As we show around people who are thinking of moving to our Santhem Residences retirement community at Shenfield, we always keep one thing in particular in mind. No matter how beautiful someone thinks the apartments are, or how much they like the community’s setting or facilities, the very idea of moving home and downsizing, perhaps after decades of living in a family home, can seem extremely daunting.
Where do you begin if you’ve spent forty years accumulating possessions? How do you go about things when, perhaps, it’s been a number of year since the last time you dealt with estate agents or solicitors?
As we try to do always at Santhem, we understand. Between our group of carefully selected specialist partners and the Santhem team, we have expert assistance available to help you with just about every aspect of your transition to a new start, living at Santhem.
How could I ever declutter my house?
Across decades of work, travel and family life, we accumulate a huge number of possessions. Shelves full of books we seldom open. Cabinets filled with crockery we no longer use. Wardrobes awash with clothes we may not have warn for years.
The Senior Move Partnership are our downsizing and decluttering partner. They work with people of retirement age who are in precisely this situation. Patient, understanding and thoughtful, they can offer you advice and guidance, as well as hands on, practical help with downsizing your possessions, disposing of items you decide not to keep, and all of the other practical tasks involved in moving.
How can I be sure I’ll get the real value of things that I decide to sell off?
Perhaps you’ve invested over the years in particularly valuable furnishings, art, carpets or similar items. Maybe you’ve built up a specialist collection that you’re now ready to pass on as you prepare to start a new and less cluttered life here at Santhem.
In either case, you’ll want to be sure that you don’t let your prized possessions go without realising their proper value. You may even want to establish what their sale value might be to help you take the decision as to whether to sell them before you move or not.
To help with this, Special Auction Services are our expert auction partner. Their valuers will visit you at home to assess the worth of items you are considering selling. Specialist valuation is available for especially niche items, and they will give you honest and dependable advice on whether this is a good time to sell your property, and how it’s likely to fare at auction. If you wish, they will then handle the auctioning for you.
Can I part exchange my current home for a new home at Santhem?
The idea of being able to agree a part exchange rather than having to engage estate agents and delay your move while possible buyers look around your home for months on end can be very appealing.
At Santhem, we work with a part exchange specialist called Silverbridge Properties. Silverbridge is a family run company with more 60 years’ experience in UK residential property finance. They have worked not only with us, but with other high quality retirement community operators, for over a decade, helping people wishing to purchase retirement homes to arrange deals that avoid the delays and inconvenience of selling privately, while still ensuring a competitive value for the property which is then offset against the cost of your home at Santhem.
How would I arrange for the special care that I need if I move to Santhem?
When you move into a new property at Santhem Residences, you are assured of a beautiful home, with extra care and support on hand should you ever need it. At Santhem, we have our own Head of Care, responsible for all the care services we provide. We understand that everyone’s needs are different, and so our services are completely flexible and customisable.
If programming your TV is proving beyond you, your dog needs a walk and you don’t quite feel up to it, or you haven’t spoken to anyone all day and you’d just like someone to come and have a chat and a cup of tea, our care team are on hand to help.
If your needs are more regular, however – perhaps help with getting to bed or support with medication – you can arrange for regular assistance. If you have specialised care needs (if you are recovering from a stroke, for example), our Head of Care can also explain the options we can make available to support you.
You can talk about your requirements and wishes to our Head of Care who will develop a personalised plan for you and talk you through the costs.
It’s been so many years. Could I get help with the whole business of buying a new home?
It’s often been decades since people who buy a retirement home at Santhem have had to deal with the admin involved in moving. We make everything as simple as possible, but even then you will have questions about how things would work and, if you do decide to buy a home here, about how to arrange for various matters to be taken care of.
The Santhem Sales Team are here to help with all of this (in fact it’s a little misleading to think of them as a sales team!) They will help you in any way they can, from showing you around the village and our show apartments when you come to take a first look, to helping you complete paperwork, organise the kind of help described earlier should you want that, and arranging for your new home to be exactly as you would like it when you move in.
Why not come and have a look?
You are welcome to come and visit Santhem at any time, by appointment. One of our team will show you around and will be able to answer your questions. And if you’d like to talk to one of our ‘move partners’ to get an understanding of whether they’d be able to help make your move here a little easier, we’ll be pleased to put you in touch.
If you’re considering buying a home at Santhem Residences, please get in touch using the button below.