What are we going to talk about today Tina - We are going to tell you how to find
a retirement apartment and we're going to give you 10 tips that we have learnt
- That's fantastic before we get into that if you're new to our channel we're Norm and Tina
and we talk all things retirement and we would really encourage you if you like what you see on
our videos to subscribe to our channel anyway that's enough of the housekeeping business
what do we have for number 1 Tina - One of the most important things that we've learned is
to rent from a corporation like a corporate landlord because they have systems in place
- They do indeed and they're also law abiding they know the the rental acts and their price
increases conform to the law you really don't want to be renting from a private individual who's
inventing as they go along - You feel confident because they've done it before and -They're
extremely professional they have a building manager living on site so it's highly
recommended look for a reputable corporation in whatever town you're going to be looking at
so number 2 is another thing that we think is pretty important is the age of the building
when we moved into our apartment Tina it was 10 years old - Yes and we felt good with that didn't
we we felt comfortable that it wasn't too old and everything still looked really good
- The carpet still looked new they did an extremely good job of repainting from the previous tenant
so it was all freshly painted carpet steam cleaned - Yeah it was perfect wasn't it when we moved in - So it
looked like a brand new apartment the building isn't tired it's now getting on for
13 or 14 years old - Yes that's true - And they've just undergone a maintenance program in the
hallways they've just repainted all the hallways including the parking garage hallway so it's now
bright they've also improved the lighting so it's brighter - It looks great doesn't - It's fantastic
what do we have for number 3 - Decide how many bedrooms the square footage you
want before you go shopping we wanted two bedroom two bathrooms and we wanted
it to feel like our home so we felt comfortable around square 1300 square feet - The main thing
we didn't want to be shoehorned into an apartment of 600 to 800 sq feet in a downtown
major city so our apartment is about 1340 square feet and it feels just like a bungalow
- Yeah it's great doesn't it - we felt we needed in suite as they call in suite laundry we
had been to apartment buildings and they had a laundry room where everybody went to do their
laundry coin-op and it just felt wrong - Yeah it didn't feel right did it not only you
had to go down to do your laundry but then it cost you money every time you went to do the laundry
but the other thing that was really important to us I would say along with that
is the indoor parking and - Especially for us in Canada where it snows a lot it's cold and ice
so indoor parking was a biggie for us - It was and not only that if you're in a place where
it's say incredibly hot there's the other thing that we noticed when we were in Portugal that
cars get scorched by the heat - You see the clear coat peeling off the cars - So it works whether
you're in hot or cold - And it's also a lot easier to unload your groceries in a parking garage and
bring them in rather than struggling through the front door of an apartment building through
snow filled parking lots - And one thing I'd say on that too Norm is that to get
one of these shopping trolleys because people might think they're for old people
there for anybody it makes it so much easier - I forgot we're old now - Well we're getting there
the other thing that we really wanted along with that I would say is a big balcony
- Yes we did, - To us it gives us a complete extra outside room to our apartment - Our
balcony is 36 feet wide - It's huge isn't it, we have a little bistro set out there and we have a
barbecue it's great it's our own outdoor space and now we got a lovely new conversational set last
year didn't we so we're going to be all set - All comfy and we spend a lot of time on the
balcony in the summertime - That's another thing that you really should consider do you
like it hot or cold so therefore - I'm a hot person
- Well some people like it cold too Norm but you should consider do you want to be south or west
facing because that's really important we're very fortunate because we are west facing and we get
beautiful sunsets - We have windows on one side of the apartment - So it is important, - Do
you want to face east and north and be cooler have the morning sun or do you want to be west
or south and have the afternoon sun and those gorgeous sunsets that Tina loves so much
- And also one thing is consider if you want to be on a higher floor if you're looking for a view
make sure you're on a higher floor, - There's some people in our building that came in here
right from when it was brand new - So they could pick which apartment - There are trees outside
there's a lake view and they could see the lake yeah well they can't do anymore
- And they said that just didn't occur to them at the time, we are fortunate we're on the 8th floor
so we get a great view - So if there's a view get a higher floor and if there's fast-growing pine
trees then go a little bit higher than they are to - But another point there are some people that
might like the first floor because they classify it as the ground apartment to some
people it will make it feel just like the house that we're in - Because you walk out your patio
doors you've got a little patio area there, the grass is there so it's just like having your
backyard - Yeah - And that comes with a cost that some people don't think about
- No and we are going to tell you that because the first floor is on top of the underground
parking garage - Which is unheated - And it is cold so everybody down on the first floor
is a lot colder than all of us higher up - Your floor could be a lot colder and
and subsequently your apartment you do want to be careful about things like that unheated spaces
under your apartment could be cold in winter so number 7 location is it safe to walk from your
apartment building we like to go for a walk about an hour a day it's good exercise, keeps
us in the fresh air so is the location of the apartment safe, is it safe to walk from or do
you have to get in the car and drive - Yeah that's very true - So we are fortunate we have a rural
area that we can walk right to and there's trails through the trees and we feel extremely
safe - And another thing that we looked at that was important to us is the fitness facilities
we found out that some apartments had more than others, we started to think that it was a
really good idea to have a swimming pool - Well it's one of your favourite things isn't it Tina - It is
what we did find was that along with the pool was a sauna, gym which Norm you use the
gym and what people maybe don't think of is that this can become part of your daily routine can't
it - It can it adds so much more value to the property having these on site we can walk there
we don't have to drive to a swimming pool or gym we don't have to buy a membership to a
swimming pool or gym and it's added a lot to the quality of life so the other thing that I
test apartment buildings is when you get off the elevator - Norms test
- And you walk in the halls can you smell food cooking that turns me off really
you know you're walking along and you can smell the roast beef and what have you
our building you can't, you can't smell that so that tells us the ventilation system in this
building is superior to other apartment buildings that when we were shopping for an apartment
we could see and we have our own furnace inside the apartment so we can turn the heat on if it's
cold or turn it off if it isn't - Yeah and then it becomes the air conditioning in the summer
doesn't it - Number 10 Ending on here this is the first time we've ever lived in an apartment and
in fact the house that we sold was the first time we ever lived in a bungalow so there's
been a lot of first's but coming to the apartment we decided we would give ourselves a chance
to settle in so we're suggesting give yourselves at least 6 months before you turn negative on the
experience because it is a big change - It is - And you do have to adapt to it - Yeah don't just kind
of say after two months oh this is awful we need to leave give yourself time to enjoy it
and actually we sort of got used to it a lot quicker than what some people in the building did
- We're not saying it's an old folks home it isn't, it's not designed as an old people's home it's an
apartment but the other thing that Tina sort of talked about was try and find out what the
demographics of the apartment building is, 60 or 70 percent of people in this building are retired
and the other portion are still actively working - And really the superintendents who are looking
after the buildings, they should be able to tell you that because they're the ones that
have rented it out to everybody and they know the age of people and it's great - So that's it for us
on choosing the right retirement apartment for you and downsizing, thanks for watching - And
we hope everybody is staying safe and keeping well - And we'll see on the next video bye bye, bye