A friend of mine is considering moving to Royal Oaks. Any information about it, positive or negative, would be appreciated. Maybe there is a better place. Do you have any suggestions? Thank You.
I'll jump in here, i have a passing sense of Royal Oaks, knew lots of folks who live(d) there, spoken there a few times and been aware generally how it is run. IMHO, it is the finest continuing care community in Sun City, and the most expensive. You buy-in at a significant cost and you don't own anything. If you die in your first number of years (7?), you get a pro-rated refund. The monthly fees are stiff as well, but everything is first class. The really good part is you can move through the various levels of care as you deteriorate. Lots of folks start in their own free-standing condo's and progress to apts, assisted living and ultimately full care nursing settings. They have spent a bushel basket of money upgrading the property and it is pretty darn nice. The good news is, they are cash rich and can afford to do almost anything they want or need. As aggie has lamented, they are church based and get tax breaks, whether they need it or not. They are a part of Sun City proper and it seems to me Royal Oaks pays a part of the RCSC fees on every unit and if the owner wants to have a rec card, they pay the other half (someone feel free to correct me if i am wrong). The bulk of the dozen folks i knew who moved there loved it, the biggest question for most is can you afford it?
If money is no object, Royal Oaks is like living on a 1000 passenger luxury liner with brief stops at other ports for land tours. It appears you pay $1000 to get on the waiting list after careful analysis of your history and ability to pay the monthly fees for the rest of your life. The entrance fee for the smallest studio apartment is $100,000 and can go upwards from there. The starting monthly no-assistance fees are upwards of $1500 and can run to $6000 if care is more intensive. Yes, I've been told that Royal Oaks pays 1/2 the RCSC assessment for any resident that purchases a privilege card. But, there really is no reason for the residents to buy a RCSC card as they have their own facilities for physical fitness and hobbies on the 40 acre campus and they only pay a small amount to bowl or golf at RCSC properties. Again, top of the line senior living with care to the end of life if you can afford it.
Both of which are great reason's why i am amazed at how well Royal Oak does. For many of us laying out that kind of buy-in is just crazy given the fact it's lost to heirs. Seems to me my wife's friends coughed up like a quarter of a million dollars to get a two bedroom/2 bath detached condo. I suspect the pro-rated refund is an incentive to help folks get over the idea of losing that kind of money if one or both kick-off shortly after settling in. Thinks heirs guys...by the way, if you don't have anyone to leave the fortune to i'd be happy to fill in.
I have been coming to SC since the late 70s to visit , and have been a part time resident for 15 years....I didn't know this existed until reading this thread...just looked at the satellite photo .....this is a huge complex...
Another place I found interesting is Sierra Winds. It is located behind Albertsons (Bell & 91st) on 89th. They have 2 types of buy ins. The first one is a regular buy in about $1,000. The second is about $1,900 but when you pass, your heirs get about 90% back. Check those figures. Google it for more information
Of course we know it would be the heirs that would collect the refund, but the sentence wording just struck me funny. Call me morbid, but I pictured a check in the pocket on the body as they closed the casket. Okay, I admit it, I can be a little weird sometimes.
Here's a link to the different apartments and fees at Royal Oaks I think there are others kinds too. And here are the apartment floor plans garden house floor plans
I just received info about The Forum a few miles east of SC. The buyin is reasonable but the prices go up as you move to another level.
