Laguna Woods Village Living

Leisure World, Laguna Hills, California (now referred to as Laguna Woods Village in the City of Laguna Woods) is the nation’s leading planned residential community for seniors. It was conceived and developed by Ross W. Cortese, who built the first Leisure World in Seal Beach, California in 1960. Cortese, a man of unlimited vision, believed that a void in housing existed for a person age 52 and over.

To find out what Seniors wanted he talked to civic leaders, doctors, clergy and groups of older people. He discovered that Seniors, those 52 and over, wanted a fresh new start in their lives after raising a family, fulfilling a career and, basically, just wanted to be free of household duties and the maintenance and up keep of a home. They wanted to enjoy their “Golden Years”!

Based on his research Cortese, working with a team of planners, architects, builders and designers, started Leisure World in Laguna Hills in 1963. His concept was to build a community that would cater to the needs of seniors.

The first manor (residence) was completed in November 1964 and the last manor in September 1980. Leisure World (the name was changed to Laguna Woods Village in October 2005) has approximately (2008 figure) 18,000 people who live in one of the 12,736 residential units (6,323 co-ops, 6102 condos and 311 units in two tower buildings), 7 clubhouse (originally 6 were constructed, but a 7th was added in 2005), 5 swimming pools, 10 tennis courts, 2 golf courses, an equestrian center, 10 craft shops, 2 garden centers, 2 RV storage areas, a library, 2 fully equipped fitness centers and over 200 clubs and organizations for residents to participate in. Add to this a “free” community bus service and a residence security service that patrols the 2,095 acres and mans the various entrance gates.

When completed Leisure World contained all the elements that Ross Cortese had envisioned in the early 1960’s, security, access to local health care facilities, nearby shopping, good transportation, cultural events and programs, excellent housing, recreational and educational opportunities and various other activities designed for Seniors to ensure their freedom and the opportunity to enjoy their “Golden Years”.

Right now it is a “buyer’s market” and we have many fine homes ranging in price from $122,000 on up to $350,000.  Patrick McNamee of Century 21 Rainbow Realty is an expert in this area, please check out his web site to get more real estate information about this active senior community:
www.leisureworldre.com

Article contributed by Frank J. Hill, Broker/Owner Century 21 Rainbow Realty
Used with permission

We have both types of homes in Laguna Woods Village, but very interestingly, they are many times the same floor plan!  So you can buy a “Casa Linda” home as either a “Condo” or a “Co-op” but what are the differences in ownership?

Good Question!  In Laguna Woods Village, a Co-op is not any easier or harder to sell than a Condo, it appriciates – or in this current market – depriciates – at the same rate as a Condo.  You get the same benefits tax wise from ownership of either a Condo or a Co-op (i.e. – you can write off your mortgage interest and property taxes).  The only difference is in Laguna Woods Village is the fact that you can only rent out a Co-op for 6 months out of the year, and you can rent a Condo year around.  So if you are an investor, you would want to buy a Condo so you could rent it out.  If this was going to be your primary residence, then purchasing a Condo or a Co-op would not be as big an issue.

What exactly is a Co-op?  The full term is ”Stock Cooperative” and they are a lot more popular back east where they have the brown stone buildings, in New York as an example. See the Diagram Below:

The problem came up in the early to mid 19th century, how can we sell the units in a building? The question comes up, well who owns the land underneth the building? So what they did, was come up with an idea where the Corporation buys the building and then each apartment in the building gets stock in the Corporation based on his/ her ownership share.  To make it simple, see the diagram above, if you have 4 apartments in the building, each apartment/ home would get 25% stock in the Corporation (4 x 25% = 100%)

What you actually get when you purchase a Co-op is a Stock Certificate instead of a Deed of Trust.  Rest assured, it is just as valuable as a Deed of Trust and you can even get a loan on them!  Just like a Deed of Trust – getting financing is no problem!