Active Aging

Sunday, October 24, 2021 | Special Advertising Section 1 R 8 ACTIVE AGING Provided by Village Cooperative When Virginia King’s husband died in 2018, she was suddenly faced with downsizing her home and, like many se- niors, decided to move to a retirement community. “I wanted a place that was maintenance-free,” she says. “The added bonus of the great people who will be my neighbors is everything I want in my future living arrange- ment.” King is one of a grow- ing number of Washing- ton state seniors who are sold on age-restricted cooperative communities. Co-op senior housing for active adults, age 62+, has been around since the early 1970s, but mainly in the Midwest. It’s only come to Washington state in the past few years. “Many of our owner- members tell us they felt isolated in their previous house and find the social opportunities here to be a wonderful benefit,” says Kate Grant, sales man- ager for Village Coopera- tive of Puyallup. “They want the housing value and amenities we offer, without the hassles of traditional homeowner- ship.” Village Cooperative in Puyallup features 57 spacious units and is cur- rently under construc- tion. It’s 75% sold, which speaks to the demand, and another Village Cooperative commu- nity is being planned for Olympia. Co-op or condo? If downsizing and reducing home-main- tenance are part of your aging game plan, investing in a home in an age- Village Cooperative of Puyallup is a community for active adults 62+ who want home ownership with no maintenance in a secure setting. The coop- erative offers a worry-free lifestyle with financial ben- efits that traditional senior condos or apartments cannot provide. Is a co-op retirement community right for you? restricted independent- living development fits right in with that strategy. But how do you choose the right community? “Many people know what condos are, but they aren’t as familiar with co- ops,” says Grant. “They tend to think they are the same, and that’s definitely not the case.” Both condos and co-ops are multiunit structures that include ownership of commonly used property, but that’s where the similarities end. When you buy a condo, you own the unit. A co-op owner is a shareholder in the entire building. An equity share allows the owner to own a home. How cooperative retirement communi- ties work Think of your hous- ing community — the buildings and land — as a corporation. Each resident buys stock in this corporation and becomes a shareholder. Becoming a resident/shareholder re- quires two primary costs: the equity share purchase — which is a one-time payment based on the size and location of the home — and the monthly fee for operating ex- penses. The value of this equity share increases in a predictable way, appreci- ating at a set percentage (3% for Village Coopera- tive) for every year that members live in the com- munity. This keeps the units affordable for new residents and decreases the selling time. There’s also an execu- tive board, elected by and made up of residents, that makes sure the bylaws are followed, as well as the rules that vary from com- munity to community. “All residents have one vote regardless of the size of their home,” says Grant. “And all residents are owners, unlike some condos. This means there is likely more pride taken in their community.” Is senior co-op living for you? An Ohio State Univer- sity study on senior coop- erative housing found that the majority of residents felt a positive effect on their lives in the following areas: • Ease of maintaining a home (93%) • Ability to live indepen- dently (84%) • Personal safety (82%) • Life satisfaction (80%) • Access to activities and entertainment (77%) • Happiness (77%) • Amount of contact with friends (77%) • Personal privacy (67%) • Physical health (63%) “What drew me espe- cially was the mainte- nance-free living,” says new Village Cooperative of Puyallup owner Barb B. “What occurred to me later was sense of com- munity.” PHOTOS COURTESY OF VILLAGE COOPERATIVE OF PUYALLAP Shared spaces for socializing offer cooperative residents attractive options for get-togethers. A co-op owner is a shareholder in the entire building. What’s your pleasure? Here are some ameni- ties to ask about when checking out a senior community. • Community area with full kitchen • Fitness room • Reading areas • Workshop • Laundry in each home • Guest rooms • Indoor, heated parking • Outdoor raised-bed gardens • Maintenance of common areas and home appliances • Special-interest groups and other social activities