Another look at retirement homes

We recently wrote an article about the need for quality retirement homes with all necessary facilities based on the American model. We talked about how family ties are not what they used to be and parents and children may not have time for each other to the extent that they had before.

These types of housing developments may take a period of 15 to 20 years to come about in Cyprus, but based on the response we saw to our article from readers it seems this will be far too late for them. The need for such homes is immediate. Families seem to be disintegrating even faster now during the crisis.

There are certain parameters for the success for such projects which we enumerate below.

• Compact, furnished units of high quality, in complexes of no less than 30 units with facilities including gardens, a heated pool (one level, maximum 1.3m depth), common room(s), a bar/snack bar, snooker room and facilities for other recreational activities.
• Units should have wide doorways for wheelchairs where required, be on the ground floor preferably, though provision for lifts could be an option. Units can have one or two bedrooms with bathrooms to accommodate live in assistance personnel where required .
• Doctors, taxis, grocery services should be easily available and use of private cars allowed.
• Fully gated and managed, including lets during vacant periods (if tenant so wishes) subject to strict rules.
• The units need not be sold freehold but leasehold and the lease period be based on the life expectancy that the tenant estimates (on average for men 82 years old and women 85 years old plus 5 years to be on the safe side).

If the tenant wishes to terminate the lease (or dies) they can sell the remainder of the lease to someone else, who will use the remaining period/or extend it.

• Considering a furnished two bedroom unit in a well-run complex has a sales price of approximately €150.000, let’s say €160.000 a lease with the furniture for say 20 years with an up front rent of €100.000. This comes to €8.000 a month for 20 years, plus running cost of approximately €500 a month. It makes good financial sense. No transfer fees, no VAT, no property taxes etc.

This is not an old people’s home like the prevailing establishments of a very low quality and with no/limited facilities. It is suitable for much younger people than those put in homes here now, who are on their own or seek companionship and new friendships or seek an active time as they get older.

There would be a huge demand for suh a place. At this point in time just about all businesses are short of cash, so it could be a good time to appeal to investors/hotel operators to adapt tourist villages or hotel apartments for the purpose.

Antonis Loizou & Associates EPE – Real Estate Valuers, Estate Agents & Property Consultants, www.aloizou.com.cy, [email protected]