My father got a random walk up offer on his property the other day that seemed pretty good given what the units have sold around him for over the last few months, so he will likely take it. 

He is single in his mid 70s and is thinking he'll move to a retirement home on the North Shore Auckland (although I don't see why he couldn't consider other areas).  I'm after advice on what things to look for and any fishhooks or gotchas etc.  Plus any recommendations/warnings about any specific places

He's downloaded the Metlife brochures and they seem to do a pretty good job of explaining what services are offered and how much things will cost, and how costs change if he moves from an independent apartment to a serviced one to a full care facility.   He would ideally move to a village that has all 3 of these so he can transition as he ages.

His upper limit would probably be around 800k, he has been offered 950k for his unit and thinks 150k would be a good amount to have left over for paying the weekly fees and his general living expenses.  There are villages with units cheaper than 800k, generally they are the older ones.

So: any advice?   Any hidden expenses that catch people out that he needs to take into consideration?  Any places that are known to be good or equally are known to be problematic?   Most of the obvious stuff like does it have a pool, a shuttle etc are specified in the brochures and he can deal with those.  But anything you think would be useful to help him make the decision that might not be obvious would be helpful.