Hi. I am a 54 yr. old widow who gets Social Security disability. I can not afford my house and am looking to move to a 55 and older community in NY. They say I can not close on the unit until I am 55. Do I need to wait, or can an exemption be made based on the fact of my disability?

You would have to review the covenants by which the communtiy was set up.

Yes they are allowed to restrict you.
Yes, 55+ Age-Restricted Communities Are Legal
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When you say you can't afford your house, how urgent is your situation? Do you own it outright, is there a mortgage, are the taxes too high, when are you 55? If you want to sell it, you need to hurry - the best 2 months are April and May.
We can help you get to 55 in your house if you want to tell us more.

That is totally and completely up to the community based on its by-laws. The by-laws MAY give them flexibility to allow an exemption or it may not. Even if they have the flexibility, they don't have to use it.

All we can tell you is that they may have the flexibility, you have to apply to them for an exemption. If they refuse find a different community or wait.

Spot on answers gang, each community is different. We purchased our home in Sun City AZ (the original Del Webb Sun City) and we bought at age 51. Our documents (CC&R's) allow anyone to buy but can only live there if they are 55. Though we do allow underage owners to come a certain number of days per year.

For those contemplating retirement buying in early is a great investment in their future. The challenge is to make sure the age restricted community you are buying in allows rentals (if that's what you are looking for). Read the documents carefully and often the best thing you can do is not only visit but try and spend some time talking to residents and experts within the community.

Agree it is up to the actual complex, of course other issues to consider is if there are plans for other family to ever visit or live, restrictions on that.

So you will need to just sit down with someone in higher management perhaps to review the rules

I like bpearson's idea of buying early. Prices are going back up, or at least sales are increasing in volume, and baby boomers are just now hitting 65-66 and will be downsizing in droves.

Put your house on the market now.
Put a lot of what you own in storage until your 55th birthday and 'stage' your house.
It may take months to sell and close, so have a plan for a short term place to stay until you can close on the new place and move in on your b-day.