‘Good service doesn’t cost anything, it’s a state of mind’

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Good service doesn’t cost anything, it’s a state of mind says Gus van der Spek, developer of upmarket retirement village Wytham Estate. Van der Spek was saying this in reference to ways in which existing senior living centres and retirement villages can make their facilities more social. The AVIEW property developer, tells the OFM Business Hour, that the social element in retirement villages via knitting and bridge programmes, are an antedote to the isolation that senior citizens can feel in their later years – especially on the back of Covid-19. And it doesn’t have to cost much to add this social element.

Gus says the rising interest in retirement villages and senior living centres are a global phenomenon. He attributes this to the economic prosperity experienced by the baby boomer generation as well as advancements in medical technology that have seen the modern day elderly man/woman live longer. The modern day retiree needs this type of facility in their later years.

Previously van der Spek, was on the business hour to explain the differences between life rights and sectional titles.

According to him life rights “buys you the right to live in a home in a retirement facility and gives the holder of the right the security of tenure for the rest of their life”. He says life rights straddle a lease agreement and home ownership and as a result there are no transactional costs involved. Furthermore, there is a bouquet of services available in a life rite situation versus sectional title situation. He says sectional titles “refer to ownership of a unit within a complex or development. This differs from a full title, which is where full ownership rights, including the land upon which the property is built, are purchased”. There is a greater responsibility and as a result services levies need to be paid.

You can relisten to that podcast here on the sound of your life: https://www.ofm.co.za/article/business/304727/-ofmbusinesshour-sectional-titles-vs-life-rights-d
13 Jan 2022 11AM English South Africa Business · Daily News

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