The decision to sell your home and move into a retirement community is a difficult one. For many people, these communities are unfamiliar places, and the aggressive pitches from sales agents can be overwhelming. So be careful: You want to make sure the community is the right one for you before you sign a contract. Having gone through the process of selecting a retirement  community, I write from personal experience.

• After you see the sales presentation, ask for blank copies of all contracts and agreements. Also obtain a copy of the current members’ handbook or similar documents that specify management’s rules for living in the community. Have your attorney thoroughly review both documents, paying particular attention to whether management reserves the exclusive right to change the rules. Such a provision should be a warning sign.
  
  You also might cross-check the sales literature with the legal documents and handbook and ask for an explanation of significant differences. Understand that services and facilities not specifically mentioned in the sales contract and other legal documentation, despite their appearance in the glossy sales brochures, might not be provided.

  Get a copy of the
  current members’ handbook or similar documents.

  
   
• Ask pointed questions about services and employees. For example: “Do you provide maid service, yard maintenance, appliance repair, etcetera?”; “Are the people who provide these services employees of management or of outside contractors?”; “Are the employees of both management and outside contractors bonded or insured?”; “What are the specific details of this coverage?”; and “Can residents tip employees or show other appreciation for tasks well done, or is there a system for rewarding employees with so-called holiday bonuses?”
   
• If you are considering a multi-unit retirement community of the garden-home variety, check to see how well each individual unit is identifiable and accessible to emergency vehicles. Are the units adequately numbered and is there a large, well-lit directional map at the entrance to the complex?
   
• Determine what utilities and maintenance of these services are included in the community’s monthly service fee: electricity; gas; water; television, cable, or satellite; telephone or computer Internet connections; etcetera.
   
• Make sure space is available in the retirement community’s clubhouse or within the complex that can accommodate community-wide social and entertainment events and resident business meetings. Often, the community’s corporate headquarters is on-site to accommodate the many functions of management. But if the owner’s corporate offices are in the residents’ clubhouse, you might wonder whether the building was designed primarily as a clubhouse for residents or as the corporate headquarters.
   
• Make sure management truly respects the civil rights of its members. The first question for a prospective buyer in this regard is, “Do you have a residents’ council or similar resident-selected group that meets with management from time to time to discuss matters of interest and concern to the residents?” If the staff’s answer is negative, avoids the question, or is along the lines of, “We have [management-organized] resident volunteer committees instead,” be wary. Access to a management representative by individual residents is not a satisfactory substitute for a residents’ council. Some seniors might be too intimidated to press their case in a one-on-one situation with a forceful management representative but would be much more comfortable having their concerns raised by a recognized group of their neighbors.
   

  Talk to the current residents about the community you just visited.

   
• Finally, talk to the current residents. Ask for a copy of the community’s roster with residents’ names, units, and telephone numbers. Pick three or so, write down your questions, and contact them when you get home and ask for their thoughts about the community you just visited. If the community has a club-like facility, visit it (or any other area where there is resident activity) on your own, introduce yourself to residents, tell them about your interest in the area, and ask questions. You’ll probably get a somewhat different insight from that of the sales staff or the volunteer resident hosts on the management’s meet-and-greet committee.

Some of the questions you might ask are, “Is management truly responsive to all the residents?”; “Are services provided in a timely manner?”; “What sort of turnover have you experienced in the support staff?”; “Is there a periodic newsletter produced by and for the residents independent of the management?”; and “Have you had any repair or maintenance issues that management was reluctant to correct properly, such as water leaks or mold, or that were delayed for an excessive amount of time?”

Be aware that laws regarding required disclosure of defects vary from state to state. If you are looking at a previously occupied unit in a community where you buy a small percentage of the whole complex instead of the unit itself, a defect disclosure probably is not legally required. Insist on one. If the seller refuses, consult a qualified real estate attorney, and arrange for an independent registered home inspection before signing anything.

Retirement communities have many benefits, not the least of which is the chance to live among and make new friendships with some interesting people you might not have had the opportunity to meet in your military life. But, like many major steps in life, the decision to invest in a retirement community should be considered carefully. Shop around, visit several different retirement communities, ask lots of questions, take notes, and never make an irrevocable, costly decision based on a single visit.

Happy home hunting!