Distinguishing Features Of Retirement Homes For Sale

While you theoretically can retire in any home that's available for purchase and within your price range, retirement homes are specially made for people to live in during their senior years. The following are some of the distinguishing features that retirement homes that are for sale have and that you may appreciate during this stage of life.

Retirement Community Location

First, most of the retirement homes for sale are situated in retirement communities. These communities naturally attract more senior homebuyers, and that means your neighbors will likely be fellow retirees if you move into one of these residences. In fact, some communities are only open to retirees of a certain age.

With other retirees living next door, across the street, and around the block, you have plenty of opportunities to meet people that are in a similar life stage as you. This makes it easy to build relationships in your new community, and the close proximity ensures you can easily maintain those relationships. Visiting a friend can be as simple as walking to the neighbor's house.

Age-in-Place Floor Plan

Second, retirement homes often feature an age-in-place floor plan that offers all of the essential amenities on the ground floor. The master bedroom and at least one full bathroom will be on the first floor, along with the kitchen, living room and other main rooms of the house. If there's a garage, this will also be graded so that it's level with the first floor.

Larger retirement homes might have an upstairs with additional bedrooms and bathrooms, and not all retirement homes feature ranch-style construction. The floor plan is designed so that the primary resident can live in the house without ascending or descending the stairs.

The importance of having a floor plan that eliminates the need to go up and down stairs on a daily basis is hard to underestimate. Should you have reduced mobility during your latter years, whether you need to navigate stairs in your house might be the difference between whether you can continue to live there or have to move to another facility.

Exterior Maintenance Services

Finally, retirement homes that are located in official retirement communities usually come with exterior maintenance services included in the homeowners association fees. Depending on a home's location, these services might include lawn care, tree and bush trimming, snow removal during winter, and more.

With exterior maintenance services taken care of, you won't have to worry about your ability to do these tasks yourself as you age.

For more information about retirement community homes for sale in your area, talk to a real estate agent.