At Your Service

Although the UK is a nation of proud home owners, more and more people are realising that this is a sensible and cost-effective means of enjoying a comfortable retirement.
Peverel have been managing private retirement property since 1982 and have built up unique experience and knowledge. They manage retirement developments built by McCarthy & Stone, Pegasus and other leading builders. They are founders and leading members of the Association of Retirement Housing Managers (ARHM). The Association is committed to high standards and ethics in the management of private retirement housing.

Keith Edgar, Managing Director, Peverel Management Services comments, “We have grown to become the leading manager of privately owned residential retirement developments in the UK by helping residents enjoy the best years of their lives. Allowing people to live independently for as long as possible in a friendly and secure environment is at the heart of our operation.”

Many people are surprised when they first encounter private retirement housing as it appears very similar to any good quality residential block. Many Peverel retirement developments have been purpose built and the key features that distinguish them are communal areas such as lounge and laundry, guest suite, Careline emergency call response service and the presence of a House Manager at the development during working hours, whose role is to ensure the smooth running and act as a reassuring good neighbour to residents.

The provision of these additional services in some respects make the management of retirement property far more involved than an unmanned residential block and is perhaps more similar to one offering a concierge service. The House Manager is very much at the centre of the development and it is vital that they are properly trained and that all management services support this role. Successful management requires knowledge, experience, communication and consultation that combine to make a happy retirement development.

The retirement housing market has a bright future with the continuing expansion of the market. Customers will undoubtedly demand more choice on what’s on offer.
For older retirees we have recently seen the popularity of assisted living retirement developments really take off. As well as the features found on typical retirement housing it includes additional services of an on-site restaurant food service providing an optional midday meal, house keeping team, personal care team along with the presence of a 24 hour management team. We are managing increasing numbers of these schemes.

Another popular choice is Holiday Retirement’s gracious retirement living facilities that are akin to a luxury hotel; for a simple cost-effective monthly rental, there is a choice of studios, one and two bedroom apartments with the benefits of three waiter/waitress served meals each day, daily activities, an air-conditioned coach, weekly housekeeping, a gym, library, and beauty salon with an on-site management team.

For the younger or newly retired there are some interesting concepts of age-restrictive developments that offer modern, environmentally friendly and high quality accommodation with excellent security and a range of fabulous features, such as tennis courts and swimming pools - designed to enable support services to be brought in as and when required.

Retirement villages also look set to become established in the UK and will offer something for all retirees whatever their age. These will be substantial developments located on 10-12 acre sites that will include a range of leasehold property as well as nursing facilites, providing high level support, a convenience shop, communal restaurant that can also cater for special functions along with leisure facilities such as a bowls green and a village transport service.

Using technology found in the latest Careline emergency call response systems will allow all sorts of assistive technology, sometimes referred to as telecare, to be brought into the home to support independent living and wherever possible avoid the considerable expense of a stay in a care home or hospital. Devices range from pendants and pull chords that offer an enhanced way to summon assistance to pill dispensers and vital signs monitoring.

Peverel’s sister company Peverel OM has recently successfully launched its customer focused Avenue website across it entire portfolio of residential developments. Avenue website provides leaseholders with account-specific information and a secure payment channel, scheme information, documents, all at the click of a button as well as the option to receive text or email messages with important development specific information. This type of technology will become increasingly important as more retirement home residents become ‘silver surfers’. We are already investigating how the system could also be adapted to allow families and friends to stay in touch.

The management challenge
From a management perspective the expectations of retired residents are definitely increasing, many are extremely proactive and they have plenty of time on their hands. We have tried to channel this energy by working together with residents’ associations and residents’ forums to improve our service.
Peverel Management Services have developed additional services to support retirement housing. These include a homesearch service for buyers and sellers and an insurance service. Kingsborough insurance services offers a specially designed home contents policy exclusively for people living in retirement housing allowing highly competitive rates as it can take into account the additional security features.

Some residents have been living in retirement property for over 20 years and the average length of ownership is now over 10 years. With interest rates at historically low levels and Council Tax rises many residents have expressed their concerns about how they will continue to fund retirement. The industry is looking at options such as interest only mortgages, equity release and different forms of legal tenure to provide solutions.

Keith Edgar is Managing Director,
Peverel Management Services Limited
www.peverelmanagement.co.uk