Medford Leas is the arboretum one: a Quaker-guided Life Plan Community open since 1971, whose two campuses in Medford and Lumberton sit inside the Level I accredited Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve, with a traditional lifecare agreement on one campus and a genuinely unusual choose-your-coverage structure on the other. This guide is written from the seller’s side of that move, because the entrance fee and the Burlington County house are usually the same money. It is independent research; Samantha is a real estate agent licensed in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, not affiliated with Medford Leas or The Estaugh.
What Medford Leas is, in verified numbers
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Not-for-profit Life Plan Community for adults 55+, sponsored by The Estaugh (Quaker-related nonprofit founded 1914); Medford campus opened 1971, Lumberton campus 1999 |
| Setting | More than 250 acres across two campuses inside the Barton Arboretum and Nature Preserve, a Level I accredited arboretum with 5 miles of trails and Rancocas Creek access |
| Scale | 392 independent living units, 98 personal care, 21 memory care, 24 skilled nursing |
| Contracts | Residence and Care Agreement (traditional lifecare-style), or at Lumberton a Residence Agreement with optional fee-for-service health and long-term care |
| Published pricing | Entrance fees from $80,000; monthly fees from $2,264; refundable options available |
| Governance | All-volunteer board of trustees including at least one resident; no individual holds equity in the community; CARF-accredited |
The community’s own history and FAQ state the structure plainly, orientation pricing appears in Philadelphia magazine’s directory, the Barton Arboretum documents the setting, and the NJ Department of Community Affairs oversees the disclosure framework.
Two campuses, two agreements
- Medford is the traditional campus: the Residence and Care Agreement with the continuum behind it, the structure our CCRC funding guide decodes.
- Lumberton is the hybrid: garden homes and townhomes where the Residence Agreement buys campus life and amenities while health and long-term care remain optional fee-for-service, functionally a midpoint between a CCRC and the 55+ ownership models in our three-way decision guide.
- The Quaker family comparison is worth one week of tours: Pennswood Village across the river in Bucks, Foulkeways in Montgomery County, and Kendal-Crosslands in Chester County share the culture; Medford Leas is the South Jersey price point and the only one inside an accredited arboretum. The master fee table holds them all.
The New Jersey rules on both sides of the move
- 01The senior transfer fee schedule: New Jersey’s seller-paid realty transfer fee drops meaningfully for sellers 62 and older; the net proceeds calculator applies it automatically.
- 02The disclosure statement is your right: the NJ DCA requires annual financial disclosure to prospective residents; read it with an adviser before any deposit.
- 03Municipal certifications: smoke/CO/extinguisher certificates are universal in Burlington County and some towns add resale inspections; the fee index carries the specifics and lead times.
Sequencing the house sale against the move
- 01House number first. The valuation and net proceeds calculator establish what the Medford or Moorestown colonial nets under the senior schedule.
- 02Take the free financial review, but bring your own numbers: the community’s preliminary review is genuinely useful once the house number is real rather than guessed.
- 03Choose campus and agreement with the adviser, then reserve and list on one calendar, closing at or just before move-in.
The Burlington County house this move usually involves
The house behind a Medford Leas move is usually a Burlington County house: a Medford or Moorestown colonial, a Marlton split, a Mount Laurel two-story, often owned thirty years in districts that keep demand steady. Three field notes for exactly that sale:
- Prepare in passes, not projects: repairs and light over remodels, with the room-by-room checklist handling decades of contents.
- Certification timelines at listing, not under agreement, from the fee index.
- Private wells and septic east of Medford: homes toward the Pines often carry the well and septic diligence layer, including New Jersey’s Private Well Testing Act; start it early.
Samantha, SRES®, sells the houses on both ends of this exact move across South Jersey and the river counties. If Medford Leas is on your shortlist, start with the free valuation that turns the house into the number the two-campus decision needs, or ask her how your town’s certification timeline fits the community’s calendar. An arboretum with a continuum attached deserves an equally well-tended sale.