Retirement Property: A Complete Property Buyer's Guide to Retirement and Beyond (Buying in Property Guides) - Softcover

An informative and practical guide to all aspects of the UK's retirement property market, this book is designed to help those who are looking forward to lifestyle and property changes as work and careers take a lesser role. Contains a detailed explanation of the various types of property available, along with important issues relating to retirement property, such as downsizing, mortgages, endowments and taxation. It also includes regional guides, with an overview of the property market, cost of living, leisure and shopping facilities, transport and health services in the main UK regions. Each regional guide includes example property prices. The guide also examines overseas retirement property options, with a look at the issues related to retiring to live abroad. There are property guides to popular retirement destinations including Spain, France, Portugal, Cyprus, Florida, South Africa and the Caribbean. Each guide includes information on the property market, climate, social context, cost of living and health services, with example property prices and useful contacts. RETIREMENT PROPERTY also features real-life case-study interviews; expert view Q&A interviews with experts and industry insiders; a directory of contacts and service providers and a useful property index with listings for individual developments in each UK region with a price guide and the developer's contact details.

Sarah Woods is a leading property journalist and the former editor of Living for Retirement magazine. Sarah comments: It wasn't that long ago that the retirement sector was rather depressing. Properties tended to be functional with very little style or charm. It was as if the housing sector had decided that a pokey box, devoid of character, was all that befitted someone over the age of 55. How things have changed in just a couple of decades! Property developers have woken up to the fact that today's modern retirees were once the middle-aged design-led consumers of the 1980's. They have also realised that in 2007, this powerful group of homebuyers still hold considerable consumer clout. Today, retirees are enjoying an incredibly diverse retirement property sector, from swish, interior-designed penthouse apartments to character cottages in landscaped groups. The days when the only option was an unimaginative sheltered housing scheme are long gone, thankfully. These days retirement villages and age-exclusive communities boast a whole host of incredible on-site amenities that can include shops, hairdressers, restaurants, bars and a gym - even a swimming pool. Expect many of these schemes to be the work of some of the UK's top architects, stylists and design specialists. Standards are high, so is the quality - with lots of attention to detail and extra safety touches. Many of the retirees I speak to today are thrilled with the choices that this exciting market place brings them. In fact, most are so overjoyed with the lifestyle retirement living offers they admit to feeling like 'first-time buyers' all over again. Of course, finding a new home can also be a little overwhelming, which is why Retirement Property contains lots of tips and advice to guide you. It is also packed with in-depth information on the main types of retirement property available and includes lots of real life buyer's tales, both in the UK and overseas. Be sure to check out the regional and coun