What would your perfect home base look like?

First question and most important.

Where will it be.

In answer to yours Workshop is only requirement and room for large van.

Most retirement villages offer all of these facilities.

This sounds like a manufactured homes village sometimes known as a lifestyle village.

For more info see http://www.mhiansw.com.au/index.php

For the legislation that covers them see http://www.mhiansw.com.au/content/legislation.php Thisi s for NSW, for other states similar legislation applies.

As was stated above, one of the important features is a compound for trailers (boats,caravans etc.) These are generally free when provided, saves $50 - 250 per month if you live in any other style of community..

PeterD

By golly you're trying it on!

I think theres a Tin man site just next store. Buggar off!

Kim

Some 40 years away before I'd be looking at that sort of arrangement. If I did I'd definately want a flat, double width driveway, 'drive through' van/motorhome storage,next to my 'unit'. Make it as easy as possible. Drive in,get out,walk away.
I'd want my pride and joy parked right where I could see it, and not have to cart stuff to a 'van storage area' from home.

There is a similar place at Beachmere north of Brisbane, it's a over 50's retirement village, they have Caravan Storage on site, when you want to go on a trip the staff get your van out and you pack it and go on your trip ect, when you return they park it in the storage site, and also while you are away on your trip they maintain your Unit, and have your unit aired and prepaired for when you return, but there is a Fee for all this, I would rather keep our home and stay out of those GODS WAITING ROOM type of things, anyway when I get to that stage inlife and can't park the van ect I'll just drive my little scooter down the road and go fishing with my esky lol lol.

Cheers

This leaves plenty of room for change,
1.Drive through van parking, next to unit pref under a a carport?
2. storage shed and laundry/ small unit. (1 bedroom)
3. The ability to be able to live in you're van on site.

That is my thoughts as to personal requirements, outside that you would need some community based activities.

Regards Bushy.

What specifically are you looking to do that isn’t simply a slight variation on what is currently available?

There are other examples of this type of themed living concept such as aircraft communities with airstrips and taxi-ways to the front door. Golfing communities are another example; however these rarely come cheap because of the ‘special interest’ provisions and never fit into the low cost model.

Many retirement villages are already built around the ‘low cost model’ to enable people to have somewhere to live and at the same time to get back capital from existing housing they might own. And someone has cited examples around Brisbane and Bribie Island. There are many of them.

And whilst not knocking the concept, I can’t help but feel you will only be tinkering at the edges of an already proven model and anything you add to this model to make it more specific for ‘travellers’ will simply add cost. How much extra are people willing to pay to have the van next to the house given you are pushing a ‘low cost model?

For example, having a van parked next to your abode will most likely require more land use, as will the road widening required to enable access and turning space etc. If you look at the current ‘low cost model’ for retirement villages it is all about land use and the income it can produce. Once you start changing that the cost will go up, putting you at a price/cost disadvantage.

Good luck out there……

It could be interesting if there was a chain of these and you could move between them.
I think you would need to divide it up into areas with razor wire fencing between Nissan/Toyota and Waeco/Engel owners

Our perfect Base :-)

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This subject is on the top of things to consider in a few years for our retirement. At the moment we have a four bedroom home on a 1/4 acre with an in ground pool. Not some thing to just lock up and go travelling for six months or more. Plus I believe that if your home is unattended for more than three months your insurance is null and void. An MHP has management in place that would be over come I would think.
So may be a MHP (manufactured home park) is the place to live, but for me the one thing that I would not be able to do would be to work/ service my own vehicle so I would need a garage, with hoist etc LOL. But other than that it would not be a problem for us.

you may like to have a look at the casino motor home village.

we stayed there for a couple of days as casuals in a caravan not that long ago

and were made welcome.

they have just about have all the bells and wistles.

I think one of the setbacks to these types of investments is that, there are undoubtedly hidden agendas that aren't up front.

Rarely does someone come along with an idea to provide grey nomads more opportunity to travel and enjoy their retirement years - no one is that noble.

Most investors want a quick fast buck or outrageous return on their investment.

We see the result "Schemes" designed to divest retirees of their lifetimes work and savings investment in their own home, so that the kids and rightful heirs don't get it.

These days we are too politically correct to call such people and schemes for what they really are - swindles!

They usually involve some kinda scheme to get the pensioners homes for a song - just before the swindlers wife / brother etc on the local council has all that land re zoned for multiple occupancy or whatever.

Next, the retirement village is a small "pokey" home on a handkerchief of land that the retirees never own, and the "cost" of living there (with no gardens or upkeep responsibilities) is some kinda draw down reverse mortgage where the longer the oldies live, the less equity they have in their investment in just the bricks and mortar are worth, and the more %age of it, the retirement home owns.

Sure the retirees get into a new home with low maintenance - but the cost is to disinherit their kids, and that after all was the whole "unstated" premise of the development in the first place.

So,

In answer to the question, the FIRST requirement - would be that whatever the investment/development, it be in "freehold green title to the land and improvements" that are designed to increase in capital value over time.

Forget any schemes to get people to give you their lifetimes works savings in their home, in return for you freeing up a little capital for them to travel more.

Realise that not that many people in Australia are idiots.

Next,

Obviously somewhere out of the weather to store their van and boats etc, and workshops - yes.

One thing I have noticed (I have elderly parents in just such a retirement village as described with everything - library pool bowling green etc etc), and these joint use faculities largely aren't used or are way under utilized.

Why? because the small "bogan element" of retirees take them over and hog the facilities - set up little cliques where others can't feel comfortable using them and so on.

Different story when you have you own home land house workshop and sheds and pool etc - use it whenever you like - not so at the retirement village.

What do most grey nomads look for when they travel?

Sure nice scenery, etc are important but MOSTLY they form small communities in which they feel "safe" and away from the pressures of the city and society. Theres a few of these places up north in WA where the grey nomads go to get away from winter.

Cleaverville just out of Dampier / Karratha in WA rings a bell. (Balla Balla is another and 80 mile beach yet another).

Grey nomads been going there every year for decades - little defacto retirement villages for 6 months of the year to escape winter down south.
They all know each other - they all go there every year and catch up with old friends.

Eventually word spreads and there's so many of them, the local shire have to move in for health sake and set up proper toilet facilities - gravel parking areas, rubbish bins and a collection service etc etc...and send in a ranger to collect fees to pay for it all, and before you know it - the very thing they went there to escape from, (rangers, local govt and fees etc) destroys the reason they went there (to get away from all that).

So they go somewhere else remote and start again!

Or

Less desirable sorts find the place and problems erupt with excessive noise or drunken behavior, and worse theft of gear - and again the grey nomads move on, looking for their particular form of utopia.

What are they really looking for?

A sense of old fashioned community where all the neighbors knew each other and looked out for each other.

Get together s' - for a cuppa and a BBQ etc.

I used to see em all the time camped at Balla Balla, some been going there 20 years or more and staying up to 3 months at a time. Nice ol people - would always stop for a chat etc -they would keep an eye on our vehicle for us (while we were on the island).

Then either young people with noisy quads and motorbikes or loud music noise would arrive, stuff would get stolen and the oldies would be gone...

They would tootle off to somewhere else quiet (usually 80mile beach).

So - they need communal facilities that everyone is welcome at - maybe a community campers kitchen for the spit on a sheep night friday night and camp oven tuessday night etc.

Place that does that REALLY well - Nanga station in shark bay!

Yes, a nice "home base" would be great for those grey nomads who want a rest from traveling for sure, but getting it right so that it fits a fiscal model where banks will finance it means it almost has to be some kinda scam to disenfranchise pensioners of their lifetimes savings / super and pension, or the banks simply won't back it.

The banks know that the country's screwed fiscally and that the retiree / baby boomers are the only ones with any money left - they will do anything to get their mits on it just as govt is looking for ways to do same - so unless your scheme can pull that off, then the banks won't look at financing it.

Any pensioner/superannuated retiree - worth a few bucks, didn't get that way by falling for schemes such as it sounds like your proposing.

Any other sort of a benevolent variety that they would like, will send you broke!

How many old retirees bought permanent vans at van parks for retirement - so the could put their equity into superannuation for a good lifestyle into retirement, only to later find out, that the lands so valuable, that now they are being forced out, so the owners can develop the land into a beach front resort etc and at the same time the investment gurus looking after their super didn't foresee the stock market crash, and as a result have lost most of their retirement funds as well?

Most of them got screwed both ways - coming and going!

It remains a bit if a "truism" that about the ONLY thing banks and the govt have trouble screwing you out of these days, is your own bricks and mortar home.

It's about the only thing left that our old laws still protect (property / ownership).

Anything else you invest into for retirement is dodgy at best.

Good luck with it... I reckon in this fiscal climate, you'll need all the help you cam get - Grey nomads are rightfully VERY skeptical of any such scams these days.

Cheers