Resthaven Fulham ‘The Oaks’ Retirement Living

chris calver

When it comes to selling your unit, be very careful and vigilant when you are signing off on the re-instatement costs. The sales person originally told my sister and I that our mother was expected to pay $29,000. The sales person said that the incoming residents wanted to make some building alterations and it was mum's responsibility to pay, "it's in your contract". Once I started to question this I was given the silent treatment and the sales person would not return my emails or phone calls. I made a formal complaint, that was ignored. I eventually had to go to the Office of Ageing Well. They acted on my behalf. The re-instatement costs started to drop, but the sales person was still trying to charge mum for expenses she was not responsible for. The next quote was for $22,000, then $19,000, then $16,000 then $13,000 and finally $11,000. So we went from $29,000 to $11,000. A huge difference. When the unit was finally sold the conveyancer sent me the Expected Exit Entitlement document and the re-instatement costs in it were $16,000. So they were still trying to extract money they weren't entitled to. I sent the copy of the $11,000 EEE and was charged that amount. This is concerning because not every resident has a family member watching out for them. I was able to save my mother $18,000. You have to wonder how many other ex-residents have been overcharged. The other issue when it comes to selling the units, is that the sales person is supposed to contact the outgoing resident 30 days after the exit date. After more than 60 days of not hearing from the sales agent I contacted them myself. Returning phone calls and emails is not the sales persons strong point shall we say. It was around 8 months before my mum's unit was ready for sale. Just be very careful and contact the Office of Ageing Well to help you.