Retirement Community Alert…North and South Carolina

One of my subscribers was nice enough to share what he found on a recent trip visiting coastal retirement communities in North Carolina and South Carolina, and I'd like to share it with you.

What you see is not always what you get!

At home, he found himself looking at brochures  of planned communities showing pictures of green bucolic landscapes with happy couples biking on pristine trails, but that wasn't the case when he got to some of the communities.

He wrote me, "Many of them are nothing more than dirt fields with very little infrastructure (roads, lighting, drainage, etc.) installed".

And due to the economy, many retirement communities are only half full.

This is all over, not only in the Carolinas.

North Carolina and South Carolina are still considered in the best places to live for value, lifestyle, and affordability.

I'm just reminding you to be careful and do your homework, now more than ever. I've always told you, "A picture is worth a thousand words, but a visit to a retirement community you're considering in North Carolina and South Carolina, is worth a thousand pictures".

Once you've narrowed down the town you're interested in, you must go kick the tires in person, and talk to the residents.

These subscribers are certainly glad they did!

Buying in a retirement community in the Carolinas at a "good price" is not a "good price", if the amenities, infrastructure, and site work are never finished or maintained, and the community is half empty, because you'll never attain the "value" you thought you were getting from this "good price".

Before you go visit any retirement or planned communities anywhere, you need to ask the right questions. Such questions like, "How many houses can be built? "How many houses are built? How many are occupied? How many are under construction? How many lots are sold? How many houses are scheduled to be built over the next year? What price did the last house or lot sell for?"

Again, do your homework!

For more questions and things to watch out for, go to my previous blog post of October 31, 2008, and also read my Report, "28 Things You Must Know When Choosing a Planned Community".

A Big Thank You to the subsciber who took the time to write and let me know what he found, so it can benefit everyone.

Let us know what you're finding by clicking the Comment button below.