Serviced Apartments

Frequently Asked Questions

Village General

Q:		*What are all the relevant pieces of legislation that I should be aware of?*
		The documents that you should be familiar with are: *Retirement Villages Act 2003* The purpose of the Retirement Villages Act is to protect the interests of Residents and intending Residents of Retirement Villages. *Retirement Villages Code of Practice 2006* The Code of Practice was written for people who own, manage, oversee or live in Retirement Villages. The purpose of the code was to set out the requirements that the operator of the Retirement Village must carry out, or make sure are carried out to meet their legal obligations under the Retirement Villages Act 2003. The Code of Practice was declared invalid by the High Court during December 2007. Our expectation is that terms of a new Code of Practice will be settled this year. *Occupation Rights Agreement (ORA)* The ORA outlines your rights as a Resident of the Village. *Disclosure Statement* The Disclosure Statement contains information relating to our Village including ownership, management and supervision, development plans, actual and average time taken to onsell any vacant units, services and facilities offered and any new services and facilities planned. It also contains details about the cost structure and maintenance provisions. The Retirement Villages Act provides that you must obtain legal advice before you sign an Occupation Rights Agreement. You will consequently be able to rely on your lawyer to assist you with the above documents.
Q:		*What is the history of the Village?*
		The development of Pakuranga Park Village began in 1984. The Village as it exists today was completed in 1993. The Village is one of the country’s largest and longest standing Villages. We consequently offer the security of a Village free of development debt and a long history of service within the retirement Village industry. In this regard we are happy to refer you to our Residents’ Committee for an independent critique.
Q:		*Who owns and operates the Village?*
		The Village is owned and operated by Villages of New Zealand (Pakuranga) Limited (VONZ). VONZ owns and operates the Village as trustee for the Pakuranga Park Village Trust, a non charitable trading trust established in 1984.
Q:		*Are there any plans for future development?*
		Yes. A new development is planned for commencement early 2008. This will comprise 39 new self service apartments and a new community complex. This development will be an extension of the existing Lodge Building. It is likely that the new communal facilities will replace those in the existing Community Centre. A decision in this regard will be made when the Lodge extension is complete.
Q:		*Do you have a Residents’ Committee? How is it run?*
		Yes. The Village does have a Residents’ Committee and a Residents’ Association. The Residents’ Association is governed by rules agreed by the Residents. The Residents elect the Residents’ Committee. The Residents’ Committee meets monthly to discuss issues put to it by Residents. Management attend Resident Committee meetings on request. We also hold three meetings each year (the AGM included) for all Residents which provide a forum for interaction between Management and Residents and for the Residents’ Association and its Resident members.
Q:		*What are the security arrangements of the Village?*
		We have security guards on site from 6pm until 6am seven days per week. The security guard performs regular patrols around the Village and responds to any Resident concerns. The main gates to the Village at Fortunes Road open each day at 6am and are closed at 8pm. The Stanniland Street gates open at 6am (10am weekends and public holidays) and close at 6pm (4pm on weekends and public holidays). Every villa, apartment and rest home room is equipped with emergency call buttons that are monitored by our 24 hour caregiving staff who are situated in the rest home.
Q:		*What determines the prices of your villas and serviced apartments?*
		Prices for villas and apartments are determined by VONZ following consideration of factors similar to those you take into consideration when selling your home. These factors include the current state of the property market, and the prices sought by competitors for similar villas or apartments. We endeavour to ensure that prices reflect a villa or apartment market value.
Q:		*What are the costs involved when leaving my villa or serviced apartment?*
		The costs that you will incur when leaving a villa or apartment are very similar to those that you would incur under an ORA with any of our competitors. Full and frank disclosures of those costs are set out in section 3(d) of our Disclosure Statement. We recommend you take the time to carefully consider the information in section 3(d) of the Disclosure Statement and the following section 3(e) which gives a practical example of how a refund is likely to be calculated after one, two, three, five and ten years.
Q:		*Does the Village have shopping and transport arrangements?*
		We are fortunate to be situated close to the Highland Park Shopping Centre, Pakuranga Plaza, Howick Village and Botany Town Centre. We provide transport for Residents to the Pakuranga Plaza every Tuesday, to Howick Village every Friday and to Botany Town Centre on the third Monday of each month. The Highland Park Shopping Centre is situated only some hundreds of meters from the Village.
Q:		*Who is responsible for insurance?*
		We insure the buildings and the communal buildings. You will be responsible for insuring your household contents and your motor vehicle. You will also be responsible for the cost of any repairs or the excess on any insurance claim arising out of any damage that you or your guests cause to an apartment or villa or to communal Village buildings.
*Villas*
Q:		*What furnishings is the Resident responsible for?*
		Generally, a Resident will provide their own nets, drapes and light fittings. On occasion an incoming Resident may acquire those items from an outgoing Resident or one or more of these items may be fitted in a villa which has been finished for display home purposes.
Q:		*Can we have our own garden?*
		With our approval, Residents may establish small gardens (this excludes the planting of trees or large shrubs) in the area immediately surrounding their own Villa. These gardens become the responsibility of the Resident. We will, on request, assist with gardening or the reinstatement of any gardens into grass. Depending upon the nature of the assistance a cost may result to you, but any costs will first be agreed by you. The communal gardens are maintained by us.
Q:		*What does the weekly levy cover?*
		The weekly levy covers the ongoing costs of operating the Village. The Occupation Rights Agreement refers to those costs as Village Administration Costs and Village Outgoings. A summary is as follows; Rates & Government levies Insurance – other than contents insurance for which the Resident is responsible Electricity and gas for communal facilities Water Maintenance, operation and security of communal facilities and grounds and all associated services The costs relating to the Statutory Supervisor Accountancy, legal, employee and contractor costs and general management and administration costs.
Q:		*Will the levy increase?*
		The weekly levy is determined at the beginning of each year with changes, if any effective each April. Generally, the levy will be increased annually at a rate comparable to inflation.
Q:		*Can we have pets?*
		Subject to our approval, you can bring your pet with you to your new home provided that it is a small domestic animal.
Q:		*Why would we choose your Village over competitors?*
		We appreciate that you have a choice between a number of high quality Retirement Villages which all offer contractual arrangements which differ very little from one another. The single most significant point of difference we offer is size. When we refer to our size we are not referring to the fact that we are one of the countries largest Retirement Villages, though this is in fact true. We are referring to the fact that we are situated on over 30 acres of prime north facing land which has enabled us to build large villa’s in a manner which allows for gardens, trees and lawns and a reasonable space between neighbouring villas. Due to the size of our land area we have not been forced to build villas on top of each other or to build small apartments in the hope we can convince you that a move to a Retirement Village requires the sacrifice of your personal space. A drive through our Village combined with a visit to our large villas or apartments is all it will take to convince you that that our size is a significant point of difference that our competitors cannot match. Other reasons why you should choose our Village include the following: Ø We are free of development debt and consequently represent a more secure investment. Though we are likely to incur some debt to build the new 39 apartment complex and communal facility, this debt will be repaid entirely by the sale of the new apartments. CB Richard Ellis valuation of the equity in the Village at 31 March 2007 was $82 million. Ø We operate a high quality rest home which allows you a continuity of care that many other Villages do not. Ø Our villas, apartments and communal facilities are of a very high standard and very competitively priced. Ø Our primary source of new Residents referrals are our Residents. This speaks volumes for our Village.
*Serviced Apartments*
Q:		*What furnishings is the Resident responsible for?*
		When purchasing a serviced apartment, the furnishings that you will be responsible for are your drapes.
Q:		*What does the weekly levy cover?*
		This is partly answered by question 14 above. In the Serviced Apartments, the levy also covers your breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, weekly laundering of all bed linen and towels and weekly cleaning of your apartment. Lunch and dinner are served in our main dining room, whilst each Resident is given their breakfast ingredients to eat in their rooms. This includes cereal, milk and bread. Washing machines are available for Residents’ use. Please ask about additional services available to our serviced apartment Residents.
Q:		*Will the levy increase?*
		Annual increases are likely as discussed in the answer to question 15.
*Park Rest Home*
Q:		*What furnishings is the Resident responsible for?*
		All of The Park Rest Home rooms are furnished with a bed, bedside table, wardrobes, nets & drapes. All of our Rest Home rooms are fairly large in size and most of our Residents bring some of their own furniture. We do have a policy of no rugs as these are easy to trip on, especially for those Residents who have difficulty with mobility.
Q:		*What does the weekly levy cover?*
		The weekly Rest Home levy covers all administrative costs associated with the Village, including items such as monitoring the emergency call system, rates and insurance. Within the Rest Home this also covers all of your meals and 24 hour caregiving staff. All meals are also included as well as showering if required.
Q:		*What doesn’t the weekly levy cover?*
		The weekly levy does not cover any additional items that a Resident of our Rest Home may require, such as wound dressings, prescriptions etc.
Q:		*Will the levy increase?*
		Annual increases are likely as discussed in the answer to question 15.
Q:		*Is your rest home subsidised?*
		No. Our Rest Home is not subsidised primarily for two reasons. The first is that a subsidy contract does not allow us to receive adequate funding to provide the quality resthome and the quality of care that we make available to our Residents. The second is that a subsidy contract may enable the District Health Board to place non Residents in any empty Rest Home rooms. This would restrict our ability to offer the benefit of the rest home to our own Residents.