Dunwoody Village has been doing this since 1974: a not-for-profit continuing care community on 83 acres in the center of Newtown Square, on land that belonged to the banker and philanthropist William Hood Dunwoody, with a contract whose monthly fee keeps covering routine nursing and personal care if health changes. This guide is written from the seller’s side of that move, because the entrance fee and the house are usually the same money. It is independent research; Samantha is a real estate agent, not affiliated with Dunwoody Village, built from the disclosure statement and annual report the community itself publishes.
What Dunwoody Village is, in verified numbers
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Not-for-profit continuing care retirement community, operating since 1974 |
| Campus | 83 acres in the center of Newtown Square, Delaware County; enclosed, heated walkways connect apartments and country houses |
| Residences | 159 apartments, 65 country houses, and 40 Penrose carriage homes; current resident population 448 |
| Care on campus | 81 private personal care rooms (20 in a secure memory unit) and 81 private skilled nursing rooms in the Care Center |
| Entrance structure | Two options: non-refundable (declining 2% monthly for 50 months) or 50% refundable (priced 46% higher, half always returns to the resident or estate) |
| Financial signals | Investment grade rating from Standard and Poor’s; disclosure statement and audited financials published in its own annual report |
The community publishes its full disclosure statement and annual report on its own site, and its FAQ states the fee mechanics plainly. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department explains what every CCRC disclosure statement must contain and why prospective residents should read it with an adviser.
The two entrance fee options, priced from the disclosure
Dunwoody’s published 2025 sample fees for a two-bedroom apartment show the whole decision in one table:
| Option | Entrance fee, single | Entrance fee, double | Monthly fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Non-refundable (declines 2% monthly, 50 months) | $320,700 | $370,700 | $5,528 single / $8,822 double |
| 50% refundable (half always returns) | $481,100 | $556,100 | $5,528 single / $8,822 double |
- The monthly fee is identical under both plans, which isolates the decision cleanly: this is purely a choice about what the estate recovers, priced at 46% more up front for the 50% floor.
- The non-refundable fee is fully earned after roughly four years (2% monthly for 50 months), the same shape as Plan A at Riddle Village down the road in Media, which makes those two communities unusually easy to compare honestly.
- The refund is an estate asset under the 50% option, which belongs in the Pennsylvania inheritance tax picture and in the wills; our executor’s guide explains why families want those provisions in writing early.
The care promise inside the monthly fee
The line most families miss in the brochure is in the disclosure statement: the monthly fee continues to cover routine nursing care or personal care services in the Care Center, adjusted for meals, rather than resetting to per diem rates. Three planning consequences:
- The largest retirement unknown shrinks. Extended care at market per diem rates is the number that breaks retirement plans; a contract that keeps the monthly fee structure through personal care and routine nursing converts much of that risk into a known cost. The exclusions (prescriptions, ancillary charges) are listed in the residence agreement; read them, not the summary.
- The medical deduction follows. Dunwoody’s own materials note a portion of the entrance fee and monthly fee may be tax deductible depending on contract type, per the prepaid medical expense rules in IRS Publication 502. That deduction lands in the same tax year as the house sale; one accountant, one picture, as our CCRC funding guide lays out.
- Couples should read the split-residence provisions. The agreement defines what happens to fees when one spouse moves to the Care Center and the other stays in the residence, which is precisely the scenario that becomes urgent later; it is a before-signing conversation, not an after-crisis one.
Sequencing the house sale against the move
- 01House number first. The valuation plus the net proceeds calculator produces the after-cost figure that decides which residences, and which of the two fee options, are actually on the table.
- 02Read the annual report before the deposit. Dunwoody publishes it; take the community up on the transparency and have the adviser read the financials and refund provisions.
- 03Reserve, then list, on one calendar. Target the closing at or just before move-in so proceeds wire straight to the entrance fee. Newtown Township and its neighbors each carry their own resale paperwork; the fee index lists every municipality’s requirements and lead times.
- 04Choose the bridge deliberately. Sell first and move once, or move first and carry both briefly; the sell-first-or-buy-first guide walks the tradeoffs.
The house this move usually involves
The house behind a Dunwoody move is usually within fifteen minutes of the campus: Newtown Square itself, Broomall, Marple, Edgmont, Media, or over the line into Willistown and West Chester, a colonial or rancher owned decades in the Marple Newtown or Rose Tree Media school districts. Three field notes for exactly that sale:
- Prepare in passes, not projects. Buyers here pay for districts, lots, and bones; clear, brighten, and repair rather than renovate. The room-by-room checklist keeps the clear-out from stalling the calendar.
- Township paperwork starts at listing. Start with the Newtown Square guide for the campus’s own township, and the Delaware County guide for the wider picture.
- Mind the tax windows. The $250,000/$500,000 exclusion covers most of these sales, and where a spouse has died, the two-year window in our surviving spouse guide can set the timing by itself.
Samantha, SRES®, sells the houses on both ends of this exact move across Delaware and Chester counties. If Dunwoody Village is on your shortlist, start with the free valuation that turns the house into a number you can hold against both columns of the fee table, or ask her how your township’s timeline fits the community’s. Fifty years of operation, two clean options, one calendar; the order of operations is the whole game.