Category: Active adult communities
January 17, 2011 -- Both buyers and sellers in the 55+ market have been marking time for the past few years, waiting for some positive sign that the worst of the bleeding is over. A new report, using data from the 2009 American Housing Survey and reported on by the Met Life Mature Market Institute and the National Association of Home Builders, contains some findings that might indicate things could finally start to turn around. Not that they, or we, are predicting anything like the crazy times of 2004-2006, when buyers slept on floors to be the first to bid on new homes, sight unseen. But perhaps a steady 55+ market where the long-predicted pent-up demand matches supply, and buyers can sell their existing homes and start...
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Published on January 17, 2011
Comments 1
Category: Active adult communities
December 3, 2010 -- The sentiment expressed in..."I could have had a V-8!" is relevant to your selection of an active adult community or retirement town: Why settle for an average retirement community when you could live in a really good one? So with that goal in mind we have assembled a list of what we think makes for a great active adult community. We welcome comments and additional criteria, as well as all reader suggested nominations.
Active Community Best Practices
1. Great communication.In our opinion the #1 thing any organization can do is communicate - effectively and openly. Whether it is the HOA or the developer, have some good ways to communicate. Websites, newsletters, agendas, meetings are all great. Agendas for meetings should be published
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Published on December 3, 2010
Comments 9
Category: Active adult communities
Home Owner Associations (HOAs), also called Community Associations or Condominium Associations, have a major image problem. Many people have an instantly negative reaction toward these organizations – usually because they hate the idea of rules or any organization telling them what they can and cannot do in their own homes. People who already live in a community with such an association, however, probably tend to have a neutral opinion of their HOA, with some having a very positive opinion of these association.
So, are Home Owner Associations Friend – or Foe? One thing is certain, Home Owner Associations exist by the thousands across the country – in active adult, 55+ communities , condominium buildings, and most planned developments. They provide order to daily life in these developments, and they
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Published on October 21, 2010
Comments 8
Category: Active adult communities
Last weekend's newsletter was all about trying to find communities that could be considered competitors to The Villages - the huge and very popular active adult community south of Ocala, FL. We had so many interesting emails with comments about that article we decided to publish them here - and give you the chance to respond in the Comments section below.
In the first installment of the series we provided a sample of east coast competition, a future installment will cover the west coast. Our apologies to the many fine communities we couldn't
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Published on October 12, 2010
Comments 1
Category: Active adult communities
September 7, 2010 -- You have moved into your dream active adult community and are enjoying retirement. Then one day a letter arrives from the Home Owners Association (HOA). But it's not an invitation to a welcome aboard party, it's a letter telling you that your 58 pound Australian Shepherd is a few pounds over the line.... of the community limit of 30 pounds. The letter's bottom line: either Tonka goes, or you go.
Home Owners Associations, often called Community Associations or Condominium Associations, are one of the unanticipated features of living in an active community, development, or condo. Well run associations are indispensable to the peaceful enjoyment of your new community. They set the rules that make communal
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Published on September 7, 2010
Comments 9
Category: Active adult communities
July 20, 2010 — There was one very big surprise on the annual list of the best active adult and 55+ communities which was just published by Topretirements.com. It wasn’t that Arizona, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, California, or South Carolina had plenty of representation on the list. The big surprise…
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Published on July 20, 2010
Comments 1
Category: Active adult communities
July 13, 2010 -- It's no secret that many Home Owner Associations (HOA's - also known as Community Associations) are seriously concerned about the rise in their members who are in arrears on their association dues. Now some HOA's are fighting back, often with the gloves off.
As background, arrears on community dues come in several forms. Many developments have some units that have been abandoned or foreclosed upon, so dues are usually not paid on those units. In many other cases the owners have just decided for one reason or another to stop paying. Both situations put the associations at risk, as fewer and fewer members are available to pay the community expenses. In some communities well over 50% of the homes are behind in their dues. If the situation becomes dire enough it can lead to the association itself going into default on its loans or bills, resulting in foreclosure and
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Published on July 12, 2010
Comments 5
Category: Active adult communities
Editors Note: One of our Topretirements members was kind enough to write this travelogue of his and his wife's recent "Stay and Play" or "Discovery" Package experience. We thought it was so interesting that it would make a good article. Wes and Ida used a weekend getaway package to explore Deaton Creek in Hoschton, Georgia (a small town northwest of Atlanta along I 85). Please note that we are not endorsing Deaton Creek, we are just passing along their experience. We applaud Wes and Ida's decision to check out a community in this way; there is no better way to get an opinion about a community than to live in it for a few days. Most active adult communities offer various Discovery packages. You can use the Advanced Search at Topretirements to find many of them. But if you don't see one, ask!
We enjoyed a wonderful weekend getaway at Del Webb's Village at Deaton Creek (DC)
this 4th of July
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Published on July 12, 2010
Comments 8
Category: Active adult communities
Update - June, 2014. Since we published this article much has happened in the Fairfield Harbour community. The community is much further along toward resolution of the issues. To that end we have provided here a 2014 update from Larry Knapp, President of the Fairfield Harbor Property Owners Association. To avoid a continuing to and fro on this issue will not permit additional comments at this time, either here or in our Forum.
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From Larry Knapp:
A Fairfield Harbour Update
June 15, 2014 -- Almost four years to the day, the article “When Bad Things Happen to Good
Communities – Fairfield Harbor” was posted. The article fairly portrayed the events
that led to some very “bad things” happening to our community. With recent lawsuits
now settled, it’s time for an update.
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Published on June 25, 2010
Comments 0
Category: Active adult communities
June 1 - Conducting your due diligence before you bought into a development used to be a lot simpler. Not that it was always easy, but at least the basics were fairly straightforward:
- Research the reputation and track record of the developer
- Check to see if reserve (sinking) funds are adequate
- Examine Home Owners (Community) Association rules and finances to see if
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Published on June 1, 2010
Comments 6
