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Capital Back 44 ⚖ Get independent advice
Abbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen House
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · New Zealand

Abbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen House

Wakari, Dunedin
Capital Back
44
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
Abbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen HouseAbbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen HouseAbbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen HouseAbbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen HouseAbbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen HouseAbbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen HouseAbbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen House
The village

Life here

Abbeyfield Dunedin is located in Wakari, a quiet suburb 2.5km north-west of Dunedin's city centre. The modern two-storey house accommodates 9 residents in sunny, light suites with views over the Flagstaff hills. Residents actively participate in caring for the house's vegetable and flower gardens, fostering a sense of community and shared responsibility. The house is well-positioned near a medical centre, hairdresser, bowling club, and golf course, with convenient bus stops right outside.

Your home

Living options

Residential Suites

Individual suites in a shared community home

✓ 9 resident capacity
✓ Sunny and light suites
✓ Views over Flagstaff hills
✓ Two-storey house with lift and stairs
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Life at Abbeyfield Dunedin centres on community living and shared responsibility.

Community & Gardens

Residents care for the house's vegetable and flower gardens, creating opportunities for meaningful engagement and connection with the natural environment.

✓ Vegetable gardens
✓ Flower gardens
✓ Shared community spaces
✓ Active resident participation
Day to day life
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Lift between floors
Stairs
Vegetable gardens
Flower gardens
Shared community spaces
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Wakari is a quiet suburb 2.5km north-west of Dunedin city centre, close to a medical centre, hairdresser, bowling club, golf course, and public bus stops.

Interested?

Like the look of Abbeyfield Dunedin – Balmacewen House?

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Now the practical part

The money — what comes back to your family

You've seen why you'd love it. This is the part most families only discover at the exit statement — so we put it in plain sight. Every figure is from the village's own filed Disclosure Statement.

Capital Back score
44
Below average · #306 of 520
Better than 41% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
15%
~$23k on a $150k unit, over 5 years
Your share of capital gain
50%
you keep some of any uplift
Time to get capital back
—
not enough resales disclosed
Fees after you leave
Continue
charged until the unit resells
7 years
Your estate receives
$127,500
Operator keeps (deferred fee)$22,500
Share of your $150,000 back85%
Before you sign, get independent eyes on the contract.An ORA-review lawyer or independent financial adviser — never paid by any operator — checks what it really means for your family.
⚖ Get independent advice →
How the 44 is built

Nothing hidden — every component

The Capital Back score is a transparent weighting of five filed terms — you can see exactly where this village wins and loses. Full methodology →

Move-in fee you don't get back Deferred Management Fee — weighted 30%
15% deferred fee — lower is better.
63
Share of capital growth Capital gain to resident — weighted 15%
You keep 50% of any uplift.
50
Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%
Fees continue until the unit resells.
0
The filed terms, in plain English

What the Disclosure Statement actually says

Every operator uses different words for the same thing — we normalise them so you can compare like with like.

%

Deferred Management Fee

15% of $150,000 = ~$23,000

Accrues over your first 5 years, charged on the entry price.

Market: median 30%; only 16% of villages charge under 25%.
↑

Capital gain

50% to the resident

You keep a share of any increase in the licence value at resale.

Market: just 8% of NZ villages share any capital gain.
!

Fees & interest on exit

Watch this

Weekly fees continue until the unit resells.

Market: 220 of 520 villages keep charging weekly fees after you've gone.
Before you sign the ORA

The reckoning usually arrives too late

  • You're buying a licence to occupy, not the home — you can't sell, rent or borrow against it.
  • Roughly $23,000 is gone in deferred fees within 5 years, whatever the unit later sells for.
  • Your family carries the risk of how long resale takes — and the operator's ability to pay.
  • None of this is hidden — it's all in the Disclosure Statement most people sign without reading.
Have someone independent read it first

We'll connect you with a retirement-village review lawyer or independent financial adviser — no operator pays to be here.

Request an ORA review → Talk to a financial adviser