James Hall, aged 66 years, loves the quiet life at Homelake House retirement development in Poole, Dorset where he rents an apartment through My Future Living.
After being forced to leave his long-term rental home in June this year, James knows this won’t happen again as he is now on an assured tenancy agreement with My Future Living.
Originally from Glasgow, James has spent most of his life living in England as a London Underground station manager.
Despite years in the profession, James took early retirement at the age of 55.
In retirement, James moved from his home in Chesham, Buckinghamshire to Christchurch, Dorset where he lived for 10 years in a spacious apartment.
However, James was then given notice by his landlord and advised he had a month to move out which he describes as being a tough time.
He said, “I didn’t want to leave my home of 10 years but knew I needed to find somewhere fast. The pressure was on, but I didn’t want to make a rush decision and end up having to go through it all again in a few years.”
After seeing an advert for retirement apartment offered for rent by My Future Living in nearby Poole – a place he had always wanted to live, he immediately booked a visit.
He said, “When I first saw the development, I was struck by how well looked after it was, and it reminded me of being in a hotel lobby. The communal areas were clean, freshly painted and nicely decorated. I was even more impressed when I saw the apartment was also in the same immaculate condition.”
As a single man, James enjoys all the social aspects of life at Homelake House as there is so much going on.
He told us, “I have a calendar of activities on my wall which range from exercise classes, fish and chip and film evenings to bingo. You can’t ever be bored or lonely here.”
James moved into his new one-bedroom flat in July before his hip operation and said: “My Future Living was really accommodating as they knew my predicament. I needed to be out of my flat, re-settled and unpacked before my hip operation. They made the whole procedure painless and easy – unlike my hip operation!”
The entire process, from viewing the flat and getting the keys, James was moved in and unpacked in four weeks.
Moving house can be unsettling and time consuming and James is relieved to know he won’t ever have to do it again.
On an assured tenancy, he has protection from eviction and can stay for as long as he wishes yet may give the required notice and leave at any time if he wants to.
James also talks about the benefits of renting in a retirement development as opposed to general renting, saying, “Here you do not have to worry about loud music, inconsiderate neighbours, car parking issues, or noise. It is very quiet and in the evening after 9pm, you can hear a pin drop. Also, with the 24 hour emergency system you have constant peace of mind that you could get help at any time.”
James concludes: “I won’t ever be moving from here and being evicted from my last home was the best thing that could have happened to me. I know now I am here for good, and I could not be happier about that.”
To find out more about renting a home in a retirement development visit: www.myfutureliving.co.uk
My Future Living has over 1800 properties to rent in developments across the UK. Rents start from £650per calendar month.
The landlord pays the service charges and ground rent which includes the 24 hour emergency call systems, onsite manager, gardens and communal lounge maintenance, buildings insurance, lift maintenance and often water rates. So the tenant simply pays rent and utility bills (including council tax).
