Retirement Village Contract Legal Advice- Melbourne & Victoria
Ensure your move to a retirement village is smooth and informed with expert legal advice from Shamac Lawyers.
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Retirement Village Contract Legal Advice - Melbourne & Victoria
Are you considering buying into a retirement village? It’s important to understand the complex laws and lengthy documentation involved in these transactions. At Shamac Lawyers we specialise in representing individuals who are selling their family home and moving into a retirement village. We have a caring and patient approach and can assist you at every stage of the process. Here’s what you need to know before signing a retirement village contract.
Understanding Retirement Village Contracts
Retirement village contracts can be complicated, with long-term financial consequences. Most retirement village contracts involve the sale of the right to reside in a unit by way of a lease agreement, rather than purchasing the unit itself. As a result, there are substantial exit charges when the person leaves the village. Each retirement village has its own specific clauses and conditions, which need to be reviewed and advised on individually.
Things To Consider Before Signing A Residence Contract
Before signing a residence contract, there are many things to consider, including:
- The initial one-off ingoing contribution
- The exit fees and what’s involved if you need to move
- How the exit fee is calculated and when it must be paid
- Whether the village operator takes a share of any capital gain made on the unit
- The cost of reinstating the unit and other selling costs
- What must be mandatorily reinstated
- Whether there is a high care facility on site
- What extra costs are involved if there is a high care facility
- Whether your interest in the village will be affected by long absences, such as holidays, or recovering off-site due to an illness or injury
- Whether you can be forced to undergo medical assessments and ultimately be forced to leave the village
- Other additional fees and charges, such as maintenance, recreational facilities, and management and administration costs
- Personal services charges, such as meals or cleaning
- Whether you can stay on even if your health diminishes
- How disputes are resolved
- Whether you can keep a pet, plant a garden, or paint your unit
- What improvements you can make and what you will be compensated for
- What services will be provided and what their cost is
- What insurance you will need
How Can We Help?
We can assist you with all aspects of retirement village contracts. Our services include:
- Review of residence contracts (licence agreements, leases, sale contracts)
- Review of nursing home and retirement village contracts
- Review and drafting of village bylaws and policies
- Statutory compliance
- Termination, sales, and conveyancing
- Residents Committee and Body Corporate issues
- Resident disputes
We urge you to call our office urgently if you have already signed a document with a retirement village. Once you sign the Public Information Document provided to you by the operator at the beginning of the negotiation process, it may trigger the beginning of the cooling off period. Once this expires, you may not be entitled to a refund of any moneys paid.
Buying into a retirement village is a complex transaction that can be especially taxing if you are selling your family home at the same time. With our caring and patient approach, we can assist you at every stage of the process and ensure that you fully understand your rights and obligations before signing a retirement village contract.
Contact us today to explore our quality service and legal conveyancing solutions.