FAQs

Yes, our residents must be at least 65 years of age.

We understand the integral part pets can play in your family, so a small domestic animal is welcome to join you in your villa, providing it is an adult animal suitable for village life. The only limitation to this is the possibility that your pet could become a nuisance to others living at Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village and as a precaution, we will need to “meet” your pet beforehand! Approval is at the discretion of the Village Manager. Unfortunately we are unable to accommodate pets in the apartments.

Your independence is encouraged, and assistance is available if you need it on a user pays basis, or we can work with you to help take advantage of whatever services are available in the community.  We encourage you to be independent and will do whatever we can to help you stay in your own home, for as long as you can.  If at some later stage you need hospital or dedicated care, our Care Centre will provide this.

You will live in a community of like-minded people – of similar age with lots of different personal situations and personalities.  You can enjoy the freedom of a lifestyle where you can be as active or as relaxed as you wish.  A range of activities are available to all – which you can choose to be involved in if you wish.  If, however, you simply wish to choose the quiet privacy of your own home – that is fine too.  The choice is yours.

It is important for anyone intending to purchase a villa in the Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village to fully understand the nature of the ownership of their home  This is covered in much more legal detail in the Occupation Rights Agreement (ORA), but to summarise:

•         When you buy a villa in Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village, you sign an ORA.
•         This gives you the right to live in your villa and enjoy the use of all the village facilities.
•         The title to the land and building remains with the Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village .
•         The Occupational Rights Agreement does not carry any entitlement to capital gain when you move out and the villa is resold.

The ORA is the most common form of occupation and ownership in retirement villages in New Zealand.  All villages are governed by the Retirement Villages Act 2003 and its regulations.  The Act requires the appointment of a Statutory Supervisor whose role it is to protect the rights of the village residents, particularly so in the event of the village operator failing to honour its obligations under the RVA Act.  Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village has appointed the “Covenant Trustee Company” as the Statutory Supervisor for this village.

There is a lot of legal documentation around an ORA, all designed to protect you as a resident.  For many it can be a little overwhelming, so it is important you ask your lawyer to review this and explain it if you have any queries – most lawyers are familiar with this type of contract as it is typical in the retirement village industry.  If your lawyer is not, please get him/her to contact us, and we can put them in touch with other lawyers who can run through it with them.

• The Entry Price – this is the amount you pay for your villa.
• The Weekly Fee – this fee is charged for each villa and covers your share of all the village costs – in effect similar to a body corporate charge.  This includes:
  • Rates
  • Maintenance of your villa and The Lifestyle Centre – including  window cleaning
  • Building insurance
  • 24 hour emergency call response system
  • Landscaping and garden maintenance, outside your villa and throughout the village
  • Village management
  • Complimentary tea/coffee in The Lifestyle Centre
  • Maintenance, upkeep and power for The Lifestyle Centre and all the facilities within it.
  • The Weekly Fee is $110 per week.
• Additional Services – as your needs change, you may decide you wish to get more assistance and take up the offer of village-provided services delivered to your villa e.g. assistance with housekeeping, laundry, general living or meals.   There will be a charge for these sorts of services – at the time, this can be discussed further with our Village Manager.
• The only other costs you will have will be your normal personal living expenses e.g. food, power, phone and contents insurance.  In our experience, many of these costs are lower than when you live in your own home e.g. power costs are lower as your home is new and very well insulated, and petrol costs are often lower as our residents enjoy more of the activities within the village.

No. The weekly fees are fixed for life. This means that the weekly fee you pay from day one will be remain unchanged for the duration of your time in your villa or apartment – unless you choose to take up additional services that have a cost associated with them, for example housekeeping. This offers residents great peace of mind about their living costs going forward.

Even if your only income is the government superannuation, the weekly fee is still very affordable.  For most of our residents of other villages (even ones with greater fees), we find the weekly fee is very manageable.  However, if you are finding it difficult to pay, please discuss this with our Village Manager.

Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village  insures the buildings (including carpets, floor coverings and fixed chattels).  You are responsible for insuring your own contents and personal effects, as well as your car if you have one.  You will also be responsible for the repair costs or excess on any insurance claim arising out of any wilful damage done by yourself or your guests to your villa, chattels or The Lifestyle Centre.

We are responsible for all the maintenance of your villa (excluding replacement of lightbulbs).  However, any repairs which are not attributable to fair wear and tear may be charged back to you.  This decision is solely at the discretion of the Village Manager.

The Occupation Rights Agreement can only be issued in the names of the resident/residents occupying the dwelling.  However, the funds used to purchase your villa can come from a Family Trust.  In this case, a separate Deed will be drawn up between the parties involved to legally identify where the funds came from, and where they are later to be distributed when your villa is sold.

As above, the Occupation Rights Agreement can only be issued in the names of the resident/residents occupying the dwelling.  To protect the village and other residents, your villa cannot be rented out to others.

Of course – this is your home.  Your family, grandchildren and friends are very welcome to stay with you for short periods of time.  However, they may not move in on a permanent basis without prior approval from the Village Manager.

You can entertain your family and friends in your home and your guests are more than welcome to use the facilities within The Lifestyle Centre, provided you are with them.

Yes, residents of Aspiring Lifestyle Retirement Village are entitled to priority access to care at the Aspiring Enliven Care Centre, providing that they qualify for residential aged care as assessed by the Needs Assessment Team AND that there is an availability at the AECC. For more information contact us to arrange a meeting with our in-house nurse to discuss your future needs.

Please note that there may be a waiting list for a bed at AECC. We are currently planning to expand the care centre by a further 12 beds.