What's included in your weekly concierge fee?
Activities
You can look forward to a wide range of social and leisure activities each day. Our events programme offers a variety of pursuits, from exercise classes, coffee mornings, wine tasting and bridge, to outings to places of interest and the theatre. (Please note, activities may vary and some activities or outings may incur a charge).
Peace of mind
Rest assured, there will always be a member of staff on hand, who you know and trust, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. So in the event of an emergency, such as a fall, illness or accident, there will always be someone there to help you and provide immediate assistance, day or night.
Administration
Your fee covers all on-site and off-site administration, managed and operated by Brio Retirement Living.
Heating your home
Wave goodbye to bills for heating and hot water as these costs are included, and heating is fully controlled by you through the in-home automation system.
Buildings insurance
To offer your property year-round protection, we provide comprehensive buildings insurance as standard.
Car parking
If you have your own car, or are expecting visitors, it's good to know that we provide ample parking. These are not allocated to individual apartments, cottages and bungalows.
Shuttle bus service
Our shuttle bus service provides an appropriate vehicle and driver for use by homeowners for daily planned shopping trips and excursions.
Communal cleaning and repairs
We want the communal areas in your community to be as relaxing and comfortable as your own home. Your fee pays for regular cleaning and day-to-day housekeeping, repairs and refurbishment of the curtains, carpets, furnishings and décor.
Communal maintenance
Your community may periodically require extra care and maintenance. Everyday cleaning, maintenance or repairs to the estate roads, pathways and parking areas are all covered by your concierge fee.
We’ll also take care of the grounds and gardens, repair the guttering, roofing and brickwork and ensure windows are cleaned.
Your fee additionally enables us to service and maintain the communal lifts, CCTV, heating, hot water systems, fire alarms, call systems and communal lighting.
Hub
The Hub is the heart of the community and your weekly concierge fee includes all of these homeowner-only benefits:
- Preferential rates in the Slate & Grain Brasserie and Bar
- Use of the Homeowners Club lounge
- Use of Roof Terrace
- Use of the Hobby / Multi-purpose room
- Use of the Fitness Suite and outdoor gym equipment
- Exclusive access to the landscaped grounds
- Use of Spa
- Access to the shuttle bus service
- A 24-hour on-site staff presence
- A rapid response in the event of an emergency
- A dedicated General Manager and Team
- Free advice about your home and help with paperwork and bills
- Access to a range of social, leisure and well-being activities
- Free use of WiFi in communal areas
- Free IT advice and support
Lawn mowing
All our bungalows come with private gardens. Homeowners can take advantage of their grass being cut by our maintenance team.
Utility bill savings
We buy all utilities (water and electricity) directly from the suppliers for the entire retirement community. This means we can buy in bulk and pass on the savings to our homeowners. Homeowners are responsible for the payment of their own electricity; however, should you choose to use the Brio community service provider, you will then receive a reduced cost of approximately 20%. All homeowners have the option to choose their preferred electricity supplier.
Security and safety
We want you to feel safe and secure in your new home. That’s why your fee includes:
- Video door entry system (in apartments only)
- Service and maintenance of fire alarm systems
- Service and maintenance of emergency call systems
What happens if you sell your home?
When you purchase a property within a Brio community you will be purchasing a 150 year lease, which allows for a long running relationship between homeowners and the landlord.
When you sell your property, a Deferred Management Fee (DMF) of up to 15% of the property value will be payable. The fee is calculated on a sliding scale depending on length of occupation prior to sale, and is capped at 15%.
The sliding scale is as follows:
- < 1 year from initial purchase: 0%
- Year 2 following initial purchase: 4%
- Year 3 following initial purchase: 8%
- Year 4 following initial purchase: 12%
- Year 5+ following initial purchase: 15%
Circa 30% of the DMF is used to build up a sinking fund for future major works, asset replacements and renewal throughout the retirement community e.g. replacement of a roof, renewal of the heating system or new communal furniture. A sinking fund means that there are no additional payments due when major works are required.
The examples below are not forecasts; property values can fall as well as rise. We would always advise you to discuss your individual circumstances and financial commitments with your solicitor, other legal or financial adviser before deciding to purchase.
EXAMPLE A: Sale after 6 years and the property has not changed in value
Example based on a 1 bed apartment purchased for £350,000
| FEE | Calculation Method | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sale Price | £350,000 | |
| DMF paid on sale | 15% of the sale price | £52,500 payable on sale |
EXAMPLE B: Sale after 6 years and the property has increased in value by 3% per annum
Example based on a 1 bed apartment purchased for £350,000
| FEE | Calculation Method | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sale Price | £417,918 | |
| DMF paid on sale | 15% of the sale price | £62,688 payable on sale |
EXAMPLE C: Sale after 6 years and the property has gone down in value by 3% per annum
Example based on a 1 bed apartment purchased for £350,000
| FEE | Calculation Method | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Sale Price | £291,540 | |
| DMF paid on sale | 15% of the sale price | £43,731 payable on sale |
These examples exclude:
• Any outstanding concierge fee that you owe
• The cost of paying off any mortgage on the property
• Your legal costs for handling the sale (solicitor, conveyancer or legal adviser)
• Any tax which may become payable
• Any costs incurred in refurbishing the property so that it is in good order prior to resale
• Any costs of moving
Additional services not covered by your concierge fee
Alongside our standard service, we offer a range of optional services that can be purchased to match your personal requirements. You can select these services as and when you need them, and we regularly review your needs to make sure we deliver the right levels of support.
Our optional services include:
Care and Support
A range of care and support services tailored to your individual needs and delivered by our on-site professionally qualified Brio care team. We also offer short-term care and/or support for illness and recuperation. You can choose to pay as you need for your personal care, or for an all-inclusive option, Brio offers a number of packages, tailor-made especially for you.
Housekeeping services
This includes help with everyday chores, including:
- Cleaning
- Laundry & ironing
- Shopping
- Preparing meals
- Spring cleaning
- Oven cleaning
Like personal care, homeowners can opt for a pay as you need, or a package can be created to suit your personal needs.
Home maintenance service
Our experienced tradesmen can carry out repairs and maintenance within your property, such as picture hanging, re-decorating or odd jobs around the home.
Shopping / escort service
A shopping / escort service is available for a member of staff to accompany you to appointments or go on shopping trips.
Fixed annual fees and fair increases
For added peace of mind and to allow you to accurately budget for the year ahead, our concierge fees only ever increase once a year, on 1st March. Any increases will be based upon the previous December retail price index (RPI) % figure supplied by the ONS (Office for National Statistics).
In the event of a rise, we always give you at least a month’s notice of the RPI percentage increase for the following year. And to make sure we consistently deliver good value, we regularly consult homeowners about the services we offer.
How our fees compare
While fees will vary from Brio community to community, we have created this handy comparison table. This will help you to compare our not-for-profit concierge fees to the cost you would normally pay to run your own home. In compiling this, we have researched the following cost averages:
| Product/Service | Indicative annual cost | Brio concierge fee |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings Insurance * | £263 | Included |
| Contents Insurance % | £135 | Excluded |
| Broadband ** | £368 | Included |
| Utility bills (gas, water and electricity) *** | £328 = 20% extra utility bill cost compared to Brio | Savings Included |
| Sky TV Entertainment package **** | £240 (once a month at £20) | Included |
| Grass maintenance # | £480 (grass cut twice a month at £20 per cut) | Included for Communal Areas |
| Garden improvements ~~ | £545 | Included for Communal Areas |
| External window cleaning # | £96 (once a month at £8) | Included |
| Gutter cleaning # | £95 (cleaned once a year) | Included |
| Gym ## | £792 (once a month at £66) | Included |
| Yoga ~ | £520 (once a week at £10 per class) | Included |
| Car Tax & fuel ^^ | £803 | Shuttle Bus Included |
| Repairs maintenance ^ | £500-£1000 | Included |
| Capital Repairs Fund (1% value of a £300K house) > | £3,000 | Included |
| Home call system + | £125 | Included |
| Social club fees e.g Women's Institute = | £41 | Included |
| TOTAL | £8,331 - £8,831 | |
* Buildings Insurance in the first quarter of 2017, based on data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
% Contents Insurance in the first quarter of 2017, based on data from the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
** Based on broadband packages recorded and analysed by BDRC Continental and Cable.co.uk between 18 Aug and 12 Oct 2017.
*** Based on a 5+ bedroom house on a dual fuel bill arrangement £1639 (once a month at £137) (source: UK Power) and 20% saving Brio Retirement Living will give.
**** Source
# Estimates based on a survey of local providers, and may vary based on location of service, quality of service, regularity of service etc. Source Source Source
~~ A recent survey commissioned by GardeningExpress.co.uk found that British gardeners will spend an average of £30,000 on their gardens over their lifetimes. Annual figure calculated by dividing annual spend by 55 years (estimate of how long you own a garden for) as an estimate.
## Based on a rolling monthly membership at Nuffield Health Newbury Fitness and Wellbeing Gym.
~ Based on weekly class at The Wellbeing Centre, Newbury
^^ Based on annual car tax and fuel for a 2017 Ford Fiesta 1.0 EcoBoost Titanium travelling 7,900 miles per year (average annual mileage from National Travel
Survey) Petrol price based on 121.9p per litre (Source: The AA)
^ Varies significantly from property to property based on age of property, age of components, location, weather conditions etc. Guidance only.
> Capital repairs fund is an amount of money which is set aside to cover any major work which is needed on a property in the future.
+ Based on Careline yearly plan with 3 months free, excluding £40 one off set up fee.
= WI subscription costs
Disclaimer: We would never recommend that you make a long-term financial decision based solely on these comparisons. The illustrated figures are included purely as a guide to overall living costs. You should consider these approximate costs, or their equivalents, when making your own financial calculations. If you are in any doubt about the true cost of your retirement, we strongly recommend that you seek independent financial advice.
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Live the Brio Lifestyle at one of our retirement communities around the country
