstheresidents’pre-
retirementskillsandinvolves
thingslikehelpingwithadmin
work,orit maybesomeone
lovespetsandishappytohelp
careforanotherresident’spet
whilethey’reunwell.”
Manyretirementvillages
haveregularopendayson
weekendsoryoucanbook
a tourofa unitorapartment
witha staffmemberandask
anyquestions.“Ialsofind
thatwhenyouspeakto
a residentwhohasmoved
intoa villagerecentlythey
alwayssaytheywishthey’d
doneit sooner,”Jacquiadds.
READINGTHE
FINEPRINT
Ifyouthinkyou’vefoundthe
perfectplacetomoveto,go
throughthelegalitiesand
financialcontractswitha fine-
toothedcombtoensureyou
andyourfamilyunderstand
what you’re signing up for.
Intermsoffinances,there
arethreetypesoffeesyou’ll
needtobeawareof– anentry
feeorpurchaseprice,ongoing
serviceormaintenancefees,
andanexitordeparturefee.
“AtUnitingyoupay
a salesprice,”explainsJacqui.
“There’snostampdutyto
payonUnitingretirement
villagehomesacrossNSW
orACT,howeverthereis
a departurefee,whichis
calculatedat6 percent
peryearfora maximum
offiveyears.”
“Theonlyotherpayment
isa RecurrentCharge,which
coversallmaintenance
throughoutthevillage,fixture
andfittingsinyourhome,
councilandwaterratesand
monitoringthe24-hour
emergencycallandresponse
system.Sothismeansall
youneedtocoverwould
beyourelectricity,phone
andinternetandFoxtel,if
you choose to get it!”