Retirement property: Find the key to a new way of life "At the moment we are in Grenada in the Windward Islands, sitting out the hurricane season," says Trudy. In the past year we have been up and down the Lesser Antilles, visiting beautiful islands like Dominica, Carriacou, Tobago Cays, Bequia, St Lucia, Martinique and Antigua. They have loved the heat, the crystalline seas and even the time spent in boatyards when the boat occasionally needs mending. "We highly recommend it and wish we had started sooner," she says. At some point, though, they will have to return. "We live year by year and will stay on the yacht for as long as we can," says Andy. By keeping a stake in the British property, they have ensured they will have a bolt-hole ready when they need it. Their letting agents, Finders Keepers (01865 311011), say they have noticed an increasing trend for couples to come to them long before retirement to make this kind of plan and take advice on what will let well. For others, the lure is for self-build. Robin While and his wife Christine, 64 and 61, have been trying for some time to sell their five-bedroom house near Bath where they raised five children. He is a retired GP and looked after the Bath rugby team for 19 years. "A lot of our generation is trapped in the values of the past," he says. We get to retirement and find the house isn't worth what we thought. We began thinking ours was worth close to £1 million. But now they have a new plan, and The Old School, Nettleton, Wiltshire, with stables and three acres of paddocks, has been re-priced by Knight Frank (01225 325999) at a realistic £775,000. "A search agent suggested we buy a plot to build a house which suits us," says Robin. So we hope to build a super-insulated thatched cottage to suit all our needs in old age. We have been able to borrow for the plot, and will build the house when The Old School is sold. We will live with our dogs in a mobile home while it is being done. While some, like Robin, retire early, others are working a lot longer. At the age of 72, Margaret Garwell decided she must sell her house overlooking Southampton Water and buy something secure which would see her through the years ahead on her own. She found Grove Place, just outside Romsey in Hampshire, where retirement homes have been built in the grounds of a Grade I Elizabethan manor house. "It is so peaceful and quiet," she says. I have a view of the gardens and trees, and the sound of birds. She bought a two-bedroom home and has the use of the lounge, bar, art room, restaurant, swimming pool and fitness centre in the main house, and has 24-hour call buttons on hand. Yet she still works hard. Most mornings she drives off to help her daughter organise wedding flowers. Margaret makes the buttonholes. We have been doing four weddings a week recently. It is very busy. I love it. We are a good team. My daughter does the bouquets, another lady does the corsages. It is a happy thing. A one-bedroom apartment at Grove Place, set in 27 acres, starts at £240,000, two bedrooms at £370,000 (sales 023 8074 3595). Maintenance charges are £550 a month. "They are high, yet it feels like good value," says Margaret. Three paths to take 1 Get involved and build new Miles Kevin at Chartsedge agents in Cornwall (01803 863108) has developers prepared to sell plots, then be paid in stages as houses are built, with designs adapted to the buyer. Stamp duty is only payable on the land element of the purchase. At Portwrinkle two, three and five-bedroom houses with roof terraces start at £315,000. At Portreath a four-bedroom, four-bathroom house with glorious views over beach and ocean is priced at £850,000. 2 Buy a lock-up-and-leave A two-bedroom courtyard mews by Octagon at Coach House Mews, Whiteley Retirement Village, Surrey, for the over-sixties, is on the market with Knight Frank (01483 564660), price £550,000, service charges £3,250 pa. 3 Secure a home to see you out A two-bedroom resale penthouse at Somerleigh Court, in Dorchester, Dorset, is on sale at £285,000 (sales 01305 259882). It is a LifeCare development with a dedicated nursing home attached.