China life to buy 50% stake, page-16

My grandparents went into a village similar to Aveo's offering, but at Lend Lease. They knew the contract details inside out and had contracts for a few other villages as well. They did quite a bit of tyre kicking and thought about it for a couple of years. They signed up, and were very happy with their decision. It cost them a lot of money, and they made (bad) jokes about being invited for a special cocktail gala by management etc, as they were hanging around too long. They lived there for a long time, and thought it was a great place. It wasn't some transportable home, and was in good condition when my Grandfather died, and the place was apparently well managed - they were busy all of the time, and felt that they had a good lifestyle and lots of friends.

I'm sure there are some awful places with awful deals at Aveo and everywhere else, but the cost is only one side of the equation, and the other side is the value you get. I seriously doubt many residents are unhappy with the deal, but I can image some real lemon villages as well, and some bad management at some places too. But if you are a bad manager at one of these places, you will be subject to a community orchestrated campaign ,and in most cases I expect they would successfully get rid of you - the residents are old but not stupid, and have plenty of disposable time on their hands.