Buying in a Retirement Village

If you are looking at moving into a Retirement Village, there are a few documents that you must receive before you can take your transaction any further:

1. Form 3, which is also called a Village Comparison Document. This document tells you about the Retirement Village you are moving into, such as facilities, services and general costs to move in and out of the Retirement Village;
2. Form 4, which is also called a Prospective Costs Documents. This document is unique to you, as it tells you all the information in relation to your unit that you are wanting to move into. This included entry costs, ongoing costs and any fees when you leave;
3. Lease or Licence, depending on the type of property you are moving into. Some Retirement Villages have Leases, whereas other have Licences – it depends on the circumstances, and we can help with both.

These documents are known as “Disclosure Documents” and are compulsory to any Retirement Village transaction.

This answer to this question depends on your transaction! If you do not have a simultaneous transaction (i.e. you’re not selling and using the funds to move into a Retirement Village) then the only likely delay in your transaction will be the required cooling off periods. Settlement can occur in as little as 14-21 days, depending on the circumstances.

We can work as quickly as you need us to, so if you have to settle the property sooner than anticipated we’ll try to push things along with the Retirement Village to ensure this can occur.

We’ll need a copy of your identification i.e. Driver’s License and Passport if possible, plus your address, email and phone number, to set up our electronic file. Once we have the Disclosure Documents from your Retirement Village of choice, we can then provide you with a review to ensure you are happy with the terms and that you aren’t shocked with any nasty surprises. Then it’s time to start working towards settlement.

No, we can manage the entire transaction working with you via telephone, email and teleconference/webcam if you would like to have a face-to-face meeting. This saves you time, and also saves money not having to pay for inner city parking. You can just post any original documents to Level 54, 111 Eagle Street, Brisbane QLD 4000, email us at admin@virtuallegal.com.au or call on 1300 550 150.

When it comes to Retirement Villages, you actually have multiple cooling-off periods to terminate if you change your mind. These include:

1. The Pre-Contractual Disclosure Period, which lasts for 21 days from the day that you received your Disclosure Documents from your Retirement Village of choice;
2. The Cooling Off Period, which lasts for 14 days from the day that both you and the Retirement Village sign your new Lease or Licence.

You may even find that the Retirement Village that you are moving into has an additional Cooling Off period that begins once you move in – every Village is different.

There are a few searches that can be completed if you are looking at moving into a Retirement Village, which include:

1. Title Search, which checks who owns the land that the Retirement Village is found on and shows any Leases that may already be registered;
2. Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Search, which checks to see if there are any current cases that the Retirement Village owner is involved in;
3. Retirement Village Schemes Search, to check that the Retirement Village you are looking at moving into is registered;
4. Company Search of the Retirement Village Owner, to check the legitimacy of the Retirement Village Owner.

It is entirely up to you as which searches you choose to have completed – we generally recommend that a Title Search be completed as a minimum, but it is personal choice as to how many more you would like completed. Therefore, search costs for your transaction will be very low – usually less than $60.00.

You may have heard the terms ‘Retirement Village’ and ‘Lifestyle Village’ used quite a bit… but did you know they are actually different kinds of transactions? A Retirement Village generally involves you leasing or licencing a unit in a complex, however if you are moving into a Lifestyle Village, you will buy a home and lease the land that the home is found on. Lifestyle Villages may also be called ‘Manufactured Homes’, as they can be picked up and moved around in some cases.

Sounds a little tricky, we know, but don’t worry – we can help with both!

If you are looking to move into a Lifestyle Village, give us a call and we are more than happy to discuss the transaction with you as well.