55+ Community Clubhouses and Amenities: What the Association Fee Pays For

A 55+ community's monthly fee pays for whatever its documents make the association responsible for, which can be as little as the clubhouse and the grounds or as much as your lawn, snow, trash, roof, bus service and even property taxes. Two communities with the same pool and the same clubhouse can charge very different fees because one covers far more of the house than the other.

I'm Dennis Mark Interdonato with The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living. This article covers the amenities you see on a tour and the services you don't, using what communities around here say their own fees include. I don't print fee amounts: they change with every budget, so ask the association for the current figure.

What amenities do 55+ communities in Monmouth and Ocean County have?

A wide range, from a single clubhouse to a small resort. A few examples from the communities' own sites:

• Renaissance at Manchester has a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse with a heated indoor pool and hot tub, an outdoor pool, and an 18-hole executive golf course in the middle of the community.
• Greenbriar Oceanaire in Ocean Township (Waretown) describes a clubhouse of about 38,000 square feet with indoor and outdoor pools, a gym, a library, a ballroom and a restaurant.
• Crestwood Village One in Whiting lists a recreation hall, a picnic grove, shuffleboard, bocce and a nine-hole par-three golf course.
• Toll Brothers built Regency at Trotters Pointe in Tinton Falls around a 4,400-square-foot clubhouse.

Bigger isn't automatically better. A 38,000-square-foot clubhouse has to be heated, cleaned, insured, staffed and eventually re-roofed, and the owners pay for all of it.

What does the fee cover besides the clubhouse?

This is where communities split. Compare what four of them say their monthly charge includes:

• Renaissance at Manchester: lawn cutting and irrigation, and snow removal from your driveway and front walk.
• Crestwood Village 5: lawn mowing, snow plowing, garbage removal, bus service, and repair or replacement of your home's roof. Owners pay their own property taxes and water and sewer bills to Manchester Township.
• Crestwood Village 6: grass cutting, trash, gutter cleaning, monthly leaf and brush pickup, roof repair or replacement, bus service and a maintenance department.
• Cedar Glen Lakes (a co-op): real estate taxes, insurance on the structure, water and sewer, lawn care, snow removal and bus service.

Crestwood Village Co-Op spells out the other side too: its carrying charge doesn't include water and sewer, heat, electricity, phone, or repairs and replacements such as exterior doors, garage doors, windows and screens. That's the list to ask every community for: what the fee covers, and what stays yours.

Who owns the clubhouse, the pool and the golf course?

Often the association, as common property that every owner pays to maintain. Golf is where it varies most:

• Westlake Golf and Country Club in Jackson says every homeowner is a part owner of its golf course.
• Renaissance at Manchester requires residents to join the Renaissance Golf Association to play its course.
• Greenbriar Oceanaire encourages homeowners to join its golf membership.

So ask whether golf, a restaurant or a fitness program is in the fee, a separate membership, or a pay-as-you-go charge. My guide to 55+ golf communities in Monmouth and Ocean County goes course by course. Also ask about guest rules: Renaissance, for example, requires a resident to accompany any guest using an amenity.

How do reserves keep the amenities running?

Every pool liner, clubhouse roof and parking lot wears out on a schedule. New Jersey requires associations in planned developments to undertake and fund a capital reserve study, prepared or overseen by a licensed engineer or architect or a credentialed reserve specialist, with a proposed 30-year funding plan. The Department of Community Affairs lists pools and gyms among the common assets that study covers, and associations with less than $25,000 in common capital assets are exempt (NJ DCA).

One detail buyers should know: if an association chooses to fund reserves at 85% of its plan, it has to notify owners, and a seller has to hand the buyer the most recent notice before the purchase contract is signed. Ask for the reserve study and the budget either way. For the general rules on fees, reserves and special assessments, read HOA and condo fees in New Jersey.

How do I read a fee the way a builder would?

I spent years building and remodeling New Jersey homes, so I look past the brochure to the systems. When a fee includes roof replacement, I want to know the age of the roofs and what the reserve study plans for them. When a clubhouse has an indoor pool, I want to know the age of the mechanical equipment behind it. A low fee with a thin reserve isn't a bargain; it's a bill that hasn't arrived yet.

Then I put the fee next to the price, the property taxes and the insurance for the home, so you're comparing the full monthly cost, not the sticker. If you're selling to buy, start with a free home value, and see how fees affect resale in how 55+ homes are priced and appraised.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to live in a 55+ community?

The purchase price, the monthly fee, property taxes, insurance and utilities. The fee varies by community and by what it covers, so ask the association for the current budget and fee.

Do 55+ community fees cover property taxes?

In fee simple communities, owners usually pay their property taxes to the township themselves. In some co-ops, such as Cedar Glen Lakes, the monthly charge includes real estate taxes.

Do 55+ community fees include roof replacement?

Some do. Crestwood Village 5 and 6 say theirs include roof repair or replacement. Others don't, so check the documents.

Can guests use the clubhouse and pool?

Usually, under the community's guest rules. Renaissance at Manchester, for example, requires a resident to accompany any guest using an amenity.

Is golf included in the fee?

It depends. Some communities include course ownership, others require a separate golf membership. Ask before you buy.

This is general information, not legal, tax or lending advice. What each fee includes comes from each community's own site, opened October 11, 2026, and can change with each budget.

About the author

Dennis Mark Interdonato is a REALTOR® and Master CDRE® who leads The Dennis Mark Group at Keller Williams Realty Ocean Living in Point Pleasant, NJ, helping buyers and sellers throughout New Jersey make their next move, with Monmouth and Ocean County as home base. Read more about Dennis Mark.

Keep reading

• 55+ community rules to read before you buy
• Association paperwork and fees when you buy or sell
• Community pages: Leisure Village East, The Fairways at Lake Ridge and every adult community on the map
• Have a question this didn't answer? Send it to Dennis Mark.