Tararu Retirement Village
photos: operator / Village Guide
Retirement living · Thames, Thames Coromandel

Tararu Retirement Village

BUPA Retirement Villages Limited · between the bush and the sea · villas + apartments with on-site care home
Life Score
74
Strong
Capital Back
58
the money ↓
See what life here is like — then weigh what it means for your family further down.
The village

Life here

Nestled between native bush and the sea just outside Thames township, Tararu Retirement Village offers a homely setting with spacious grounds and stunning views. Residents choose from stylish one and two bedroom apartments or roomy villas, all designed for independent living with modern kitchens, en-suite bathrooms and 24/7 emergency alarm systems. Village life here strikes a balance between active engagement—with movie nights, games, high teas and gardening—and the quiet relaxation you prefer, all within a short stroll of the butterfly and orchid gardens and Kuranui Bay.

Your home

Living options

Villa & Apartment Living

Choose between spacious villas or stylish apartments, all designed for independent living with modern amenities and security.

One and two bedroom villas
One and two bedroom apartments
En-suite bathrooms
Open plan lounge and dining
Modern kitchens with quality appliances
Heat pump/air conditioning
24/7 emergency call system
Secure lockable windows and doors
Living options
A day in the life

What living here is actually like

Village life can be fun and active or quiet and relaxing—it's always your choice.

Activities & Community

High quality community spaces and a varied activities programme help residents mingle with like-minded people and enjoy their retirement.

Three communal lounges and libraries
Gymnasium
Indoor and outdoor bowls
Pool table and pétanque
Cards and board games
Movie nights and high teas
Happy hours and gardening activities
Social outings and shopping trips
Hairdresser available for appointments
Village transport
Always something on
On your doorstep

Facilities & services

Library
Gymnasium
Billiards/Pool table
Bowling green (indoor and outdoor)
Pétanque court
Community lounges
Communal kitchen
Wellness clinic
Hairdresser
Village van
24/7 emergency alarm system
Security patrols
Peace of mind

Care for life, on site

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

IndependentRest homeHospital
✓ On-site care home · Health clinic
Care and community
Where it is

Setting & neighbourhood

Tararu Retirement Village is located between the bush and the sea, just outside Thames township in the Waikato & Coromandel region. The village enjoys spacious grounds and wonderful views out to the Firth of Thames, yet is just a short drive from central Thames and all its amenities. It's only a few minutes' stroll from the fantastic butterfly and orchid garden and Kuranui Bay, offering residents easy access to natural attractions and local services.

Interested?

Like the look of Tararu?

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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
58
Above average · #73 of 520
Better than 86% of NZ villages — yet the market median is just 46. The sector is tough.
Deferred fee
30%
charged on your entry price
Your share of capital gain
0%
operator keeps 100% of any uplift
Time to get capital back
~167.5 days
median, from 16 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 58 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%
30% deferred fee — lower is better.
25
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%
167.5 days across recent resales.
84
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%
Interest is payable if capital is returned late.
100
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

30%

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

~167.5 days median

Your capital is repaid once the unit is re-licensed to a new resident. (Operator-stated average: 189 days.)

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

Fees & interest on exit

Resident-friendly

Weekly fees stop when you vacate, and interest is payable if your capital is returned late.

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