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Life 89Capital Back 52⚖ Get independent advice
Summerset at the Course
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Trentham, Upper Hutt

Summerset at the Course

Summerset Villages (trentham) Limited · beside Trentham Racecourse · villas, townhouses, apartments + full care continuum
Life Score
89
Exceptional
Capital Back
52
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
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The village

Life here

Nestled at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac bordering the Trentham Racecourse, this established village offers stunning views of the Tararua Ranges and pastoral surroundings on a level site. Just 30 minutes from Wellington central and close to Upper Hutt shops, residents enjoy a fun and busy day-to-day life with an array of on-site activities, entertainment, and a full continuum of care. The village's peaceful setting—minimal traffic noise, framed by farmland—combines with vibrant community spaces: an indoor pool, Divine Café, bowling green, and a calendar filled with organised outings and social events.

Your home

Living options

Types of Homes

A range of modern, high-quality living options tailored to different needs and preferences.

✓ Villas: 2–3 bedrooms, modern open-plan living, contemporary kitchen, large bathroom, laundry, outdoor living, single garage with internal access
✓ Townhouses
✓ Apartments
✓ Serviced Apartments
✓ Care Centre rooms (Ministry of Health certified)
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

At Summerset at the Course, an on-site Activities Coordinator ensures a calendar of events and activities to keep you entertained, whatever the weather.

Facilities & Activities

The village offers a vibrant mix of indoor and outdoor spaces. The Divine Café—open Wednesday to Sunday, 9am–3pm—serves contemporary menus prepared on-site with wholesome, seasonal, locally grown produce, welcoming residents and the local community. A resident bar, lounge with large-screen TV, library, and piano provide quiet spaces, while the bowling green sits right next to the racecourse.

✓ Indoor swimming pool
✓ Recreational bowling green
✓ Divine Café with on-site catering
✓ Resident bar with happy hours
✓ Pool table
✓ Resident workshop
✓ Library
✓ Piano
✓ Lounge with large-screen TV
✓ Computer with internet access
✓ Communal vegetable gardens
✓ Barbecue facilities
✓ Organised outings and activities
✓ Courtesy van
✓ Exercise classes
✓ Arts and crafts
✓ Lawn bowls
✓ Quizzes
✓ Cards and board games
✓ Resident dinners
✓ Organised entertainment
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Indoor swimming pool
Divine Café
Resident bar
Bowling green
Pool table
Resident workshop
Library
Piano
Lounge with large-screen TV
Computer with internet access
Communal vegetable gardens
Barbecue facilities
Courtesy van
Village Centre
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

If your health changes, you won't have to leave the place you know. Summerset at the Course offers these levels of care on site:

Independent→Serviced→Rest home→Hospital
✓ Doctor available for appointments · Physiotherapy available for appointments · Emergency call system in units · Housekeeping · Linen change
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Summerset at the Course is located in Upper Hutt, at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac bordering the Trentham Racecourse. The village sits on a level, pastoral site with stunning views of the Tararua Ranges and farmland framing the landscape. Peaceful and quiet with minimal traffic noise, it is close to Upper Hutt shops and just 30 minutes from Wellington central, making it an ideal retirement destination that combines a relaxed, low-maintenance lifestyle with convenient access to urban amenities.

Interested?

Like the look of Summerset at the Course?

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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
52
Around average · #152 of 520
Better than 71% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
25%
charged on your entry price
Your share of capital gain
0%
operator keeps 100% of any uplift
Time to get capital back
~161 days
median, from 33 recent resales
Fees after you leave
Stop
good — many villages keep charging
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 52 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.

Move-in fee you don't get back Deferred Management Fee — weighted 30%
25% deferred fee — lower is better.
38
Share of capital growth Capital gain to resident — weighted 15%
0% — the operator keeps any resale uplift.
0
Speed your capital returns Median resale time — weighted 30%
161 days across recent resales.
85
Fees stop when you leave Weekly fees on exit — weighted 15%
Charges end on vacancy.
100
Interest if repayment is slow Interest on delayed capital — weighted 10%
No interest on delayed repayment.
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

25%

Accrues over your first 2 years, charged on the entry price.

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

Capital gain

0% to the resident

Any increase in the licence value at resale is kept entirely by the operator.

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

How fast your capital comes back

~161 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident. (Operator-stated average: 169 days.)

Market: median 154 days; 21 villages still average over a year.
✓

Fees & interest on exit

Resident-friendly

Weekly fees stop when you vacate.

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.
  • A large deferred fee is gone within a few 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