In purchasing a Cinnamon property, it is important for you to understand all the costs associated with buying, selling and maintaining your property as well as ongoing costs relating to the management and maintenance of the wider village facilities and the provision of services within the village.
Our ethos is to be as transparent as possible in explaining our costs and charges and the information below aims to set this out clearly and concisely. Should you require any additional information or wish to discuss any aspects further then please do contact us.
One of the key benefits of moving to a Cinnamon Retirement Living community is the range of services and facilities which are provided to make your life easier and more pleasurable. All properties are sold on a 125-year lease (or balance thereof). This sets out our obligations and responsibilities to you as a leaseholder and gives you rights to use and enjoy the wider village facilities. It also sets out your obligations as a leaseholder. The lease is designed to ensure that the buildings, communal areas, grounds, gardens, facilities and services are all maintained to the very highest standards, consistently and for the whole period of the lease.
The cost of providing services is recovered through a service charge and is shared equally by all leaseholders (per property not per person). Annual budgets are prepared in advance and provided to leaseholders, and these together with annual audited or certified accounts for the previous year are presented and discussed at an annual service charge meeting with leaseholders. This also provides an opportunity to discuss and consider any changes to services, to the way services are provided and / or any additional services that leaseholders would like to be provided.
The service charge budget is calculated based on the estimated or ascertained costs associated with providing each of the services and does not include any additional mark-up, overhead or profit element to Cinnamon Retirement Living or any subsidiary or associated party. Within the service charge there is a separately detailed Management Fee which compensates Cinnamon Retirement Living for organising and managing the services ensuring that the service charge and what it covers is fully transparent.
Village Manager.
Reception and administration.
Events & Activities Manager organising and facilitating a range of events.
Management and administration of all services.
Annual independent audit or certification of service charge accounts.
Maintenance and repair of village facilities and buildings including the exterior of your apartment – windows, external doors and your front door.
Management and maintenance of gardens and grounds by Cinnamon Retirement Living maintenance team.
All mandatory and required inspection and maintenance contracts e.g. lifts, fire alarms, CCTV etc.
Periodic testing of smoke alarms within the apartments and annual replacement of batteries.
Periodic testing of emergency call system within the apartments.
Buildings insurance (including your apartment and its fixtures such as fitted kitchen and bathroom) but excluding your contents and personal effects.
Cleaning of the village facilities and common areas including external window cleaning of your apartment.
Heating of village facilities and common areas.
Lighting of facilities, common areas and grounds.
Scheduled transport service to local towns, shops and places of interest.
Driver/s.
Vehicle purchase, operating, maintenance and insurance costs.
Management, registration and administration of the domiciliary care agency.
Staffing of 24-hours a day,7 days a week on-site emergency call monitoring and response.
Periodic wellness assessment and review with domiciliary care team.
During periods of ill health, the collection and delivery of prescribed medication.
Arranging flu vaccinations in collaboration with local GP(s).
Organising a range of health and social wellbeing activities to promote health, mobility and social interaction.
Administration of Reserve Fund which is built up over time to ensure funds are available when major repairs or non-routine maintenance is required.
An annual ground rent is payable by each leasehold apartment and is increased every 5 years. The ground rent will be increased either by a proportion equivalent to any increase in the Retail Prices Index “RPI” or the initial rent x 2.5% per annum compounded, whichever is the greatest.
The lease includes a transfer fee payment payable by the first and subsequent owners of the property. This payment can either be made on purchase (purchase fee) or on the sale of your property (sale fee).
The purchase fee is 10% of the price you pay for your property. If you choose to pay the purchase fee there will be no fees when you come to sell the apartment in the future.
If you decide not to pay the purchase fee then you will be required to pay a sale fee when you sell your apartment. This fee will be dependent on how long you have owned the property and is a percentage of the price which the apartment is sold for. If you have owned the apartment for less than one year the fee is 6% of the sale price. If you have owned it for more than one year but less than two years the sale fee will be 8%. If you have owned the apartment for more than two years the sale price will be 10%.
The reason for charging the transfer fee is to provide a return to the freeholder on the substantial capital investment made to provide a high-quality environment and extensive communal facilities for you to enjoy as a right under your lease. The transfer fee provides a return on this investment over the lifetime of the development. Without charging the transfer fee it would not be possible to provide the extent and range of facilities.
Our Village Advisers will provide you with worked examples of both the ‘purchase fee’ and ‘sale feel’ to help you decide which option suits you best
Cinnamon Retirement Living provides a free estate agency service when the time comes to sell your apartment. Our Village Advisers will be able to help you in ensuring the property is promoted and shown at its best, as well as advising on what price the property should be marketed at. The development will be constantly marketed via local press and online. The Village Advisers manage a database of interested parties and will contact those on the database as properties become available. They will also organise regular open days and ensure local awareness by networking with the community. Should you wish to engage a local estate agent then you may do so although you will be responsible for any fees they charge.
Before placing your property on the market you firstly have to give Cinnamon Retirement Living the option to purchase it at the price that you intend to market it for. If Cinnamon Retirement Living do not purchase the property you are free to sell it to another party at this price. Should you subsequently reduce the price, you must first offer it to Cinnamon Retirement Living again at the lower price. The transfer fee will apply if you sell to Cinnamon Retirement Living or any other party.
