Santhem Residences FAQs

Santhem Residences is a luxury retirement village for over 65s in Shenfield, Essex, and is a sister company to the award-winning Hallmark Care Homes. The group is owned by the Goyal family who have over 40 years’ experience in property and over 25 years’ experience in operating premium care homes throughout England and Wales.

Santhem Residences’ retirement village is a purpose-built collection of luxury retirement properties for sale to over 65s. Retirement villages offer those thinking about the future an independent and vibrant lifestyle, with the peace of mind that comes with knowing that personal care and support is on hand if needed in the future.

While Santhem Residences is family-owned, the retirement village in Essex has its own on-site management team. This includes a highly trained and professional General Manager as well as departmental managers who look after the day-to-day running of the village. We take great care in selecting the most passionate professionals for these roles, and should you decide to make one of Santhem’s retirement properties your home, you and the team will come to know each other very well.

Yes, you must be over the age of 65 to live at Santhem Residence’s luxury retirement village.

Santhem Residences in Shenfield, Essex, is small enough to know your way around, but big enough to feel spacious and provide you with ample privacy. The village is comprised of 55 retirement apartments, as well as communal gardens, a restaurant, bar, coffee lounge, gym, cinema, wellness area and library.

We want all our homeowners to feel safe and protected, which is why we have a number of security measures in place across the luxury retirement village. A member of the team is on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there are CCTV cameras in all communal areas. Only those with a key fob can gain entry into the buildings and the carpark, ensuring that residents feel safe at all times.

Our team is only ever a moment away. Each retirement property is fitted with an emergency call system and our response team is on site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Should you need emergency assistance, our team will be able to call the emergency services or your next of kin for you.

At Santhem Residences, our housekeeping and handyman service can provide as little or as much help as you need. We can also arrange a laundry service too. These services are extra and competitively priced. Or if you prefer, you’re always free to arrange for your own cleaner or tradespeople to visit your home in the retirement village.

Our care team, Santhem Care, is on site and able to offer a flexible and personalised approach in the comfort of your retirement property. This can be very basic assistance, such as helping with domestic tasks or bedtime routines, or other assistance in the form of personal care. Everyone’s needs are different so it’s best to talk to our Head of Care if you have any specific questions.

If you prefer, you can also arrange to have your existing or external care provider visit you in your new home. 

We understand this can be a very difficult time and of course we will be there to help as much as we can. Both the Santhem Residences team and Santhem Care team can assist residents in their homes with the majority of short or long-term care needs. We will do everything in our power to ensure that you can remain in your home. Nursing care is not provided but may be arranged through your GP and District nurses.

Should the time ever come that you need to look at a care home alternative, as a homeowner at Santhem Residences, you will be considered high priority for a place at one of our wonderful Hallmark Care Homes. Hallmark is our sister company offering exceptional care on a permanent or respite basis.

Absolutely. From your online food shop to magazine subscriptions, all post and deliveries can go straight to your retirement property’s front door. Our Concierge team will be able to put you in contact with local suppliers of newspapers, milk, prescriptions and so on.

Yes, we love pets at our luxury retirement village in Essex. For some, a beloved pet is what makes home feel like home. We just ask that pets are trained and well behaved for the comfort and safety of all our residents. In line with our pet policy, pet ownership is subject to the approval of our village manager.

Yes, if you wish to bring your car to our retirement village, you can hire a dedicated parking bay (subject to availability) for a fee of £500 per year. There are also parking spaces for friends and family when they come to visit.

Of course – it’s your home. And if you need any extra space, we have a beautiful guest suite on-site at our luxury retirement village in Essex that can be pre-booked for a very reasonable fee.

All the facilities and communal spaces at Santhem Residences are an extension of your home. When your friends or family visit, they are welcome to make the most of these spaces with you.

Yes, your home is yours. Each apartment is sold on a long leasehold basis of up to 999 years.

In simple terms, leasehold means you own a clearly defined space – your retirement apartment – within the building.

Our team work hard to keep the village looking beautiful. Santhem Residences are responsible for all maintenance to building and communal areas across the village including the gardens and outside spaces. All costs including future refurbishment to these communal spaces are managed by Santhem Residences and funded through the fees contributed by homeowners. Just remember that routine decoration and maintenance within your own apartment is your responsibility.

Sparkling windows make all the difference, so you’ll be pleased to hear that all exterior windows and communal-area windows will be cleaned frequently by the team. So, it’s just the insides that you’ll need to look after – but we’re also happy to arrange this for you for an additional fee.

Every resident wants to make their home their own. Before you make any additions or alterations, we just ask that you first talk to your General Manager, and of course our concierge will be around to suggest a range of professional companies.

No, our retirement properties are unfurnished, meaning they’re free for you to fill with all your favourite furniture.

We want you to be able enjoy life at our luxury retirement village in Essex without worry, so we’ve selected brands that we know to offer good, long-lasting quality and exceptional design. As standard, you’ll find Hacker kitchens, Villeroy & Boch bathroom fittings, Neff ovens and microwaves, Bosch washing machines and tumble dryers, and Electrolux fridge freezers and dishwashers in each retirement apartment.

Our helpful maintenance team at Santhem Residences retirement village will be more than happy to help you get these sorts of jobs done. And as a welcome gift from us, new homeowners will each receive fourhours of free handyman services to help them get settled.

You can reserve your apartment at our retirement village in Essex by paying a £1000 deposit, which is fully refundable should you change your mind.

If the time comes to sell your retirement property, you will have the option of using the Santhem Residences Sales team or arranging your own choice of estate agency. We charge a fee of 1% (plus VAT) of the resale price for providing our own service. If you use an external estate agent, you will need to negotiate your fees with them.

As a resident you’ll need to pay a monthly utility bill for heating and hot water, a Monthly Management Fee and a Deferred Management Fee. Plus, any fees for optional extras like a car parking space, Santhem Care, housekeeping and hire of the Club Car.

There are two pricing options for the management fee, linked with corresponding options for the Deferred Management Fee:

• Option 1: £700 per month
• Option 2: £1,200 per month

The Management Fee is a “fixed” fee that increases annually according to a formula. Going forward, the management fees will increase annually from 1 April at the rate of either the Retail Price Index or Average Earnings Index, whichever is greater. We will give you at least 28 days’ notice of the new fee each year. The fee is payable in advance. We would manage any significant failure to provide a service covered by the charge as necessary to minimise any inconvenience.

The Management Fee at Santhem Residences’ luxury retirement living includes:

• Beautiful gardens
• Excellent services
• Wonderful staff
• Comfortable and stylish buildings!

Your Management Fee also covers the costs involved in providing day-to-day services at our retirement village in Essex, along with the general running and maintenance of the building and communal areas. Examples of these include:

• Concierge service
• 24-hour emergency response service
• An exceptional and friendly team that run and maintain the retirement village
• Ongoing maintenance and decoration of the building and communal areas
• A vibrant calendar of exercise classes and social activities (charges may apply)
• The lounge, library, cinema, gardens, gym, wellness suite, bar, restaurant, and terraces (charges may apply)
• Scheduled weekly trips to the supermarket (charges may apply)
• Heating, lighting, and utility costs for public areas
• Window cleaning for all external windows and all internal communal windows
• Maintenance of machinery and equipment
• Garden and grounds maintenance
• Buildings insurance
• Unlimited teas, coffees, biscuits, and pastries in the lounge
• A contribution to corporate HR, legal, accountancy, and related costs

No, we don’t charge ground rent at our luxury retirement village.

In its simplest terms, a Deferred Management Fee is a management fee that is only charged upon the sale of your property, rather than being part of your usual monthly fees.

The Deferred Management Fee, which is payable to Santhem Residences (Shenfield) Ltd, contributes to the costs of future repairs to the retirement village, such as new roofs and lifts. These costs would otherwise have to be recouped by increasing the service charge. This means that homeowners won’t need to worry about additional demands for contributions to such costs.

There are two options to choose from, linked with corresponding options for the Management Fee.

Option 1: 4% of the sale price, increasing every year by 4% up to a maximum of 28%

Option 2: 3% of the sale price, increasing every year by 3% up to a maximum of 21%

You can choose the option that best suits your circumstances. For example, those wishing to have a lower monthly fee can select option 1. This would mean you pay £700 per month as a Management Fee and a 4% (capped at 28%) Deferred Management Fee. If you choose option 2, you would pay £1,200 per month as a Management Fee and a 3% (capped at 21%) Deferred Management Fee. And remember, you’ll still receive the same excellent services whatever option you choose.

Yes, of course. We know it’s important to stay in control of your finances. We have a ‘Worked Example’ that can be tailored to your potential property and circumstances. This will be provided on your initial visit to the luxury retirement village in Essex or sooner should you request.

We understand no one likes to think about these things, but the simple answer is yes, your family can inherit and move into your retirement apartment. After all, it’s your property! Just remember that any family members will need to meet the criteria for living in the retirement village. Likewise, the Deferred Management Fee will still be payable upon the change of ownership.