The Greens - Leisure World of Maryland

Click to see all floorpans for The Greens

I frequently sell homes at Leisure World, and one of the most popular neighborhoods (called mutuals) there is The Greens.  The Greens is made up of four high-rise buildings, located on the golf course, and within walking distance of Clubhouse II.  Clubhouse II contains Leisure World’s brand new fitness center, as well as the indoor pool, the auditorium, the ceramics studio, and various game rooms and meeting rooms, so it’s a nice place to be close to.  All of the buildings were constructed in 1984.

Each building in the Greens has a large meeting room with a kitchenette and a small library on the lobby floor.  These meeting rooms are used for social events within the building themselves, and can also be rented out for private parties.  Each building also has a parking garage attached to the lobby and the basement.  Some condos come with a parking spot and some do not, so that’s something to pay attention to when buying there.  Also, each condo has some storage space in the basement.  Some condos come with storage rooms, which are about the size of a typical half bathroom in a home.  Many condos just come with a storage cage, which is about the size of an old-fashioned steamer trunk.  Again, that’s something to pay attention to when buying, if storage is important to you.

The monthly condo/community fee varies according to the square footage of the unit, etc.  The monthly fee for all of the units includes almost all of the amenities at Leisure World (see my general post about Leisure World to read about those), as well as Basic Cable TV, Common Area Maintenance, Exterior Building Maintenance, Lawn Maintenance, Management, Master Insurance Policy, Reserve Funds, Sewer, Snow Removal, Trash Removal, and Water.  The monthly fees for the units currently on the market range from $673 for 1115 square feet to $809 for 1530 square feet.

The prices for the units sold at The Greens in the last six months range from $122,500 for a 1-bedroom, 1-bath unit with 945 square feet, to 335K for a fully updated 3- bedroom, 2-bath unit with 1650 square feet and a garage space.   Many of the units at the Greens have original kitchens from when they were built in 1984, which I believe makes their sale prices lower than in many parts of Leisure World.

Clients often ask me to see all floorplans available at the Greens.  For your convenience, I am posting them here.  You can see that every unit comes with a lovely three-season enclosed balcony.  Almost all the units in all of Leisure World have a three-season enclosed balcony, which is a very popular feature.

If you or someone you know is considering moving to Leisure World, please feel free to contact me.  I’d be happy to help!

Central Parke at Victoria Falls, a 55+ Community in Laurel

Entrance to the clubhouse at Central Parke at Victoria Falls

As I wrote in my earlier article about 55+ Communities, there are actually many communities in the area to choose from.  I already wrote about Leisure World.  Another community that is very close to the DC area is Central Park at Victoria Falls in Laurel, conveniently located right at I-95 and I-200.

Victoria Falls was constructed beginning in 2006.  It contains a variety of home styles – 112 detached single-family homes, 247 attached villas, and 250 condominiums.  There are presently nine homes for sale at Victoria Falls.  These range from a 2-bedroom condo with 1673 square feet, listed at 250K, to a 4-bedroom detached single family home with a double garage with 2177 square feet, listed at 495K.  The single-family homes and villas all have a large master bedroom suite on the first floor, and at least a one-car garage.  The condos all have elevators and parking in a covered garage at the bottom of the building.

Central Parke at Victoria Falls has a wonderful clubhouse that contains a large indoor pool, a library with computers, a fitness center, several meeting rooms, and a ballroom.  The community also has a large outdoor pool, tennis courts, and walking trails.  There are activities scheduled each day for residents, as well as field trips to different area attractions several times a month.

The fitness center at Central Parke at Victoria Falls.

The community takes care of all outdoor maintenance of the homes, including snow removal, lawn care, and gutter cleaning.  And, from what the staff has told me, unlike many 55+ communities, people can live there who are under 55, as long as all members of the household are at least 19, and one member is over 55.  That offers some flexibility for families that might have adult children living with them.

Please contact me at Catherine.soffronoff@lnf.com or 202-352-4899 if you’d like to learn more about Central Parke at Victoria Falls, or other communities you could downsize into in the DC area.

Indoor pool at Central Park at Victoria Falls.  You an see the outdoor pool beyond it.

55-Plus (Active Adult) Communities in the Washington, DC Metro Area

There are so many options of where and how to live once you become a senior.  I’ve already written lots of posts detailing different independent and assisted living communities in the area.  I’ve also written about senior villages, which offer you a way to stay in your home or move to one-level living in a mixed-age neighborhood, but still be able to take advantage of activities and resources for seniors.  Now I’d like to examine more closely the 55-Plus (or Active Adult) Communities in the Washington, DC Metro Area.

55-Plus communities are for seniors who are in reasonably good health, and can live independently.  At least one owner or resident must be 55 or older in order to qualify to live in a 55-plus community, and many have rules that prohibit children from living in the community.   55-plus communities offer seniors a way to be free of many home maintenance chores, to enjoy convenient classes, groups, and amenities that are aimed at them, and to make new friends with other like-minded people.  Typically people would buy a home (or condo) in a 55-Plus community just like they would buy a home in a multi-age neighborhood, but the home association or condo fees are higher, in order to pay for the many amenities and services available in the community.  There are also usually rentals available in 55-Plus communities, by individual owners.

I live in Montgomery County, MD, and many of the people around here are under the impression that there are no 55-plus communities in the area, other than Leisure World in north Silver Spring.  There are actually lots of 55-plus communities in this area, but they are almost all 30 minutes or more from downtown Washington, DC.  I will cover many of the communities in detail in future posts, but for now I just want to give you an overview of where they are.

In Maryland, there are 55-plus communities located in Silver Spring, Ellicott City, Laurel, Columbia, Odenton, Annapolis, Gambrills, Fallston, Marriottsville, Elkridge, Jessup, White Plains, New Market, Dowell, Bel Air, Waldorf, Catonsville, Severna Park, Frederick, Upper Marlboro, and Edgewater.  As of now, there are at least thirty-five 55-plus communities located in the Washington-Baltimore Metro Area in Maryland.  In the Metro Washington DC area in Virginia there are at least twenty 55-plus communities.  They are in Fairfax, Woodbridge, West Springfield, Sterling, Lorton, Manassas, Ashburn, Bristow, Dumfries, Gainesville, Haymarket, Lansdowne, and Warrenton.

So, if you are willing to live in the suburbs of Washington, DC, there are a huge number or 55-plus communities to choose from.  Please contact me with any questions or if I can help you begin a 55-plus (or other) home search in the DC area.

ManorCare Bethesda and Wheaton

Dining Room of ManorCare Bethesda

Last week I toured HCR ManorCare Bethesda with Chris Gloth, the Admissions Coordinator there.  The week before I toured HCR ManorCare Wheaton with Yalda Davoodi, the Admissions Director there.  HCR ManorCare has centers throughout the region that are leading providers of short-term, post-acute services, and long-term care.  ManorCare has centers in Adelphi, Chevy Chase, Hyattsville, Largo, Potomac, and Silver Spring, in addition to the ones in Wheaton and Bethesda that I’ve toured.  The centers are all a fairly intimate size, which helps give them a greater sense of community.

For the purposes of what I do (selling seniors’ homes and offering them help in all steps of the process, including guidance about places they could downsize to), the long-term care aspect of HRC Manorcare is most interesting to me.  ManorCare Wheaton really only admits patients to its short-term care facility (people recovering from surgery, etc.).  They also have a long-term care wing, but it is filled with people who enter for short-term care and then are unable to return home on their own.  ManorCare Bethesda has both long-term and short-term areas, and people can arrange to stay there for either one. 

Both ManorCare facilities that I toured have dining rooms where residents take their meals.  Visitors are able to join them for meals for a small extra charge.  Visiting hours are 24 hours a day for the private rooms, and 9am – 9pm for the semi-private rooms.  They also both have rehab centers that offer all kinds of therapy (physical, speech, occupational) for people recovering from surgery or trauma.  They also both have activity calendars, offering residents a variety of things to do.

ManorCare offers private and semi-private rooms, and it does accept Medicaid.  There are on-site beauty salon and barber services.  They also have medical directors, 24-hour nursing care, other medical services such as dental care and optometric care available by appointment.

Many thanks to Chris Gloth and Yalda Davoodi for sharing their time and expertise with me!