National Lifestyle Villages

NLV MANDURAH – I have lived in this village for 17 years. Which was great. We had lots of fun. And very social. But as of late. We are experiencing lots of issues in this village. Even down to managers doing 9am until 12. So we have no communication. I would not give a good repoir to others. As we feel we cannot have a voice . Would not recommend to others.

Solar Panel Limit – I just want to know if anyone else has come across a problem when installing solar panels in an NLV? We have been told that we are only allowed 2.2 kw, can anyone tell me the reasoning behind this? I know for a fact that there are many in this village that have way more than that! What a ridiculous ruling in the age of trying to save on electricity. ☹️☹️

Careful what you wish for – Our village has recently been taken over and it's been quite disappointing. They have made some cosmetic improvements and provided a few morning teas but overall they've made no attempts to improve the village experience. They quickly decided to allow pets without any consultation and without any policy in place. However, they haven't managed to… Read more

introduce measures to police the village rules and guidelines we all agree to when moving in. Overall our experience has been negative to date and we don't appear to have any avenue of complaint.

Beware of regular village policy changes – When we moved into Vibe Baldivis three years ago we had services included in our weekly rental such as regular green waste removal and skip bins twice a year for hard waste removal. While our weekly rental increases, services have been cancelled such as green waste collection. Originally we had green waste collected at our address weekly with no… Read more

limit. Some time later the policy changed and we were then restricted to 2 small bags weekly. As from November another policy change has seen property green waste collection cancelled . A twice yearly green bin will now be located some distance from the housing area making it difficult for some homeowners to use. Certainly not getting value for money here.

Best thing we've done! – We are loving the decision we made 18 months ago to move into Hillview Lifestyle Village. There are weekly fees, but pensioners receive rent assistance to contribute towards the cost. The facilities are great, and well maintained. It's like being on a cruise ship, you can do as much or as little as you like. There are always social activities,… Read more

sport etc., or you can just quietly chill in front of the fire in the winter room or walk through the garden and orchard. This is what you pay the fee for. Like any house you own, if you move out, you pay the fees until the property is re-sold. We love the security of a gated community, we have somewhere to store our van and can come and go as we please. The houses are yours to renovate as you choose, and there are no rules about bringing it back to a certain standard, as there can be in certain other retirement village models. (Though, of course, you'll get a better price if you renovate.) The fees were clearly explained to us, and we made an informed decision. While 15% may seem steep, there is no stamp duty on entry or selling commission on exit, so that immediately brings the cost down to 9%. And the price of the houses are cheaper compared to those where you pay for land, so it can free up capital as it has for us to pursue travel etc. I'm sorry to hear that other people have had a bad experience, but for us it is all positive. As always, do your own research, but there were no underhand tactics, or information withheld in our case. Highly recommend.

PLEASE read reviews and think carefully – Everyone should read the review Julie Barker put up a couple of months ago. I concur with all she said. I personally found that Management and Senior Management will NOT endorse the rules which THEY put in their village policies. They spoke to me as if I was an stupid, told me all sorts of " porkies" and generally did everything in their power not… Read more

to follow THEIR rules. Also, if you investigate, using your favorites search engine, you will find articles that state that the owners of Serenitas are looking to sell out. Buyer be ware, the company you are about to purchase a mobile home from is NOT who could be in charge when you move in.

Beware Of Exit Costs In These Villages – My mother lived in an NLV Village for several years until she passed away in 2017. As her executor, I placed her home for sale through the Village Manager. (Compulsory) Although NLV assure you there are no exit fees, they have a rent system called "deferred rent". What that means is you can elect to pay a slightly reduced weekly rent but enter… Read more

into a contract so when you sell, the "deferred rent" is taken out of the settlement for the home. The rates are 5% of the sell price if you sell in first 12 months after moving in, 10% if sold before 2 years after moving in & 15% thereafter. The term of "no exit fees" is misleading as it's replaced with "deferred rent". Whatever it's called it still becomes a fee for selling the home & pocketed by NLV. Most Lifestylers seem to be on this rental scheme.

In my mothers case, she purchased a very nice home for $250,000 & did a lot of external improvements like extra paving, landscaping & feature outdoor area. The home was marketed at $245,000 in 2017 after her death which was, I thought, a fair & reasonable price to attract a quick sale. No takers at that price so reduced it every few months hoping to attract a buyer. Still nothing & after 2 years on the market, finally had an offer of $180,000 which was accepted. So a $70,000 loss there PLUS NLV "deferred rent" fee of 10% of sale price ($18000 ) PLUS rent is still payable at the full rate from the time of my mother's death until date of sale. I will point out here too that my mother was receiving rent assistance from Centrelink which helped to offset the weekly NLV rental charge however when mum passed away, the rent assistance from Centrelink ceased but the estate was still being charged the full NLV rental rate until the home sold. In this case rent paid to NLV, even though the home was empty, amounted to approx $13,000 after her death. So $70,000 loss on the sale price of the home PLUS "deferred rent" fee of $18,000 PLUS rent of $13,000 until the unoccupied home sold meant an overall loss of $101,000. I will say at this stage, my mother was on a 10% deferred rent rate which was the maximum rate when she signed her contract with NLV. Now the rate is 15%.

Please, have any contract with NLV examined, in detail, by a solicitor before signing.

Do not move in here – My mother has just had to move out of a NLV village due to health issues, and lost over $100,000 on her property, from the village both discounting the other display homes to try and get others to move in causing the value of her home to plummet, as well as taking a very large 15% when leaving the village for ridiculous reasons. If you're… Read more

insistant on moving in, make sure that the terms and conditions are thoroughly read with a lawyer, who I am certain will talk you out of moving into any of these places. My mother bought her home for $400,000, and put an additional $20,000 into extras, such as solar panels, etc, and left with $260,000.