Where You Might Want A Retirement Home

A friend and I were discussing and the thought of a retirement home came up.

First, why do we need such a place? Because old age homes may not be good enough in terms of care provided or maybe too expensive. Children may not live with parents. Parents (old) may not be able to live all alone. And hence this thought.

We tried to specify what might be needed in such a place. 

Since everyone would be old having arthritis, diabetes etc the place had to have medical facilities and ambulance should be available within 30 minutes and a good hospital should be available within an hour's drive. Of course other amenities like continuous availability of good water, electricity and Internet are also expected in that place.

For those who do not reside in India, this may come as a shock since these are expected to be present anywhere. Well these are present in major cities but may not be in interior India.

If 4 families were to get together - the idea being that they are available, in case of emergency, for each other, they could pool in and buy 1 ground (2400 sq ft) and construct small apartments for each.

Cost of construction being about Rs 2500/sq ft now, a small 1BHK 600 ft would perhaps cost about Rs 1,500,000. If there was a good location away from the metropolis but still within an hour distance from hospitals, 1 ground might cost Rs 50 lacs. Split 4 ways, the land cost might about Rs 1,500,000 including registration and other charges. Note that this is only the land cost. The construction cost of 2 flats in 1st floor (with ground floor for car parking) and 2 flats in 2nd floor would be about 1,500,000 per family as explained earlier. 

The total cost per family would be Rs 3,000,000 (about $50,000). And for that price each gets a small 1BHK apartment and equal share of a 2400 sq ft property (undivided share of 600 sq ft). Of course this does not include the cost of special interiors or of car etc.

One could just buy the land initially and postpone construction of the flats. Land price generally rises much much faster than construction cost. So this might be hedge against rising prices. Flats can be constructed at a later date when the families need to move to that place. All the families may have a home right now and have members working in the city. 


Would we be willing to spend Rs 3,000,000 for such a flat? And of course you have to manage your own maintenance, ensure that Metro (corporation) Water is available etc. What other environmental factors would we look for in such a flat?

1. As mentioned earlier - Hospital, ambulance, water, electricity, Internet etc.
2. Place being safe even at night. Proximity to local transport. 
3. There is no particular danger of flooding or other natural calamities.
4. That the property has all the necessary approvals from other government agencies. This would help apply for bank loans.
5. The plot is of a reasonable size that it will find buyer(s) when the decision is made to sell. 
6. That there is no fear of encroachment during the time the plot is vacant or when flats are unoccupied. 
7. That the people in the neighborhood are not hostile towards the communities to which the 4 families might belong.

Related to the above are other points with respect to dissolution (or dilution) of the 4 family units or other intrafamily issues which are listed below:

• Note that one or more of the 4 families might want to opt out at any time. Would there be buyers to buy one plot in a "society with only 4 flats". 
• What would the mechanics be when the 4 families consist of 3 members from the original four and a new family? Would this cause an issue?
• Considering that the flats will be in 1st and 2nd floor, how would we entice 2 families consider the 2nd floor should everyone want the 1st floor flat? Or, the other way around if the 2nd floor were to be more appealing than the 1st floor for any reason.
• Design and maintenance of common utilities such as:
• Garden, if any
• Sump
• Water purchase in summer and draining during monsoon