The Forum at Rancho San Antonio in Cupertino

If you’ve owned your home in Cupertino, Los Altos or Saratoga for 25 or 30 years, The Forum at Rancho San Antonio is probably already on your radar, and for good reason. It’s a full continuing care community up against the Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, and it runs on a model you won’t find at most places around here: residents buy into the community rather than rent from it. That one fact changes almost everything about how you plan the move, so I want to spend real time on it, because the biggest question I get from families looking at The Forum isn’t about the dining room. It’s about how the house pays for the membership.

In the tour video above I walk the grounds and give you a feel for the setting, so think of this article as the companion piece. I’ll cover the care levels, daily life and the ownership structure, and then I’ll put on my REALTOR® hat and talk through selling the family home, taxes and timing, since that’s where I spend most of my working hours with families headed to a place like this.

Where The Forum Sits and Why the Location Matters

The main campus is at 23500 Cristo Rey Drive in Cupertino, at the edge of the Rancho San Antonio preserve, and residents can walk from the community onto the preserve’s trails. You’re still only a few minutes from Highway 280, the shops and restaurants of Cupertino and Los Altos, and the medical offices most longtime locals already use. For people who’ve built 40 years of friendships, doctors and routines in the west valley, that’s a big deal, because moving here doesn’t mean starting over somewhere unfamiliar.

The entrance on Cristo Rey is set back behind heavy native landscaping, and a dark monument sign is about the only thing that tells you a community of several hundred homes sits up the road.

How Resident Ownership Works at The Forum

The Forum opened in the early 1990s with the idea that residents themselves would own and govern the place. According to the community’s own materials and its public bond disclosures, the property is owned by a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, and when you move into independent living you purchase a membership in that corporation and sign occupancy and healthcare agreements. A separate nonprofit entity provides the healthcare services, and day-to-day management is handled by LCS, a senior living management company. Residents elect a board from among themselves, so the people living there have a direct voice in budgets, services and the direction of the community.

The financial difference from a typical entrance-fee community is worth understanding. At many continuing care communities you pay a large entrance fee that’s partly refundable (or not refundable at all), and the refund often shrinks the longer you live there. The Forum describes its model differently: your membership is tied to the residence you occupy, it can be resold when you move out or pass away, and it can gain value over time, which means you or your estate could get back more than you paid (or less, since markets move both ways). Monthly fees still apply on top of that to cover dining, maintenance, programs and access to the care continuum.

I’d urge every family to read the actual contract and the resale provisions carefully, ideally with an elder law attorney, before signing anything. Ask how resale works, how long it typically takes, what fees apply at transfer, how the monthly fee has changed over the past several years, and what happens to your estate’s timeline while a membership is being resold. You can also learn how California oversees continuing care contracts, and what protections residents have, through the CDSS Continuing Care Contracts Branch.

The Levels of Care on Campus

The Forum is a true Life Plan Community, which means the full range of care lives on one campus and you aren’t hunting for a new place when your needs change. Last I checked, the continuum looked like this:

Independent living in apartments and villas, with floor plans running from roughly 900 square feet up past 2,000, most with full kitchens, in-home laundry and a patio or balcony.
Assisted living in the Health Care Center on Via Esplendor, with help for medications, bathing, dressing and mobility, and nursing staff available around the clock.
Memory care in a secured neighborhood called Daffodil Ridge, built for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias.
Skilled nursing and rehabilitation, including physical, occupational and speech therapy for short stays after a hospital visit or longer-term care.

The practical value of this setup shows up on the worst day of the year, not the best. If Dad has a fall and needs rehab, or Mom’s memory starts slipping, the next level of care is a short walk away, the spouse who’s still independent stays in the home they know, and nobody has to make a panicked search for a bed somewhere across the valley. That’s the whole point of a continuing care community, and it’s the reason people who choose The Forum tend to be planners who want to make one move instead of three.

For assisted living and memory care, I always tell families to look up the licensing history themselves. In California those levels are licensed as residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), and you can search the license and read inspection reports on the California Community Care Licensing facility search. It takes about ten minutes and it’s time well spent before a tour.

Daily Life, Dining and Staying Engaged

Independent living here is built for people who are still busy, and the calendar reflects that. The community offers a fitness center with classes like yoga, strength and balance work and water aerobics, along with lectures (including speakers from Stanford and around Silicon Valley), book clubs, art, music and film nights, plus plenty of resident-led groups where people teach what they know. There’s also a chapel with multifaith services. Housekeeping and maintenance are handled for you, which frees up time for grandkids, travel or simply hiking the preserve out the back door.

Dining gets a lot of attention too. Menus rotate daily with an emphasis on seasonal ingredients, there are both formal and casual settings, and the kitchen accommodates vegetarian, gluten-free, diabetic and heart-healthy diets. Meals in assisted living and memory care are adapted so residents can eat with ease and dignity.

Selling the Family Home to Buy Into The Forum

Here’s where I can be most useful. With a rental community, the house mostly needs to cover a few years of monthly fees, and some families keep it or rent it out. At The Forum, you’re funding a significant upfront purchase on top of the monthly fee, and for most of my clients that money comes from the sale of the home they’ve lived in for decades. When the expansion villas were built, their prices were reported in the $2 million to $3 million range, and apartment memberships vary widely by size and view. As of September 2026 I’d treat any figure you find online as a starting point only and get current numbers from the sales office.

That makes timing the central strategic question. Some families can buy the membership first with savings or a short-term bridge loan, move in without pressure, and then sell a vacant, staged house, which usually brings the best price. Others need to sell first and line up a rent-back or a short-term rental so they aren’t moving twice. It’s a bit like a relay handoff: the baton has to change hands cleanly, and dropping it in the exchange zone is expensive. I also use Compass Concierge with many sellers, which can front the cost of paint, flooring, landscaping and staging so the home shows at its best and you pay it back at closing.

On taxes, the good news for longtime owners is the Section 121 exclusion, which lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain if you’re single, or $500,000 if you’re married filing jointly, as long as the home was your primary residence for two of the last five years (the details are on the IRS Topic 701 page). In a Cupertino or Los Altos home bought in the 1980s, gains often exceed those limits, so talk with your CPA about the numbers, including any stepped-up basis on a late spouse’s share. People also ask me about California’s Prop 19, which lets homeowners 55 and older carry their property tax base to a replacement home. Whether a membership in a nonprofit corporation qualifies as a replacement primary residence is a question for the Santa Clara County Assessor and your tax advisor, so please don’t assume it does.

Finally, there’s the sorting. A 2,000-square-foot villa is generous by senior living standards, but it isn’t a four-bedroom house with a garage full of history. I usually recommend starting on the belongings a few months before a listing, deciding what goes to the new home, what the kids want, and what gets sold or donated, and then letting an estate sale or move management company take it from there. If your parents are the ones considering The Forum, involve them early in these conversations, because the decision lands much better when it’s theirs.

Who Tends to Choose The Forum

Many residents are longtime Bay Area homeowners, retired professionals, educators and business owners, along with people relocating to be near adult children. What they tend to share is a preference for making a decision on their own terms while they’re healthy, rather than having a crisis make it for them. The ownership model appeals to people who like having a stake and a vote, although if you’d rather keep your equity liquid or aren’t sure you’ll stay in the area, a rental community with no upfront purchase may suit you better.

Touring and Next Steps

The Forum offers in-person tours and virtual options, and the sales team can walk you through availability, current membership prices and monthly fees. You can reach them through the official Forum website or by calling (650) 944-0100. Bring a written list of questions about resale, fee history and care access, and try to make a second visit at mealtime.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is The Forum at Rancho San Antonio really resident-owned?

It is, in the sense that the property is owned by a California nonprofit mutual benefit corporation, and independent living residents purchase a membership in it. Residents elect the board, while day-to-day operations are managed by LCS. Review the contract with an attorney to understand exactly what you’re buying.

How is The Forum’s membership different from a regular CCRC entrance fee?

At many continuing care communities the entrance fee is partly refundable or non-refundable and often declines over time. The Forum describes its membership as tied to your residence and resalable, with the potential to gain or lose value. Ask the community for its current resale terms, timelines and transfer fees.

What levels of care are available on campus?

Independent living in apartments and villas, assisted living in the Health Care Center, memory care in the Daffodil Ridge neighborhood, and skilled nursing with rehabilitation therapies. Confirm current availability directly with the community.

Should I sell my house before or after buying into The Forum?

It depends on your savings, loan options and how much the membership costs. Buying first with savings or a bridge loan lets you sell a vacant, staged home without pressure, while selling first may require a rent-back. A REALTOR® who works with seniors can map out both paths with your financial advisor.

Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell my longtime home?

The IRS Section 121 exclusion lets you exclude up to $250,000 of gain if single or $500,000 if married filing jointly, provided the home was your primary residence for two of the last five years. Gains above that may be taxable, so review the numbers with a CPA.

Can I use Prop 19 to transfer my property tax base to The Forum?

Prop 19 allows homeowners 55 and older to transfer their tax base to a replacement primary residence in California. Whether a membership at The Forum qualifies is a question for the Santa Clara County Assessor and your tax advisor, so don’t assume it applies.