When senior adults decide to move, some communities are helping sell their homes and appealing to retirees who don’t want to own a home again.
Here are two metro Atlanta communities that offer an alternative to the traditional purchasing process, and why two recent buyers have chosen this route.
Where: Stone Mountain
The homes: One-, two- and three-bedroom homes.
The pricing: Park Springs' "entry fee" ranges from $206,700-$494,200 (members do not own their home). The fee equates to the value of their residence and affords them access to and use of all on-site amenities including assisted living, memory care and skilled nursing, said Kevin Isakson, director of sales and marketing for Isakson Living. The amount of the "entry fee" that is paid and returned upon moving out depends on the contract selected (up to 90 percent could be refunded). Some utilities are covered.
The residents: Al and Marion Cepnik sold their Skidaway Island home near Savannah and moved to Park Springs in 2013. They downsized to a 1,700-square-foot unit, which removed rooms they didn't need, such as the dining room, but provided adequate closet space and a large bedroom, the couple said.
The couple looked at retirement communities for nearly a decade before deciding on the metro Atlanta community, so they could be close to a daughter in Cumming. The Cepniks took advantage of Park Springs’ Vintage Home Program. “You want to sell your house and you want a place to go. If you decide on the place to go, you have the problem of, OK, how do you sell the house?” said Al, 85. “The Vintage plan pretty much covers the advice that you need in how to prepare your house and sell it.”
Where: Marietta
The homes: One- and two-bedroom homes (some plans have an optional living room/study); options include independent living duplex cottages, and assisted and independent living suites in the main residence.
The pricing: The assisted/independent living suites have monthly rent starting at $3,800, including utilities (except telephone) and cable, three meals daily and other housekeeping and medical services. The Cottages of Sterling Estates, which opened in 2012, has an "entry fee" starting at $120,000, with 85 percent refundable.
The resident: Annette Tobia, 89, moved from a townhome in Roswell, in search of independent living and the ability to receive care if needed. "You reach a point in your life where you realize you're not able to do what you used to do, which kind of weighs on your mind," she said. Family members also live in Marietta, so Sterling Estates' east Cobb County location was convenient to Tobia's one-bedroom, one-bath apartment, which has a patio. "It does have everything. Once you have moved in and your furniture is set in, there is nothing you need. It's a strange thing to say, but your toilet paper is supplied."
Tobia also liked the amenities, including a 5,000-square-foot wellness center with an indoor heated pool and a full-time wellness director (the community also has a licensed registered nurse on staff). “I have always been an active person,” Tobia said. “There was just so much here at Sterling that I didn’t have a hard time deciding where to go.”
