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Email template to ask a retirement home to explain its contract

You have chosen a community and they have handed you the residency agreement, the contract that sets the rent, the services, and the rules for leaving. It is long, and the parts that cost real money are buried: how much rent can go up and how often, what happens if the money runs out, how a care-level increase is decided and priced, how much of the entrance fee comes back if you leave or die, and how many days' notice either side must give. Asking the community to explain those clauses by email gives you plain-language answers you can keep alongside the contract. If the answers and the contract disagree later, you will have the email.

Before you send

  • The full agreement, read once through with a highlighter. Note every clause you do not understand and its page number.
  • The type of contract. A continuing care retirement community (CCRC) usually charges a large entrance fee with a refund schedule; a rental community charges monthly with no entrance fee. The questions differ.
  • The financial picture: how many years the budget covers at the current rate, and what happens after that.
  • Who will sign. If a family member signs as "responsible party," ask exactly what that makes them liable for.
  • Whether you can have a lawyer or your state's long-term care ombudsman (a free advocate for residents) review it; the answer should be yes.
Subject Questions about the residency agreement before we sign 
Hi [contact name],

Thank you for sending the residency agreement for [resident's name]. We want to go ahead, but there are a few sections I'd like you to explain in writing first.

- Rate increases (page [number]): how much has the monthly rate gone up in each of the past three years, and is there any cap?
- Care level changes (page [number]): who decides that a higher level is needed, how is the family notified, and what does each level cost today?
- Moving out or passing away (page [number]): how much notice is required, and how many days' rent is charged after the unit is vacated?
- Entrance fee refund (page [number]): what percentage is refunded, on what schedule, and is the refund paid when the unit is vacated or when it is re-rented?
- Running out of funds (page [number]): what happens if private funds are exhausted, and do you accept Medicaid at that point?
- Responsible party (page [number]): if [family member name] signs, what exactly are they personally liable for?

We plan to have [a lawyer / the state long-term care ombudsman] look at the agreement as well. Our target move-in date is [date], so a reply by [date] would help.

Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • A good community answers each point with a page reference and a number, not a reassurance. If the answer is "that rarely happens," ask what the contract says when it does.
  • Compare every answer to the actual contract language. If the email says something kinder than the contract, ask them to put the kinder version in a signed addendum, which is an attachment that changes the contract.
  • The refund and the "responsible party" clauses are the ones people regret most. If either is unclear after a second round, have a lawyer read it before signing.
  • Your state's long-term care ombudsman program is free and knows local contracts well. A quick call there is worth it even if everything looks fine.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get a retirement community to explain its contract 
Hi StandIn,

Please get written answers from a retirement community about the parts of the residency agreement we're unsure of, before we sign.

The community and contact: [name, sales or admissions contact, email].
The resident: [name, and whether a family member is signing as responsible party].
Contract type: [rental / entrance-fee CCRC / not sure].
Sections I'm worried about: [rate increases, care level pricing, refund terms, notice period, running out of funds, or page numbers].
Target move-in: [date].

Ask each question clearly, push for numbers and page references rather than reassurances, compare their answers to the contract text, and flag anything that does not match.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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