Aging with grace: Are senior residing properties proper for you?

For Satish Malhotra and his spouse Gulshan , the concept of retirement is something however this. The couple all the time envisioned spending their golden years independently, away from the chaos of metropolis life, whereas sustaining an lively social life.

When Satish retired in 2007, his daughter proposed the concept of senior residing communities, which prompted him to swiftly discover a challenge in Bhiwadi, a serene suburb on the outskirts of Delhi-NCR.

“It was nonetheless under-construction, however fulfilled all my necessities—spacious residences and expansive inexperienced areas inside the advanced. The added benefit being Bhiwadi is an hour’s drive from Delhi, the place my youngsters stay, so visiting one another could be simple. In reality, I booked an condominium proper on my first go to,” said Satish, a retired engineer from the state electricity board in Rajasthan. He booked 3-bedroom, hall, and kitchen (3-bhk) apartment for ₹25 lakh, and eventually moved in after taking possession in 2012.

For Shalini Goyal and her husband Anil Kumar Lal, the decision to relocate to Ashiana Utsav, a residential community exclusively for individuals aged 55 and above, was straightforward. Shalini’s parents were residing in the complex since 2015. “During my visits to my parents, I grew fond of the quality of life here. Moreover, we desired to live near our family, and it aligned well since my parents own a house within the complex, and my sisters reside in Delhi and Gurgaon.” The Goyals purchased a 1,480 sq ft 3-bhk unit for ₹50 lakh in 2017.

Lal, an worker of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) lived together with his spouse within the residential society for BARC staff in Mumbai all by way of work life. “Ashiana has expansive inexperienced environment just like what we had, so it was a snug transition. Just getting snug with the climate right here in Bhiwadi took time,” Shalini quipped.

Shalini &Anil, and Malhotras are part of a growing tribe of retirees who are taking a liking to senior living residential complexes: gated communities exclusively for senior citizens, and those over 55 years and, in some cases, 50 years.

However, there is no age bar to purchase a property in these communities.

Senior living complexes are typically located on the outskirts of cities, offering a serene and peaceful environment, and at a relatively affordable rate compared to properties within city limits.

Santhosh Kumar, vice chairman of the ANAROCK Group, however, said in some cases, these could cost more than regular housing projects given the specific facilities and amenities that are not commonplace. “Especially in the case of centrally located senior living homes it can be quite expensive. That said, the price will depend on the quality of a project in terms of the facilities it offers, and location. The cost must be factored against the quality of life and how much it would cost to replicate such a lifestyle in a regular housing set up.”

Some retirement communities supply rental choices as a substitute for buying a property outright, enabling people to expertise the group earlier than making a dedication.

The idea of retirement communities began in India within the mid-2000s and has since gained traction, and is estimated to be valued at over $9.75 billion, with an annual progress of over 8%, in keeping with Kumar.

These initiatives are predominantly concentrated in cities like Coimbatore, Puducherry, Bengaluru, Kodaikanal, Chennai, and Mysuru within the South, and Pune, Jaipur, Bhiwadi, Bhopal, Vadodara, Noida, and Dehradun in northern and western elements of the nation.

Unique differentiators

These purpose-built communities stand out by catering particularly to the distinctive wants of older adults. One key differentiator is the presence of a devoted medical facility, with round the clock nurses and outfitted to deal with fundamental to mid-advanced medical wants. On-demand entry to medical doctors additional enhances healthcare provisions. Additionally, many additionally present assisted residing services to handle the evolving wants of seniors as they age.

Vadodara’s Nayana Ben A. Pandya, 76, and Ashwin Bhai S. Pandya, 81, moved to a senior care residence Dear Zindagi for the end-to-end help that it gives. They used to stay in their very own residence in Bharuch until Ashwin was identified with Parkinson’s in 2020. Following a mind surgical procedure, the burden of managing the family fell completely on Nayana.

“They had two helpers and one full-time caregiver, however my mom needed to supervise them together with managing the multitude of different duties of working a family. It acquired the higher of her,” daughter Pranili Bhatt, who lives in the US, said. The couple pays monthly rent of ₹1.2 lakh, which covers their lodging, food, routine caregiving along with mental wellness care, recreational activities and monthly outings to malls and movies. Fees for therapies and other medical treatments is separate, aggregating to about ₹1.5 lakh. “If you strictly compare costs, of course hiring caregivers at home was far cheaper, but the facilities here are invaluable.”

The senior care institute will quickly be launching standalone housing items and the Pandyas plan to promote their home in Bharuch to purchase a home right here.

In retirement colonies, residence interiors and design of frequent areas are additionally aligned as per seniors’ wants. For occasion, nearly all initiatives use anti-skid flooring and set up railings in frequent areas. Railing will be put in inside properties as properly on request. Controls {of electrical} retailers, locks, latches and emergency panels are put in at handy heights.

These retirement communities supply a number of leisure actions contained in the campus and often organise group actions, comparable to sports activities and cultural occasions, events for birthdays and anniversaries, weekly outings and so forth as a way to assist residents construct lively, social life. Satish boasts of a decent every day schedule that includes internet hosting yoga lessons for a bunch within the morning at 6, adopted by a fast swim or a brief badminton match that goes on until 8.30 am. His evenings are spent enjoying desk tennis and card video games. “There is a lot to try this ,” he said.

Shalini said that since all residents are in the same life stage, living life at the same pace, it creates a sense of belonging and community. “There are groups as per shared interests and each person will find a group fit for them,” she mentioned.

A month-to-month upkeep payment ranging from ₹2,000 is charged to all residents that usually includes upkeep of frequent areas, concierge companies for fundamentals and plumbing and electrical companies. All the opposite services come at additional value (see graphic). All communities have canteens that supply residence cooked meals, which can be delivered at residence.

What of the property

Property homeowners can promote their properties every time they need. Most communities market the property themselves after figuring out present market worth by way of unbiased specialists. “After the Covid-19 pandemic, senior residing properties got here into better demand, and lots of are seeing first rate appreciation,” mentioned Kumar.

After the demise of the property proprietor, the property passes on to authorized heirs. They can select to promote it out, put it on lease or occupy it after crossing the minimal age requirement of residing in these communities.

Catch all of the Business News, Market News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint.
Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.

More
Less

Updated: 07 Jun 2023, 10:57 PM IST