MCCarthy Stone- what's your view?

[Flyhigher]

Elderly parents in law thinking of a McCarthy Stone place. What do you think?

Is it good or bad? Are they financially worth it?
Do you lose money?

I think it's a scam.

My mum lives in one and is very happy but I am concerned about when anything happens to her......

If they sell out the homes to another company then any beneficial things may not exist anymore. There would also be increases in service charges to consider. Plus I believe their properties cannot be inherited and have to be sold on on death of resident (don't quote me on that though).

There was a thread on this earlier on this year, so maybe this link will help:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/elderly_parents/5003937-mccarthy-and-stone-risks-and-benefits

Very hard to sell once you don't need it anymore. My grandparents were in one and after they left us my dad sold it at a loss. Steer clear.

A friend’s mum rented one. The staff were good and facilities nice but it was wrong move as her health issues soon became too much for the situation. I’m not convinced the problem wasn’t more to do with the choices the family made rather than tge company itself

I know people who’ve bought them and had a really tough time selling them later and others who haven’t. I think it really depends on the location and the comparable prices of other suitable accommodation locally.

Bad.

probably OK if renting but would counsel against buying one, ever. Service charges can be astronomical and they can be pretty hard to shift when no longer needed, with ongoing service charges/bills while waiting for a buyer. MIL’s was sold at a considerable loss, despite the fact that she bought off-plan, and only lived there for about 3 days (before realising she hated it, and moving back to her thankfully unsold family home).

You have to continue paying the service charge unt they're sold and they have a 1% claw back clause.

Avoid - very expensive and always sell on at a huge loss. If you can find one in an older building they are generally a lot cheaper but dont have the flashyness of the new builds. Look to see if you can get a rental - but do check out the service charges - they are huge.

They’re good for the old person who lives there, bad for the relative who have to sell after the old person has passed on

My mum was in M&S apartment for several years. She was very happy there until she died recently. The sale is currently going through. We had no problems finding a buyer.

It sounds like a fecking racket😡
We need housing options which are genuinely suited to the needs of older people. Not sharks feeding on the vulnerable😡

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-68253902.amp

My friend inherited one and it took two years to sell but she had to keep paying all the charges on an empty flat. I'm not even sure if you can rent them out in order to at least keep it ticking over and claw back some of the expenses.

She was so relieved when it finally went.

We have loads of them around this area, south coast, especially the ones by the sea.

The ones by us sell for 180k new and there's never been one sold second hand as there's still new ones 4 years later. The last one that went on the market was at 90k about a year ago.

They're not ms I think they're Churchill but same premise, they have a 1% fee on resale and also you have to have their agreement to sell to make sure they maximise the clawback

They're not allowed to be rented out and you can't stay there even if you meet the age restrictions. You have to rent their 'guest apartment' which admittedly is cheaper than a premier in but all adds up if you have to sort out a flat

I think they have some benefits for the resident as they have a warden/regular checks/ communal lounges and hairdressers and meetings/ clubs etc but a complete cluster for anyone having to sell it on.

Once you are in there you are trapped with ever spirally service charges with no redress. Fine if you have mega funds.

Once the person passes on, you have to sell to a Mcarthy Stone approved person. While you are wanting to sell you are responsible for all the maintenance fees.

They are fine for the residents but a total nightmare for the beneficiaries.

The 1% admin fee on sale is supposed to be to build up a reserve fund for major works but the service charge gets ridiculous anyway.

Do you know what would have happened had she said to them 'sorry I am unable to cover the service charge, you will have to wait until the place is sold'?
Surely they'd just have to accept it?

No, I don't think she ever did, it probably didn't occur to her to say something like that. I would imagine they would deduct outstanding charges once a sale was completed, so she'd pay then if unable to before.

At one point they had a buyer but it fell through early on, then I think someone wanted to rent it that didn't happen Probably due to MS rules. It was an almighty headache for her to deal with.

I agree. I look at property in the area I'd like to move to and there happens to be a big McCarthy and Stone place right in the middle. In the last 2 months I've seen 3 of the flats in that development sell, one sold in under a month.

I think if you buy them new you lose money but if you buy at a good price for a second hand one that particular block seems to hold it's value, I was being nosy and looking at sales history.

Focus on if it is a good move for the elderly person and not about what will be left to the family once the elderly person dies

Exactly

All of those retirement developments have high service charges that you have to pay even if empty. It's not great. They do vary - get plenty of details.

Having looked at a lot of these, they are designed for maximum profit without much consideration of what they are like to live in. Outlook into a brick wall, or views only of the car park. Sit down in one - those sitting down may not even be able to see out of the windows. They may be badly orientated so they are dark and cold, expensive to heat.

Mccarthy and Stone are particularly skimpy and cheap feeling. I wouldn't choose them.

Having said all that - there is a block of these near me and though they have all the problems above, because it's a really old block the service charge is low and they are a really cheap way to live centrally in a very expensive city. It's not impossible that it could be a decent choice, it's just unlikely.

With regard to not paying for service charges, they just rack it up against the estate. It quite often happens that relative just do not have any money to pay the fees.

There is a contract issued at the beginnings which the purchaser signs. I have also heard that McCarthy Stone charge interest on the unpaid fees. Their argument is that while the flat is empty, the costs are still there.