Basics of Property Management: Screening Potential Tenants
Retiring and Don't Want to Be Home Alone? Choose a Continuing-Care Retirement Community
Jesse Obrien
If you are retiring and already live alone, you will have much more alone time than you used to. If you want to be around a lot of people your own age and still be able to enjoy many things, a continuing-care retirement community (CCRC) may be a good choice for you. Below is some more information about this to help you decide whether you would be happy in a retirement community like this.
Care All in One Place
A CCRC facility allows you to have all the care you need in one place. For example, they offer independent living if you need no help. Assisted-living and nursing-home care are also offered at the facility if you require these things as you become older. If you need acute care, this will take place at a hospital near the facility. You will generally need to have good health when you move into the CCRC and be a certain age, which may be 60 or 65.
Amenities and Services Offered
Not all CCRC facilities are the same, but many offer the same types of amenities, including:
- Common dining rooms
- Gyms
- Activity centers
- Swimming pools
- Outdoor recreation
- Social events
- Outings to local events
The CCRC facility you choose may offer even more facilities.
The CCRC may also offer a wide variety of services to you, such as transportation, gardening, lawn care, housekeeping, security, laundry, and garbage and snow removal. Many facilities also offer emergency-call monitoring and health-monitoring services. If you would like to further your education, some facilities offer educational opportunities.
Accommodations
The accommodations you can choose from include houses, cottages, townhouses, duplexes, and apartments. There are also homes that are in a cluster, so you will be very close with other residents there.
Contract
When you choose a CCRC, you will have to sign a contract, and you need to be careful in doing this, as there are many different types of contracts available. Each contract will vary in entrance fees, depending on the type of housing you choose as well as the area of the community you choose to live in. You may want to consider hiring an attorney to look over the contract for you to ensure you are signing an appropriate one.
Cost
The cost of a CCRC facility is substantially more expensive than other options, so this is something you have to take into consideration. For example, the CCRC may require a $20,000 or more for a rental agreement, depending on where you live.
If would like to move into a CCRC, visit a few in your area, such as RE/MAX PROFESSIONALS, to see what they offer.
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For the last several years, I've used a property management firm to help with my rental properties. One of the tasks that they handle for me is screening applicants who would like to move into one of my vacant units. Their expertise has helped me lower my tenant turnover and find people who want to stay with me for years. Part of the process is a tenant screening credit check. Before any further contact takes place, my manager orders credit reports from at least two agencies. That is enough to tell us if an applicant is a good financial risk. Assuming the references work out, I meet the candidate and make the final decision. If you own rental properties, let me tell you more about the benefits of having a property manager. I'm betting you'll find this type of arrangement will work for you too.