At Bridge Realty Group we specialize in Active Adult Communities for buyers 55 years plus.
What is an active adult community?
An active adult community is targeted towards people of 55 years of age or older. Often described as a viable alternative to single-family home ownership, active adult communities provide residents with maintenance-free living, close proximity to desirable attractions and a range of on-site activities and amenities.
Designed to offer older adults the chance to enjoy independent, active lifestyles many active adult communities offer everything from:
Crafts
Movie Screenings
Tennis
Golf
Hiking
Swimming
Often, such communities offer designated dining areas and clubhouses as well. In an active adult community, daily living and medical needs are generally not covered. Residents are responsible for seeing to their own dietary, medical, and laundry requirements.
It is a community in which only adults and their children over 18 can live full time. It may have extensive recreational amenities as well as fitness and special interest groups for many activities. It almost always consists of one story homes with no more than 3 bedrooms. Adults under 55 may own under the HUD guidelines:
To be registered with HUD (The Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development) as an adult community 80% of the owners must be over 55 but 20% can be as young as 45. It excludes the community from the Fair Housing Law dealing with discrimination of families with children less than 18 years. They can legally prevent purchases by families who have children under 18.
http://www.hud.gov/offices/fheo/seniors/index.cfm
Yes, in most instances. It will depend upon the CC & R's of the community. Very few prohibit renting. HOWEVER if you have purchased a new build from the builder you may have restrictions on its resale and or rental within a given period, usually one or two years.
This clause was in your contract with the builder and was designed to prevent investors from purchasing homes for resale or rental in the community. If you did not purchase your home directly from the builder you do not have to be concerned about that clause only the CC &Rs.
No, The Adult Communities are not the same as Assisted Living Facilities. In many
Assisted Living Facilities your purchase of a unit gives you ongoing medical care in another phase of that same facility. For this benefit you forfeit the ability to sell your unit and it's ownership goes back to the management for resale.
If the way you have chosen to take title passes that ownership on to your children, yes.
The one consideration is that your children will have to abide by the HUD age restrictions in order to reside in the property if they inherit from you, they will not be permitted to live in the property if they have children under 18 living in the household. Inheritance is the purpose of the HUD 80/20 rule for 55+ Adult Communities wherein 20% of the residents may be 45+ years old.
A few of the communities have golf cart paths that you can take to the corner grocery and drug store. City Bus Service is rare so you may have to use taxis. Some of the adult communities have their own private small bus service that makes scheduled runs to shopping centers. Some communities allow golf carts which are street licensed, but you have to have an CA driver's license to use them on the streets. http://www.valleymetro.org/transit/
Bridge Realty Group specializes in finding active adult communities for buyers 55+. We can find the active adult community that's right for you! 510.857.6856
