ultimate guide to buying an active adult home

Copyright 2010 – The Active Lifestyle Team 623.362.3000 [email protected]

The Ultimate Guide to Buying an

Active Adult Home!

Brought to you by:

The Active Lifestyle Team

Jay Otlewski

Lynn Otlewski

Gwen Wallace


Why we wrote this guide

Who we are?

How we can help you

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Community Information

Q- I hear the terms “active adult” and “over 55” used for communities, please explain the

differences.

A- These are terms that are used to describe a community that has age restrictions on

the residents. In Arizona builders are allowed to sell to people 45 and up if they don’t

have kids under 19, some communities are restricted to only 55 and over while a few

allow people 45 and up purchase a home’s again as long as they don’t have kids

under 19.

B- Because this does change from time to time I would recommend if you’re under 55

to contact us and we would be happy to give you a list of communities that currently

allow this.

Q- What is the “capital Improvement” fee I’ve heard about? Is it called different things in

different communities?

A- The Capital Improvement fee is a fee that every person pays the first time they buy

a home in an active adult community. And yes they all have one and it’s meant to

help off-set the cost of operating a community and to keep the annual/monthly fees

low.

Every community has a slightly different name for this fee. You’ll see Capital

Improvement, Capital Preservation, Asset Preservation and other variations.

Q- Is that fee monthly or annual? Do I have to pay it to buy a home?

A- The capital improvement fee (sometimes known as the capital preservation) is a

one-time fee that all active adult communities have. This one-time fee helps off-set

the ongoing costs of operating a community recreation center, etc.

Yes you always have to pay this. In fact it’s part of your closing costs so you really

don’t get a choice.

Q- I see some homes have an HOA fee? What does that cover?

A- This is a tricky one because not all agents even understand the difference between a

HOA fee and Recreation center fee. An HOA fee is a fee that covers things like front

yard maintenance, roof repairs in some cases, garbage, water, sewer, cable and

even maintenance of the outside of your home. Think about these as a condo and

remember they can be multi-units or detached homes.

This is different than the Recreation fee which covers the community fee and nothing

to do with your home. If you buy a home with a HOA fee you will also have the

community recreation fee.


When you’re looking at the listings I send you may see the Recreation center fee in

the HOA area so be careful and of course ask me.

Q- How fast do the HOA fees go up? Is there a limit?

A- This one is difficult to say because it depends on a lot of things like age of the

community, gated vs. non-gated, etc. For the most part the older the communities,

the slower the fees will go up but that can change if they have a big expenditure like

replacing all the roofs on a street, etc.

As far as a limit there is never an upper limit set in the bylaws because you just

never know what is going to happen down the line. From experience, fee do not go

up a lot in any given year and I think you’ll be see that once you move in.

Q- I heard about a transfer fee, who pays that?

A- A transfer fee is a cost to the buyer at the time of closing to transfer the name, etc.

on the property to the new buyer. It can be negotiated but since it’s a fee for the

buyers benefit you’ll find sellers sometimes unwilling to pay this fee.

The cost is usually on about $80-175 so it’s not something to worry about and asking

the sellers to pay a small fee like this could cause them to counter your offer higher.

Q- Do some communities have a special deposit fee? Who pays that?

A- Active adult communities do not require a deposit mainly because they charge a

capital improvement fee upfront. If you do find a community that charges this, the

buyer would be typically be responsible for the payment since it’s a fee they would

get back when they sell.

Q- What’s the difference between the HOA fee and a Recreation fee?

A- The HOA fee is meant to cover parts of the house and yard.

The Community Recreation fee pays for the costs of operating the community

centers and maintaining the land and streets.

Q- Are some communities bigger than others? Which ones?

A- Our active adult communities range in size from 1,200 homes all the way up to

29,000 homes. Here’s a breakdown-

B- -Arizona Traditions has

-Canta Mia

-Corte Bella has

-Pebble Creek has

-Sun City has

-Sun City Festival has

-Sun City Grand has

-Sun City West has


-Sundance

-Trilogy at Vistancia has

-Ventana Lakes has

-Westbrook Village has

Q- I’ve heard some active adult communities are older than others? How do I find out?

A- Our communities all started with Sun City back in the early 60’s and they are still

building new active adult communities today. Here’s a breakdown of the areas-

-Arizona Traditions was built from

-Canta Mia was built from

-Corte Bella was built from

-Pebble Creek was built from

-Sun City was built from

-Sun City Festival was built from

-Sun City Grand was built from

-Sun City West was built from

-Sundance

-Trilogy at Vistancia was built from

-Ventana Lakes was built from

-Westbrook Village was built from

Q- Someone told me the average age of communities vary? Is there really a difference?

A- That one is tough to say because they do not release exact numbers on this but you

can assume the older the community the older the average age of the population will

be. Bottom line is only the brand new communities really have a big difference in

average age from everyone else. It could be only 4-5 years difference.

Q- How do I know what each communities price ranges are?

A- Of course this one changes all the time so I can’t give you the numbers in this guide

but you can find this out by visiting www.RetiringToAZ.com or simply give me a call

and I can help.

I can say the older the community, the lower the pricing tends to be.

Q- How many people are “Snow Birds” in these communities?

A- This is another one that nobody tracks so everyone has a guess. My guess is most

communities have about 15-25% that leaves for the summer with another 10-20%

that takes off for at least a month during the summer.

This is actually one the best parts of living in Phoenix because it allows you to have

the fantastic weather during 8-9 months of the year and visit family or friends during

the hot months.

Q- I see a lot of golf carts driving on the streets, is that normal?

http://www.retiringtoaz.com/


A- Yes you’ll see a lot of golf carts in the active adult communities. The state of Arizona

allows licensed golf carts to travel on the roads marked 35 mile an hour or less. The

city’s of Sun City and Sun City West are great for golf carts because they have

everything you could ever need (hospitals, dining, grocery stores, etc.) right inside

the community, in fact you’ll find special parking for golf carts at the front of the

store.

Q- How much do golf carts cost? How do you make them street ready?

A- Well that depends on what you buy. You can find a simple, used golf cart for about

$1500, a well equipped golf cart for $2,000-4000 and the “mack-daddy” starts about

$6,000.

B- It’s better to check with the state so you have most recent information on this but I

know you need turn signals, brake lights and a minimum speed of 35 to drive a cart

on the street. You’ll actually license them just like a car with the state, you even get

a small license plate for it.

Q- I’ve heard the Community/HOA’s are really restrictive? How bad are they?

A- That depends if you live in a community with an HOA already. Most people that are

used to a HOA find ours to be very fair and really looking out for the betterment on

the community. Some of the things that might surprise you in the more restrictive

(usually newer communities) is added yard art to your front yard, you may need to

get permission to do this. The good news is your neighbor will not be putting pink

flamingos in his front yard for you to look at.

Now can you find some rules you don’t agree with? Of course but that can be taken

to the HOA and if the people of the community agree with you it can be changed.

Q- What if I have a problem with a neighbor does the Community/HOA get involved?

A- You’ll find the Communities very responsive to complaints, etc. from neighbors. Their

goal is to ensure the integrity of the community and ensure people follow the rules.

Things like excessive weeds are handled very quickly!

Community Amenities

Q- Do all the communities have pools? Indoor and outdoor?

A- Yes every community has at least one pool and most cases more than one. The pools

typically have designated areas for water aerobics and plenty of room for swimming.

Only Ventana Lakes, Canta Mia, Arizona Traditions, Corte Bella, Sun City Festival (for

now), Westbrook Village do not have an indoor pool.

Q- How many recreation centers do the communities have?


A- Every community has a different number of recreation centers but it’s easy to say

that the large communities have more to accommodate the increased number of

residents. Typically builders follow the rule of one recreation center for every 2,500

homes. Sun City and Sun City West each have at least 6 recreation centers.

Q- Does my monthly/annual fee include access to them?

A- Yes your recreation fee covers access to the community recreation centers, tennis,

bocce ball, etc. There are additional charges for things that require brining in an

instructor like Yoga but the cost is usually only $3-5 per class.

Q- I love tennis, which communities have tennis courts?

A- Tennis and golf are the center pieces of most active adult communities. In our area

every community has tennis courts and active clubs.

Q- Do most communities have pickle ball courts?

A- Most communities offer this sport and as the popularity grows more communities will

be offering Pickle ball. In some cases the communities have taken a couple of tennis

courts and converted them to temporary Pickle ball courts.

Q- I want to have a woodworking shop in the community, do they have them?

A- A few of the communities have woodworking shops like Sun City, Sun City West,

Westbrook Village and Sun City Festival was building one at the time of this writing.

Q- I like to do stain glass; do any communities have an Arts & Crafts center?

A- All active adult communities offer a variety of classes like stain glass, pottery, etc. Of

course the larger the community, the more classes or variety of arts & crafts they

offer.

Q- Do most communities have exercise centers? How about trainers?

A- All the active adult communities offer exercise centers. Again the larger the

community the larger the center is and the more they have spread throughout the

community.

Each community has a trainer that you can ask questions and if you want

personalized training you can pay them a small fee. If you haven’t worked out a lot

or recently it would be worth a few dollars to have their help.

Q- Do most communities have clubs like Hiking? Cards? Wine tasting? Etc?

A- This list is too large to put in this guide! We’ve created a separate document with a

general breakdown of what each community offers. If you would a list of activities

communities offer please let us know.

Q- Do most communities have activities or travel?


A- All the communities have some level of travel. Most offer day trips to casinos, etc. all

the way up to overseas travel. Each community sets up special trips that they get

discounts on so you actually save a lot of money by traveling with your community.

This can be a great way to meet people in your community and makes friends for

life.

Golfing, Dining, Hospitals and Shopping

Q- Do all the active adult communities have golf courses?

A- There is only one community that does not have at least one golf course, Ventana

Lakes. AZ Traditions, Sun City Festival and Trilogy at Vistancia have one course and

all the other communities have more than two.

Sun City and Sun City West each have 6 golf courses and they each have a private

country club you could join.

Q- Is it expensive? Is there annual passes I can buy?

A- As you can imagine the older communities with more than one course are the lowest

priced golf in the area. Trilogy at Vistancia offers a golf course ranked in the top 25

according to Golf World and of course costs the most.

All community courses offer some sort of discount for their residents. Because they

all change with the seasons I would recommend that you check with the courses in

the areas you like.

Q- I’ve heard they are really busy; will I be able to get on the course when I want?

A- There may be certain times during the year when they are really busy but after

talking to a lot of golfers, they find the courses easy to get onto and love playing golf

4+ times a week with no trouble getting a tee time.

Q- How close is dining and shopping to the communities?

A- Each community of course is different but none of the active adult communities are

more than 10-15 minutes from dining and each of them offer a restaurant right in

the community.

The communities on the far west side are located near Surprise which offers many

choices. The communities on the east side are located near Arrowhead Mall which

has every restaurant you could ever imagine surrounding it.

Bottom line is you would always be within 15-20 minutes of restaurants, shopping,

movies, etc.

Q- How far are most of the communities from the airport? Downtown?


A- For the most part all the communities are about a 30-45 minute ride to the airport

with the exception of Sun City Festival which is closer to a 50-60 drive. The good

part is you have several options to take a service to the airport for as little as $35

each way.

The drive to downtown would really depend on where you’re going but for the most

part it’s about 45 minutes to get downtown.

Q- Are there hospitals nearby? Are they any good?

A- As you can imagine with the advanced age of most of the community’s doctors and

hospitals are close by. In fact Sun City West and Sun City have the hospitals and

doctors in the community. From just about any community you are no more than 20

minutes to a hospital and some are much closer.

The two nearby hospitals (Del Webb and Boswell) are both highly regarded hospitals

and offer a high level of service. I can tell you from personal experience they are

some of the best I’ve seen. You also have several other choices nearby and of course

the Mayo Clinic is in Scottsdale.

Q- How far is the VA hospital? Are there any VA clinics nearby?

A- Our local VA hospital is located downtown in Phoenix but they do have several clinics

in the west valley that you can go to. The clinics are located within 10-15 minutes of

most communities.

Q- I still would like to work, are there part-time jobs?

A- We have a very large service industry which employs a lot of full and part time help.

Being a growing area you’ll find many opportunities for employment.

Q- I have always volunteered, are there opportunities to do that?

A- They don’t call Sun City the “Volunteer City” for nothing. There are plenty of

opportunities for you to lend your expertise in a lot of fields locally. Also you’ll find

place in the Phoenix area that always needs as much help as they can get.

Why buy an active adult home?

Q- What’s so special about an active adult community? Isn’t just a bunch of old people?

A- Since moving into an active adult community (Trilogy at Vistancia at age 46) I have

experienced what living in a community like this means. Even though I still work full

time I have met more people than I ever met while back in Michigan.

After living here it’s hard to imagine living in a community where everyone is

younger, has kids to deal with and no time for socializing. In an active adult


community everybody came from somewhere else and the atmosphere is like being

on vacation. You know that feeling of enjoying yourself, meeting new people and

doing new things? Well that’s what active adult living is like.

As for the “bunch of old people”, remember you’re not getting any younger and you

might just find the people there are more active than you are, so try to keep up!

Q- Will I be able to make new friends? How easy is it to get to know people?

A- The first thing you do is go to any of the activities and you’ll have people coming up

to you asking where you’re from and the conversation builds from there. Until you

actually experience it for yourself you might be a little skeptical but I know once you

get involved you’ll be surprised just how quickly your calendar fills up.

Q- Are there any gated communities? Which ones?

A- We have several gated active adult communities in the west valley of Phoenix. They

are Trilogy at Vistancia (Peoria), Corte Bella (Sun City West), Arizona Traditions

(Surprise), Sun Village (Surprise) and Pebble Creek (Goodyear).

Q- Does having a gate make the community safer?

A- You may think that having gates would make you safer and while it certainly could,

there are still break-ins, etc. even in gated communities. Statistically these

communities have less crime but don’t let the gates give you a false sense of

security.

Q- I’ve heard it’s more expensive to live in a gated community, is that true?

A- The cost is a little higher on both the prices of the homes as well as the monthly

fees. Gated communities are usually offered as “upscale” compared to others around

them and you can expect 10-20% higher price.

Also because gated communities usually have guards 24 hours a day you can

imagine the ongoing costs are going to be higher to pay for this.

Q- I’m ready to retire and I don’t want a lot of work around the house, is that possible?

A- One of the benefits of living in the Phoenix area is the homes do not require a lot of

outdoor maintenance. Most yards are desert landscaping which means no grass to

cut and of course we don’t have to worry about snow. The most you would have to

do is trim the trees and bushes a couple times a year to keep them from getting

overgrown. Of course you can always find a landscaper to do this work for you so

you can relax and enjoy all the benefits of active adult living.

You would also have a choice to look at homes covered with a HOA that would do all

the outdoor work including painting the home, trimming the front yard and

sometimes even repair/replacing the roof.


Q- Do you guys have grass out in the yards? Is it easy to maintain?

A- Very few people choose to have grass because of the amount of upkeep it needs.

Because of our swings in temperatures from winter to summer the grass needs to be

reseeded twice a year to maintain the green grass. Usually only people that have a

dog decide to put in grass.

Some people have decided to move to artificial grass which now is hard to tell the

difference from real grass. It’s not like the old green outdoor carpet you might think

about. Of course it’s not cheap but the savings really comes in not watering or

cutting it.

Q- I have a 3 bedroom home and I think I need a home with 3 bedrooms, are there any?

A- This is going to be a big surprise to a lot of people; we do not have a lot of 3

bedroom homes in active adult communities. For the most part you no longer have

kids at home; your guests come and go pretty quickly so the need for the 3rd or 4th

bedroom has lost its importance.

For retirees the builders have chosen to put the square footage in the living areas of

the home like the great room, kitchen and master suite. The best guess would be

about 20% of the homes have 3 bedrooms but most homes over 1500 sq ft will have

a den rather than a true bedroom so you have an office that can convert to a

bedroom when needed.

Plus remember the more comfortable you make it for guests; the less they want to

leave!

Q- Are all your homes in active adult communities’ single story? I don’t want any steps?

A- You will not find multi-story homes in active adult communities other than a couple

in Pebble Creek. As you already know the older you get, the less you’re going to

enjoy climbing stairs all the time.

Q- Is it possible to find a home with a pool?

A- That’s a good question that I get a lot from people. Sometimes I think people like

the “idea” of having a pool more than they actually do having a pool. You’ll find that

about 15% of the homes will have a pool and others will have just a spa.

Something to consider about a pool is, with at least one pool in the community do

you really want the cost and maintenance of keeping up with a pool? What happens

when you decide to go away for a month or more? Who makes sure the pool doesn’t

turn green because of a equipment failure?

Also if you decide to you have to have a pool you most likely will have to be more

flexible on other items (location, lot size, etc) because you will have a lot less to

choose from.


How to Buy an Active Adult Home?

Q- I see you have a “SRES” designation, what is that?

Q- Do I have to find an agent that specializes in the over 55 homes?

Q- Someone mentioned to use a buyer agent, what is that?

Q- Does it cost me anything to hire a buyer’s agent? Do you do buyer agency?

Q- Are you able to help me with builders? Does it cost me anything?

Q- Can I just go to the communities and let you know later which ones I like?

Q- What happens if I go to an open house, can you still help me with that home?

Q- I’m not sure which community I want; can you help me with all of them?

Q- I’m thinking about areas outside of Phoenix, can you help me?

Q- Which communities are the builders’ still building new homes in?

Q- When I come to look at homes, where should a stay?

Q- I heard about builders having a place for me to stay while I look?

Q- Do I need to let you know ahead of time or can I just call you when I get there?

Q- What if I just want to come out and look at a couple of homes to see if I like the area?

Will you work with me? Does it cost me anything?

Q- Should I get a rental car when I come out?

What type of home should I buy?

Q- I see some homes have shingle roofs and others have tile, which is better?

Q- Why is the furnace on the roof? Is that safe?

Q- Do all the homes have air conditioning?

Q- I read about “post-tension” slabs, how is that different than regular slabs?

Q- I like a new home but should I look at older homes also?

Q- I buy an older home; will everything be up to code? Would the seller bring it up to code?

Q- What is a short sale? How does it affect me and are they good deals?


Q- I’ve been told to look at bank owned homes because they cost less?

Q- Are bank owned homes in good condition? And will the bank make repairs?

Getting a Mortgage

Q- Can I get a mortgage if I’m retired?

Q- How do I find out how much I qualify for and how much the loan will cost?

Q- Would it help if I paid cash? Can I get a better deal?

Q- How much down payment do I usually need?

Q- Do they do VA loans?

Q- Can I go to my local bank in my state?

Q- Who would you recommend if I want a loan approval?

Q- How long does it take to get pre-approved? Does it cost anything?

Q- Can I use my lender if I’m buying a home from a builder?

The Buying Process

Q- I haven’t bought a home in a long time, what’s the best way to start?

Q- Once I find a home, how long will it take to close the deal?

Q- Do you do the contract or do I need to hire someone? Do you charge to do this?

Q- How does it get to the seller? How fast will I get an answer?

Q- How much should I offer them? I hear I can submit a low-ball offer?

Q- I wish I could see a contract before I buy so I can read it over, can I do that?

Q- How should we take title in the home? Does it matter?

Q- We did a contingent offer once when we were selling our home, can I do that out there?

Q- A friend said I should get a home warranty, are they worth the money?

Q- Until I’m ready to come to look at homes, how do I see what homes are for sale?


Q- Is it possible for you to update me when a home I might like comes on the market? Does

it cost me anything?

What Happens After the contract is written?

Q- Do I have to be in town for the inspection?

Q- What if I can’t come back for the closing, can I do that from another area?

Q- How will I get the key if I’m not here for the closing?

Q- What if they don’t accept my offer? Can I counter their counter offer?

Q- How do I find a title company? Do I need a lawyer to close escrow?

Q- What is an “escrow”? Do you help me with all the steps?

Q- What if I change my mind? Can I get out of the contract?

Q- Can I do any work on the home before the closing?

What happens after I close on the home?

Q- How does the closing happen? Can you help me?

Q- How soon can I get the keys?

Q- If I want to be close up the home for a few months in the summer, how do I do that?

Q- Is it safe to leave a home empty during the summer?

Q- Is there anyone that could watch my home for me while I’m gone?

Q- Can you help me find a handyman or someone to help with some repairs or upgrades?

Q- Will you be able help me after the sale if I have questions?

Q- Do you have any suggestions on how to move?

A- We supply our clients with a moving checklist that gives them a good start on what

needs to be done. Please let us know if you would like a copy.

Resources

Q- How do I contact you?


Q- Who do I call if I have a home to sell?

Q- Who do I call if I have friend or family member that wants to buy a home?

Q- Where can I get more information about active adult communities?

ultimate guide to buying an active adult home

Documents

community fee

community recreation

onetime fee

recreation center fee

active adult community

capital improvement

active adult communities

active adult home