Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any experience with this non-profit or other communities (Evanston?) in the US? Not sure if this belongs in real estate. Parents are considering buying into this building and are looking for more information. The price tag is huge and you don’t own property and pay a large monthly fee. Parents like how it’s upscale. I’m struggling with the price tag but understand a lot is included. Anyone have experience with this developer/ operator?

No shortage of "upscale" apartments/condos in Tysons.

Not comparable to a CCRC in terms of services or amenities. Completely different types of housing.

Anonymous wrote:My mom moved into the Mather this past year. At first look and tour the place is AMAZING. The set up is immaculate, the spaces are wonderful. Unfortunately there are a few problems with it now that we've looked underneath the hood:

The Good:
People are nice
Space is wonderful
I like the step up care if necessary
Sunday brunch is amazing

The Bad:
Elevators are a mess. One elevator out for months in the first building and constantly out of service. This place has 27 floors with 10+ units per floors. 2 working elevators plus a service elevator out of service is not a good thing at all. Waiting for the elevator for a very long time
Valet is slow and inefficient at peak times. Not enough staff
Food is ok.
Health club--man issues here: Not enough staff to accommodate demand for stretching/core classes. Wait list is very long and their app doesn't alert if you come off the waitlist so you have to go down without knowing if you have a spot.
They keep the health club between 70-73 degrees when people are working out...that is incredibly hot for people who are exercising and they won't reduce the temperature at all.
They only have 1 IT person to help out everyone in the buildings..they need more than 1
The doorbells stopped working
When the wind blows the units whistle and it is not a soft whistle.

Huge red flag. Indicates both money problems and management problems.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any experience with this non-profit or other communities (Evanston?) in the US? Not sure if this belongs in real estate. Parents are considering buying into this building and are looking for more information. The price tag is huge and you don’t own property and pay a large monthly fee. Parents like how it’s upscale. I’m struggling with the price tag but understand a lot is included. Anyone have experience with this developer/ operator?

No shortage of "upscale" apartments/condos in Tysons.

I have a friend whose parents are there and they absolutely love it.

Anonymous wrote:so it is an investment?

No. That's just the buy-in fee. Common with CCRCs. You (well, most usually your heirs) typically receive a large percentage of it, but not all, back when you leave. It earns no interest, and don't benefit from subsequent price increases applied to future residents, so you effectively lose money.

That said, these types of environments can be very supportive at a certain stage of life, and it's not like you'd be living cost-free elsewhere even if you own your home outright now - you still pay RE taxes and have maintenance and repairs to deal with, without the amenities offered by many CCRCs.

Not an investment that will grow. The Mather gets all the real estate appreciation and the total amount is due before move in, so it's not like a mortage.

90 percent of the entrance fee refunded upon move out

so it is an investment?

Found these on their website:

Apartment Home Sizes
Starting from 850 square feet up to 3,300 square feet.
Average apartment home is approximately 1,500 square feet.

Entrance Fee
Starting at $727,300 up to $5+ million.†
90% refundable investment with guaranteed refund within a maximum of 180 days after move-out.

My mom moved into the Mather this past year. At first look and tour the place is AMAZING. The set up is immaculate, the spaces are wonderful. Unfortunately there are a few problems with it now that we've looked underneath the hood:

The Good:
People are nice
Space is wonderful
I like the step up care if necessary
Sunday brunch is amazing

The Bad:
Elevators are a mess. One elevator out for months in the first building and constantly out of service. This place has 27 floors with 10+ units per floors. 2 working elevators plus a service elevator out of service is not a good thing at all. Waiting for the elevator for a very long time
Valet is slow and inefficient at peak times. Not enough staff
Food is ok.
Health club--man issues here: Not enough staff to accommodate demand for stretching/core classes. Wait list is very long and their app doesn't alert if you come off the waitlist so you have to go down without knowing if you have a spot.
They keep the health club between 70-73 degrees when people are working out...that is incredibly hot for people who are exercising and they won't reduce the temperature at all.
They only have 1 IT person to help out everyone in the buildings..they need more than 1
The doorbells stopped working
When the wind blows the units whistle and it is not a soft whistle.

MAther lifeways is a not for profit CCRC

https://www.epl.org/community-organizations-directory/25152/mather-lifeways/

Oh my goodness, I thought this was a.org (I've been looking at CCRCs lately as part of some financial planning and my head is melting)

I would not consider a for-profit. Period.

Read the fine print. They do not have a resident council with any teeth, so your parents would be subject to the whims of the private investors. Maybe a nice place to live while you are healthy in your 50s and 60s, but the bylaws are not set up to accommodate the aging in place needs of someone in their 70s or older. For that type of living arrangement, you need a CARF accredited non-profit CCRC.

This is supposed to be very upscale. My mom may consider it but a lot of her friends with $$$ are definitely considering it.

Anonymous wrote:Anyone have any experience with this non-profit or other communities (Evanston?) in the US? Not sure if this belongs in real estate. Parents are considering buying into this building and are looking for more information. The price tag is huge and you don’t own property and pay a large monthly fee. Parents like how it’s upscale. I’m struggling with the price tag but understand a lot is included. Anyone have experience with this developer/ operator?

Not with this operator, but a good CCRC is going to be expensive because it's very labor-intensive to run one well. And your parents are smart to look for a nonprofit.

Anyone have any experience with this non-profit or other communities (Evanston?) in the US? Not sure if this belongs in real estate. Parents are considering buying into this building and are looking for more information. The price tag is huge and you don’t own property and pay a large monthly fee. Parents like how it’s upscale. I’m struggling with the price tag but understand a lot is included. Anyone have experience with this developer/ operator?