Not quite right, Chisue. Ownership has not changed, but the person who was the original owner has died and family who inherited seems to have different ideas. I could write a page or two, really. Is there a way we could exchange e-mail addresses?

Overall, my experience has been fairly positive. I suppose one can expect changes as time goes on. For instance, my rent has increased $285 per month over the ten years I have been here. The last increase was big, and I think accounts for some residents who have left. This is advertised as an Independent Living Facility but many residents have "helpers." When I came there were none or a very few.

This is a large facility-140 apartments- Amenities one likes usually are not available in small facilities.

If you can ask some specific questions I'll try my best to answer them.

I accompanied a friend when she was visiting potential places to live. She felt that ones connected to a religious group were inherently better bets. The one she ultimately chose was associated with the Episcopal Churc. My friend is an atheist.

I live in a Retirement Community in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It is not like "most" of the Communities I checked out years ago. I don't have time this evening to go into specifics, but I will be back tomorrow evening with some details. Stay tuned.

Chisue, my mother moved into an independent living facility for seniors (over 65 yrs requirement) last Fall. It's not a continuing care facility, so no 'buy in fee'. It's monthly and can include the optional meal programs or not - the apartments have full kitchens. Weekly housekeeping, classes and activities, transportation, linen service too if requested although there is a shared laundry room in each wing. In Mom's case, her plan does include lunch and dinner 7 days a week, she's not interested in cooking and really never has enjoyed cooking...the food is wonderful there, I've had lunch and dinner in the dining room several times. As for ownership, I don't think I've seen anything in writing but it was my understanding it belongs to the brother of a former Oregon governor and that he lives there with his wife seasonally. I haven't met him but my brothers wife has, both through her work and on the premises.

My father in law was at a place called the Willows in Westborough Mass. for the past several years. http://www.salmonhealth.com/active-retirement/

Its
one of a small number of facilities that have been owned by the same
family since they first opened. The place worked well for my
father-in-law largely because is was near was near one of his daughters,
but he liked his apartment, and liked the food. Plus it has multiple
levels of care, so late last year he moved into one of their assisted
living facilities, and then two weeks ago after a hospital stay he went
to the skilled nursing facility that was adjacent to that assisted
living facility.

We are looking at a continuing care community for my Mom and she and I have already visited it twice. It has independent living, assisted living, memory care and Skilled nursing, as well as an informal bridge component that is independent living with some personalized assisted components such as medication management, if necessary. Mom is pretty much blind so while she would be fine in independent living the ala carte assisted services are attractive in her situation. Casey's Pond. The only buy in is a $3,500 membership fee that allows for priority placement. Monthly rent/fees are relatively expensive. For a two bedroom unit Mom prefers, I think it's around $8,500 monthly. Fortunately, that isn't a problem. Lunch and dinner are included as are a number of activities, social events, and on call transportation to wherever she wants to go such as church, Dr. Appointments or shopping.

Ironically, it was built a couple of years and initially operated by Pearl Senior a Living (now known as Ascent) and one of the principals actually was in HS with my daughter in a small town 1200 miles away). Management recently changed. I can't remember the name of the new management company but it is local to Colorado and we are hearing good things about the new management.m it also has a local advisory board on which DD's primary care physician serves.

i don't know why who holds the mortgage on the community matters, but I know how to find that out and will update.

Seniorgal, I hope you will share your thoughts with all of us, though of course not any specifics that might identify you. Dh and I aren't close to this stage yet, but I do like to hear about what goes on in the industry.

I've just tried to change my profile to accept emails, but no success so far. It wasn't private before Houzz took over. I'll keep trying, but I think this topic is of interest to a lot people at the Table.

Google brings me primarily the money interests in senior housing. ASHA is an over-arching organization that represents the investors -- including funding an active PAC to lobby in Washington. I've yet to find a group that represents the RESIDENTS in senior housing.

This is a very large market, and getting larger every day another Boomer ages into needing some kind of 'home'. One executive says his company has gone from just residential to adding assisted living and skilled care. He's happy that this has helped them hang on to clients longer -- boosted units occupied from 80% to 93%. I wonder how qualified they are to do health care when everything else they talk about is the bottom line of profit.

The exec is happy that the RE market is improving; people have to be able to sell their homes to move into *his* homes. He's also concerned with the effect of stagnant interest rates on his residents' fixed incomes. (Seniorgal has mentioned that people left her home when rates increased. Where did they go, Seniorgal?)

Big topic.

Okay, I'm back with a few facts. Of course location is everything, so this won't interest everybody, but I was already living nearby and had been for many years, and so location was perfect for me.

"Owned and administered by two local families who are on site daily to guarantee that residents receive the highest level of care and personal attention. In this small community, their professional reputation, built on years of service to seniors, is their greatest asset, with a dedication to excellence in both Independent Living and Assisted Living."

Active Social Programing,
Building Maintenance & Ground Keeping,
Transportation to Grocery Shopping and other activities,
Beautiful dining room with delicious meals, served each evening, (not included in price.)

This is a small community. I don't remember the actual number of apartments or villas or duplexes, and didn't take the time to look it up. "Ostentatious" is not a word that describes it, but "homey" is.

Villas:
one Br, 1 bath, no garage,
one Br, 1 bath, garage.
2 Bedrooms
1 Bath, large garage;
2 Bedrooms, 1 bath, no garage
Duplexes, 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, garage.

Includes all maintenance, inside and out. House cleaning available, not included in price.

All villas and duplexes are in grassy areas with sidewalks, and well planted with grass, trees, shrubbery; can have own flower beds and small garden if desired.

Apartments with latest amenities, Kenmore appliances, etc. I bedroom, 1 bath; Two bedrooms, two baths, or 1 bedroom studio. Balconies. Parking lots.

Living alone now and after looking all over this area for Retirement Communities, this was my choice, and I have had no regrets. I have been here since July 3rd. 2003. I have 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, large garage.

Fresh air, the skies not covered by huge buildings. Views of the nearby mountains. The natural beauty of this area is compelling.

I'm trying to assemble a few facts about my residence. Will give them to you when I can.

It's been my experience that people don't look 'behind the curtain' when choosing homes -- especially continuing care facilities. Pretty decor and decent meals are nice, but... what can you expect after you move beyond independent living? *New* facilities have no 'history', but the corporation that owns it may.

I'd be interested to know some financial and staffing facts about places with which you are familiar. Who built the facility and when? Has it changed hands? How often? By what percentage can monthly fees be raised? Can fees be adjusted annually? Is there some formula for fees -- like COLA/Social Security benefits?

If this is a continuing care facility, what state or local health department licenses and inspects the skilled nursing portion? Do you know what the requirements are for licensure? (Very vague for independent care.) How often are inspections? What is the required staffing for skilled nursing; are those requirements being met? Does the facility pay fair wages to attract good staff? How long do staffers stay? How does the skilled nursing center compare to other, off-site providers?

BTW, one of the things I read quoted an executive of group of homes. He said that they are mixing independent care and assisted care residents at meals. This reminded me that a friend complained that her MIL was in a continuing care facility where she would receive assistance only if she moved to the assisted living area. MIL refused, saying she didn't want to live with 'the loonies'. The family hired caregivers to assist her within her independent living section of the building. I guess you should look carefully at a home's criteria for who requires 'assisted living'. Does the fee go up if you change 'categories'?

I appreciate everyone's comments, but please don't look for 'thank you's'. I just don't do that Houzz-y function.

As for the comment about living with the loonies, my mother said the same thing. Her rental-type independent/assisted apartment house had meals together, and residents with assistance stayed in their same apartments. She was not happy when someone had a seizure in the dining room, or was showing early sign of dementia. She was in independent living, and these problems arise all the time, and often the other residents notice it before family does. You hope that staff notices it fastest. Admitted, my mother was a snob (although from humbler background), and thought she could live without being exposed to such things. I shrug and say, it's real life. Yes, it should be addressed ASAP. But many residents will be uncomfortable with too much mixing of the independent and assisted residents.

And such places have extra fees for assistance. There is a chart of what assistance is needed; all required that medications be monitored by staff. There was a fee for help with bathing and dressing for example. Mother didn't need help, but she had a danger of falling, so we needed staff to be there when she showered. A fee for assistance in getting to the dining room, another for meals delivered. Pretty much a fee for everything, but it was divided by levels of care. You paid for Level 1, for example, even if you did not use all services.

My MIL lived in a continuing care facility run by Erickson - it was very nice. She had a buy-in which was returned to her estate at the end. She lived for many years in an very nice independent living apartment, moved into assisted living and when the end came, hospice came in and took care of her. She paid a monthly fee which included her apartment, one meal a day and the amenities of the facility which were numerous. It, of course, was not perfect and she was a person who wanted to do things "her way" even if they were contrary to the ways of the facility. She lived a good life there better than she would have in her own home or with us. The assisted living units were in another building as was the nursing/dementia units. Yes, every level of care entails an increase in fees but that's to be expected. An interesting thing about this community was that you never had to leave because your funds ran out - there were provisions for that possibility.

Been trying to load information and Houzz says it is too long. Will keep trying.

I live in an independent living facility with some 140 units.Rents range from approximately $1800 to $3000

Building is over 25 years old, concrete construction (very fireproof and noise-proof) Apartments are leased by the year. There are fees for breaking the lease.

The facility is owned by a family with other businesses. They own and operate three facilities like this.

No assisted living but residents can hire help independently.

To continue:

Some amenities:

10 dinners per month included in rent. Dining room with white tablecloths and cloth napkins.

Secured entry building. Concierge on duty 24 hours a day.

Weekly light housekeeping

Exercise room and exercise sessions 4 times a week

Convenience store(free ice cream cones 3 times a week)

Continental breakfast included with rent (7-9 AM)

Coffee and juice bar available 24 hrs (free)

Van service to grocery, medical appointments, church

Activities director. Scheduled activities each week

Underground garage-rent is $60 per month

Walking path, outdoor benches. Small garden plots for those who want them

Continued-

In the years I have been here there has been a change in management. I sometimes disagree with their decisions but not enough to make me move.

Many who leave here are going to an assisted living facility. If we had that available here they wouldn't have to move.

Hope this answers some of your questions

Mojo mom, $8500/month? Did I read that right?

Seniorgal -- Thanks for persevering to get it all posted!

Do I understand that the family that owns the three facilities has owned them from their inception, and they only changed management recently? Are all of these independent living facilities? Do you know requirements of licensure? (I'm thinking it would be similar to a hotel, with safety inspections, kitchen sanitation, etc. Nothing medical-related.)

You see a fee increase only when your lease is up? Are there ceilings on these increases? Is your facility usually fully occupied? Are there alternatives nearby (competition)?

I'm glad to see 'weekly cleaning' in your contract. A friend thought that was an unnecessary mandatory expense. I mentioned that other residents may not be as diligent about housekeeping as she is. Personally, I am beginning to welcome some help in my own home. I had two maids here yesterday for two hours and plan to have similar chores done quarterly. (DH and I can still do the 'light' stuff, but I'm not washing floors or wiping baseboards anymore!)

Sushipup -- My late MIL was a former farm girl who also had 'an attitude' towards her 'inferiors'. LOL She had also been an RN, so she could wield her credentials, outdated though they may have been. (Do you think humble origins made them try too hard to cover the distance only *they* perceived?) Thanks for the information about the fee schedule.

Chessey35 -- I don't know how many 'buy-in' facilities can still promise care even when the resident can't afford to pay. People live so much longer now. The old-old can go on for years, during which most require expensive care. I'm glad your MIL had good care right up to the end.

Roselin32 -- My hairdresser's father is paying $6K a month for his wife's residential care. They are both mid-eighties. He now lives alone and is growing frail. The only thing wrong with his physically healthy wife is...dementia. These are not wealthy people. Eventually he will deplete his financial reserves, and both of them will go on Medicaid. (She will leave the pleasant, expensive facility to be warehoused in a place that will accept Medicaid payments.)

Yes, that family built them. Yes, all independent. Don't know about licensure. My feeling is that requirements are rather loose.

No ceilings on rate increases but only yearly. There were many empty apartments a few years ago but now almost full. (I think there was "bait" offered by the new aggressive marketing manager.)

Quite a bit of "competition" with many new facilities being built in the area, but I understand that many have waiting lists. Actually, management I refer to is "on site." I don't know to what extent owners take part in management. Probably mostly financial. This is a large metropolitan area which seemingly can support all of these facilities.