Retirement Communities

Hello and welcome to Mr. Stillman's opus this week wanted to have a special guess from what you hear from a special guest will have on the radio show financial Symphony, Arizona couple stations here in the triangle but wanted to what you hear from Teresa Mars. Teresa is the director of marketing at the Cedars of Chapel Hill.

We a lot of questions from people about moving into retirement communities. What kind of financial standing. You need to have what's involved with, waiting lists are. There was lifestyle like there so what will be helpful for everybody if we just talk to Teresa about what life is like in the Cedars and what sort of financial docs you need to have in a row to live in a place like that so enjoy the conversation again.

This is from our radio show, the financial Symphony as we promised earlier in the show we be joined by special guest and we are now joined by Teresa buys director of marketing at the Cedars of Chapel Hill Teresa good to see you. Thanks for stopping by.

Thank you John punks for having here today. Good to see you and wanted to talk about specifically the Cedars of Chapel Hill, which if people don't know is a retirement community and but more broadly wanted to talk about just retirement communities in general to because I got a tremendous number of questions from my clients wanting to know right well if we're wanting to move into a community like this one are some of things we need to be thinking about what are some of the financial things we need to have in place. I work in a waiting list.

Can we expect so will talk about some of the financial aspects.

The mechanics later on the shelf. At first I just wanted to talk about lifestyle. So in general I think a lot of people see moving to a retirement community and in some people's eyes.

It's almost like there's a stigma of we're giving up were giving up on our independence if we move into a retirement community like the Cedars, which in no way is that the case, but maybe you can kind of describe why would somebody want to live in a community like that instead of just living in their own home. That's a great question, John and one of the things that we find is that people who move into retirement communities such as the Cedars often have been looking or thinking about this decision for a period of anywhere from six months to six years, so it's a process. Rarely do people just wake up in the morning and say I think today's the dam to move into a retirement community. I think as we all age.

What becomes more and more important to us are things like physical security, financial security, putting a healthcare plan in place for the whole idea of sore. I like to call it the things that go bump in the middle of the night to the people that moved to retirement communities are generally experiencing some things in their life that may make them feel. Perhaps a little insecure. Maybe their neighborhood is changing.

Maybe they've become widowed.

Maybe the kids have moved away. Maybe the burdens of home maintenance have just become too much of a headache and often when people come to visit us to just beginning to explore in their very tentative because they're afraid they're going to be giving up their independence that they knew from their home but actually what we like to point out is that the opposite is true that you're actually gaining independence because you're no longer dependent upon waiting for repairman to take care of things around the house and sometimes contractors or subcontractors are notoriously unreliable about meeting appointments at specific times for these things can make people feel little bit anxious and little bit insecure and actually trapped by their so a lot of that inconveniences taken away when you're in a community like this.

What about just lifestyle in general.

What do mules look like what do physical activities look like. Specifically, at the Cedars of Chapel Hill. What is life look like that's a really great question to you now. I would say the number one reason people move into retirement communities is for security, but once they get there, what they find. That was really lacking in their lives was that the aspect of socialization and community. Often people are living by themselves and their little bit more isolated. Perhaps they've given up driving at night. They no longer go to the symphony or playmakers are Deepak because they don't like to drive at night, maybe some of their social ties have started to write a little bit because friends have moved away or friends of moved to retirement communities so folks come to a community like the Cedars and they have someone all of a sudden have interesting conversation over coffee in the bistro with or somewhere to have lunch or dinner with infected the Cedars we have something called an impromptu table's if you don't have a dining companion. You can only sit at the impromptu table and get to know different types of folks and it correct me if I'm wrong, I would say for the most part people at the Cedars are not originally from here.

Would that be accurate so your meeting a lot of people from a lot of different places. 40% of our membership come from out-of-state, 60% are locals. A lot of people have ties to Chapel Hill. They either went to UNC or their children live in Chapel Hill or the triangle area and they want to retire to where we have a temperate climate care to where we have access to great healthcare.

Certainly UNC and do provide a lot of educational and cultural opportunities for retirees who have lots of time on their hands and you had a keen interest in staying active and involved in things about what age would you be moving into a community like procedures.

Obviously I know it's going to depend on the specifics of your life but in general that what age of most people move in. The average age is somewhere around 7677. I think you'll find that you're universally true for a lot of communities.

The average age of our members at the Cedars is 83 and that's because a lot of our members have moved in there and lived there for many many years. In fact we opened in 2004 and I would say probably one third of our membership are original members when we opened our doors so if I will move into place when 76. I need to get on a waiting list. At what age I would say start doing your research and your late 60s early 70s and start getting on list and I always encourage people to visit communities several times because you learn something more each time you visit will talk about meals for the most important piece to me. Still, it is now what I'm 76. It will be to on average are most people cooking meals in their own home. Are they going to the dining hall, what, what's the average dining experience look like what you said at the Cedars of Chapel Hill. We have three different dining venues. We have a lounge area with the complete full bar.

We have the garden room and we had the Magnolia room.

The garden room is for more informal dining and the Magnolia room is for formal dining. We also have home meal delivery's if you live at the Cedars you can just call the desk and place your mail order. You can go on line may have an intranet and you can select the food that you want delivered for lunch or dinner.

A lot of our folks like to come over to the clubhouse for dinner, lunch or dinner because again of the socialization aspects are and will talk about the how financial peace fits into the meal plan later. You know what's covered with snow covered physical activity.

What kind of opportunities are there for staying in shape. Given your body engaged. We have a programs department and the program's Department oversees our wellness and fitness activities. They also oversee all of our social and cultural, and educational activities. So this is kind of what a typical day in the life may look like you could get up. You could go over to our indoor swimming pool and take a swim or perhaps you could use our fitness facility into your workout routine, with or without a personal trainer.

Or maybe you like group exercise we have yoga classes, tai chi, we have strength training and balance classes. We have Zumba we have line dancing. We have ballroom dancing have lots of different types of group exercise activities that you can participate in, then perhaps you could go up after you've done a little exercise you could go up to the lounge and enjoy a complimentary continental breakfast. After that you may want to go back home and take care some things around the house and come back to the clubhouse later in the day to participate in either a bridge game or watching on the movies that we have an hour ballroom, which is where we project movies or listening to an educational lecture or classical concert. Then you can come back for cocktails and dinner and then retire in the comfort of your own home.

How does that sound ready to move and I was just one day one day have been exhausted and I'm assuming pretty much all that stuff all those activities are you paying for each of those things you go to write. It's all just kinda included at the Cedars, you pay a monthly service fee imitate what I like to refer to as a bundled service fee that's all-inclusive and all the activities that I just mentioned to you, are included.

Now let's say you want to go to Deepak one night to catch a show or perhaps you've got in C symphony seasons tickets you could jump on one of our transportation buses and we would take you there. Of course you would pay a small transportation fee and the cost of your ticket, but it can all be coordinated through one phone call to our programs department.

Very good. So Becca gives you an idea of lifestyle at the Cedars of Chapel Hill. Again, this is a financial symphony were joined by Teresa buys director of marketing at the Cedars talking about some of things you need to be aware of. If you're considering any sort of retirement community and helping you get familiar with some of the opportunities that we have right here in our own community now want to dive Teresa a little bit into the financial side of things, of some of the mechanics of moving into a community like the Cedars you notice the sort of things you need to be thinking about it a talk so to begin with what was involved in moving to a community like the Cedars both know the mechanics you need to think about but also observes that you need to have in place something like that. Great question John with the Cedars of Chapel Hill as a life plan community licensed as a continuing care retirement community and currently there are over 2000 life plan communities nationwide, so obviously it's a very desirable product, and a lot of people had the misperception that it may be something that's beyond the reach financially or on the other side, they may be thinking this is what I want to do when I retire. My parents moved to a community or I know someone that moved to a community and they really began to thrive. Once they moved there, but G can I afford it. So as with all retirement communities. The Cedars is no different. There are three qualifications, age, financial and health so right now let's talk a little bit about the financial at the Cedars of Chapel Hill. We have an ownership model and we have a wide variety of floor plans so the pricing can range anywhere from say $300,000-$750,000 to purchase and then their monthly service fees commensurate with the size and those could range anywhere from, say, $2800-$5800. We have a rough rule of thumb that we like to give people and certainly would fill out an application, but if you just cannot want for your listeners at home. It they just one of prequalify themselves if their assets are twice the purchase price of the home that they buy and their monthly income is 2 to 2 1/2 times the monthly fee for the home that they by then they qualify. Certainly we look at things like age, whether or not folks have long-term care insurance and with the monthly income. Again, these are rough rules of thumb, but sometimes people may fall short on the monthly income side, but they have enough assets to generate that income should they choose.

Conversely, some folks fall short on the asset side, but perhaps they have fantastic pensions that make up for it.

So again, these are just rough guidelines. Everyone's situation is different and we look at every application individually. So the home values you said different floor plans ranging 300,750 figures that that's correct now, do I own that whole if I pass away do my kids get it or does it go back to see just how does that work. Yes, you're exactly right the Cedars of Chapel Hill has a unique financial model all communities typically have two sets of fees there that the entrance fees of the buy-in fees and then there are the monthly fees that cover the monthly service package at the Cedars of Chapel Hill. We are structured a little bit differently where an entirely debt-free community owned by the members and the members by their own homes there all considered condos. Whether it's a villa veranda or cottage. It's considered a condo so they owned the condo they pay property taxes on it and then when they leave the Cedars we resell it. It's inheritable if the children meet the age, income, and health criteria. They can move in as well. What's a little bit what happens kids in here at the house. They don't want to move a little qualify to move in our most cases, they just want to go ahead and sell the house and they can settle the estate. All of the folks in the marketing office are licensed real estate agents and we represent all of the sellers as well. So it's not the Cedars is buying it back.

It's just the your finding the next buyer but had to facilitate the process. That's correct, but while you do a little of yourself as you reference before all the maintenance and everything that's kind of Volvo but due to the monthly fees of assuming that's exactly right.

Again we were talking about the bundled service fee package so the anterior maintenance, exterior maintenance, landscaping, those things that we talked about earlier were became burdens as we grow older, living independently in and out large him others things are included in the monthly fee as well as things like the dining plan at the Cedars. It's 30 mils per month per person. The utilities are included. Transportation is included.

Weekly housekeeping really affects need to worry about pain are there again property taxes and the phone bill paid to keep you back to food, but this is my wheelhouse. So you said 30 mils a month per person. That's correct. Yes is different from one mill a day because maybe one day I don't want to dine at the Cedars but the next day. Perhaps I won't lunch and dinner, as long as I'm within those 30 mils per month. It's not a problem if I want to buy additional mils I can do that.

So is that residents only, or can I bring just surveyed my meals out as well. You can certainly bring guest, you can pay either the guess mill charge will use one of your meal credits to offset that. In fact, Sunday brunch is real popular.

We see a lot of kids and grandkids. They love to visit there for parents on Sundays because the Cedars branches have fantastic one last thing, all the moving you mentioned the financial things you need to have in place but say I am 65 and I will go ahead, get on the waiting list. First of all, about how wall realistically. Am I going to be on the waiting list and to do I need to have any kind of upfront deposit to get on the waiting list and or a deposit ready to go when you call me and say hey we have a slot open. Do I need to be ready to send you some kind of deposit at that point at the Cedars because it our financial model is real estate ownership. We really can't put people on a traditional waiting list where your essay number 232 and when we call you.

You need to take that property rather we've created something called a preferred future owners list so if you're on that list and the cost is $1250. If you're in that list, we notify you every time we get a new listing every time we get a new property for sale and if you're ready you can come in and look at that property and make an offer again because it's real estate. The North Carolina real estate rules and rags say that your offers are presented, first come first serve. So we do have what I like to refer to as a ready list. These are folks who've already investigated retirement communities decided that the Cedars is probably where they want to move when the timing is right. They've already been financially preapproved and then all we have to do is approved and medically right before they move in right so let's get to the healthcare portion because I know that's an important piece of all this, and for a lot of people. That's why they're moving to a community like this so I know you said that's one of the qualifications upfront. We have to assess the healthcare situation and what would be some of the things that would on a healthcare basis might make you not qualified with well first of all, you do have to be capable of independent living and this is true with all retirement communities and that's because the state of North Carolina regulates the skilled nursing beds and skilled nursing beds and retirement communities in this state are designated specifically for residents of that community.

So if you're already experiencing serious health issues such as the loss of ability to live independently that could preclude you from coming to the Cedars as well as most communities.

A lot of the things that prevent people from being medically accepted our neurological things like Alzheimer's, cognitive impairment, dementia, Parkinson's. That is, types of things so you're perfectly healthy you live 5 to 12 years.

The Cedars, the health starts to court you need either some kind of daily care or weekly care or maybe it's full-blown nursing home type the care that you need. How does that fit into what you're already paying you what exactly is available there on site. The levels of care that we have our assisted living, memory support in skilled nursing care. We also have our own home care agency. So many folks choose to stay in their own cottage villa or veranda and have supportive services brought in on a daily basis and you're certainly free to do that. Those cost range around 21, $22 an hour and we bill in 15 minute increments.

If you compare that to stain in one's own home and using an outside home care agency. They typically charge three or four hour minimum's just to come visit you said you got a short-term illness or short-term rehab recuperation from say in knee replacement or hip replacement that can be very costly again. 25% of our membership choose to use the home care services because we embrace the aging in place, philosophy now. If it becomes more prohibitive to have the round-the-clock care. A lot of people will choose to go to her Debose Health Center and receive assisted living, memory support or skilled nursing care at the Cedars when you are when you're a member, you pay a 10% membership fee along with purchasing the unit and again that membership fee is equal to 10% of the purchase price of the home that includes 90 free days in the Debose healthcare Center were also Medicare approved facility so you could use your Medicare days, then your 90 free days and then once you needed assisted living, memory support or skilled care you can receive that care at a 50% discounted rate.

It's called a modified contract communities typically either have life care, modified or fee-for-service contracts.

The Cedars of Chapel Hill has a modified contract and by the way that peers very nicely with long-term care insurance. If folks have long-term care insurance. They often had very little out-of-pocket expenses if they move into a modified healthcare contract such as the Cedars so when you're but say you're moving into the medical center. Are you good selling your home using that money to go toward the care, would you still maintain your residence or II guess that's going to depend on if one spouse is going in the medical center. No spouses of home obviously would also hold out from under that one but is that all fit together as there can be different scenarios depending upon if that's a couple or single person. Some folks choose to sell the home said that they just incurred the Perdiem's or that the daily rates and Debose healthcare.

Some folks like to hang onto it and they continue to pay the monthly fee and perhaps maybe visit it daily and then go back to the Debose Health Center. Some folks sell it outright. Some folks don't sell it until they actually pass away.

It's the members choice. The Cedars we could probably go on for hours about all the things you will think about with moving to a retirement community like this in specific things about the Cedars to but obviously people to find out more. Best thing to do is what got our website, Cedars of Chapel Hill.com and there's contact information, you can request a brochure or an appointment or get phone numbers to call us and set up a time to come in and check out the Cedars and Jon, I just like to say to your listeners that we have folks that visit us all the time that are planning 5 to 10 years down the road they're really not sure which community they want to go to. They may be visiting from out of state. They may be local, but it's never too soon to start researching and planning for your future with the very least grab that number like restaurant at the deli, get your number and be labeled and why do they call you number, you don't have to order is scheduled to place and what exactly fits up and you will think about know the road well.

Teresa really appreciate you coming by. It's been a pleasure John talking with you left Teresa my Dir. of marketing the Cedars of Chapel Hill worldwide Cedars of Chapel Hill.com Exeter enable talk with you next week same time same place right here financials