Many people put off moving to a retirement village because they don’t like to be thought of as old or retired, says Greeff Properties development director, Heather Cape.

“As some of them see it, moving into a retirement village is tantamount to announcing that you are nearing the end of your life,” she says.

“However, many retirement complexes accept people as young as 55 and most of those who move in initially continue to go to work. Residents of retirement projects are some of the most active, lively people in Cape Town. They travel two or three times a year, they play tennis and golf, they walk, they climb mountains.

Greeff Properties is marketing Riverside Gardens in Diep River and Cape says the great benefit of a medium sized complex like this is that it gives residents the chance to meet people with similar interests.

“Surveys have shown that a fair number of those moving into retirement complexes as single people actually end up partnering or marrying one of the other residents,” says Cape.

“Many potential buyers still think the life right system deprives their heirs of the wealth they might inherit – something most of them desperately wish to avoid. But this s way off the mark. In all the well run schemes like Riverside Place and Riverside Gardens, heirs are paid back the full price paid plus 25% of the enhanced value. This is a good deal when you take into account that the buyer is not responsible for maintaining the property.”

From the viewpoint of the buyers’ family, says Cape, one of the huge advantages of a retirement complex is that residents will be cared for quickly if something goes wrong, for instance in case of accidents or serious health setbacks such as a heart attacks or strokes.

“In certain retirement schemes these days the panic activator is attached to the resident’s wrist (or worn around the neck) and can be used to summon up aid at a few moments notice. Compare this to the total anonymity which many residents experience in sectional title or conventional housing where they can go for as much as a week without talking to their neighbours and where certainly their absence would never be noticed.”