Quick house sale options?

[DrUptonsGardenGnome]

FIL has died and MIL is keen to move into a retirement complex close to us. To do this she needs to sell their house. It’s already been on the market for a couple of years, in which time it’s had one offer which then fell through.

The flats in this complex don’t come up all that often but there are a few for sale at the moment. So time is of the essence. In terms of options, this is what I have:

Continue with the open market but reduce the price (FIL was very stubborn about the price but I think MIL is more flexible. It’s just a question of how low she’d have to go.).

Sell to a house buying company (probably for 80-85% of the market value but it would be quick).

Purchase the retirement flat with a Retirement Interest Only mortgage and pay it off as soon as the house sells.

I need to speak to the EA and MIL about option 1 but does anyone have any experience of the other two options? Also if there are others I’ve missed I’d be keen to learn about alternatives.

Thanks for the advice re auctions. I’m looking into that now.

Op, please get the paperwork checked thoroughly on the retirement property for rising service charges. It was on the breakfast news this morning about exorbitant rising service charges and how they are practically unsaleable.

I agree

Be cafeful selling freehold

Moving to a leasehold
Check charges for
Communal untilities like electric
Communal charges for window cleaning, gardens, other shared areas
Leasehold insurance
Ground rent
Roof repair
Fire inspection
Extra charge if you sublet
Extra charge for visitors
All these may increase each year

Has she considered renting the retirement flat- rent paid from investing the money from the sale when it comes. There may be some available to rent or you may find teh seller would consider it if they have been on the market a while.

@7in1Pond that is a really interesting suggestion. The only ones you can “officially” rent near us are the MacCarthy Stone type. The one she’s looking at is more of an almshouse set up. I will inquire with the EA!

Please do this and do NOT buy a retirement flat unless its absolutely bargain basement price and dont buy brand new. Brand new will be a premimum price and when your parent passes it needs to be sold. At the same time the Service Charge will be payable and this could go on for years and stubborn relatives stick to the price they want for the flat. My late parents flat Service Charge was £1k PER MONTH!

She rented though but I was staggered by the number of daft late 80's even early 90's people who were buying retirement flats brand new.

If parent really really wants to buy just look at the second hand ones.

I know your FIL has passed but has it occured to you that FIL didnt want to move hence his view that he would only sell for the price HE wanted!

That and older people claiming Stamp Duty stops them moving. If there was no SD for older buyers trying to downsize I bet another excuse would come up as to why they cannot move (with often their adult children running themselves ragged to prop them up whilst the elderly claims they are living independently).

I wish SD would be removed for older people downsizing - maybe over 70's only.

I saw that BBC clip earlier too. The women wanting to move into a retirement flat at late 50's because they couldnt sell their late parents flat was daft. These flats are for over 60's or over 70. Why do people think that cannot possible include them because (insert very good reason!).

Some complexes do let you live there if you are over 55 though.

FIL definitely wanted to move. He was always getting in brochures for retirement complexes, scouring Rightmove and going to open homes. But he had some odd ideas about the value of property. Pre-Covid and before the rise of remote working, they once bought a dinky flat on the edge of a forest, miles from anywhere and any amenities as a rental. FIL thought people would flock to live there because of the view. Eventually they managed to sell it but I don’t think they ever made any money from it as a rental. They actually ended up living there themselves for a while to avoid CGT.

The reason I am saying that he didnt want to move is I work with someone whose father is 'saying' he wants to move, gets all the brochures as you say, wastes everyone's time actually looking at potential properties but every time there is something wrong with the new place.

He also wants significantly more than the EA has suggested so it just stops dead

I’m currently with my mum and thinking about this. The cost to rent a retirement flat is huge but her pension would cover it, just, so I’m thinking that could be an option. The key benefit being it’s not then left to me to cover the service changes and try to sell it. And she could move quickly. If anyone has experience of this please let me know. Mum is 82 and ok to live on her own (just - she is starting with some cognitive decline)

My DM rents one. She has a good pension so is still comfortable. It was her choice to rent. One of the flats in her complex has been for sale for almost 2 years so it does seem like a sensible option.

Is the flat that you’re looking at for your DM a Care Plus facility? Just asking because there is often a de line in cognition if you move someone with Dementia so even if she doesn’t need Carers now, she may need them after the move

To everyone considering renting retirement properties I can 100% recommend this organization. My parents (who I mentioned up thread owned a retirement flat for 5 years) moved from their owned retirement flat to renting a 2 bed flat in one of the Housing 21 developments for 5 years as dad’s health declined and my mum’s early dementia progressed.

The facility had onsite managers, residents’ lounges, a cafe, hairdressers, a church, onsite carers if needed (it was an extra care facility) good central location, purpose built and pretty reasonable rent for all that. The managers and residents operated a social committee and it was a real community. I only have experience of one but it was such a fabulous place to be older and in need of a supportive environment.
https://www.housing21.org.uk/

This is so helpful thank you! I’ll look into this as sounds perfect.

A short update from me. There was still no interest going down the price drop route with an EA. Tried a house buying co which declined to take the house 😮so the price has been dropped by £200k and it’s going to auction on Wednesday. Fingers crossed!

All these people saying it's price, it's always price. Simply not true in a lot of today's market. The market has completely changed and is impossible to predict.

There’s certainly some truth in that. I think a big problem is the stalling of chains due to political and economic uncertainty. I think if you’re selling to FTB with a mortgage in place you’re in a better position than someone waiting for a potential buyer to have sold their own home.

One complication (along with all the others!) with this specific property is that it could not be sold as a typical starter home at the corresponding price.

Hoping the auction was successful.

Starter homes don’t really exist any more - moving is too expensive and you only get one purchase without stamp duty.

Sadly it didn’t hit the reserve - not even close. MIL is very distressed. I think the folly of FIL’s property decisions is really hitting home.

Use an online auction. You can do it through an estate agent.

RTFT. 🙄

Sorry to hear your MIL is distressed at the non sale. It’s hard to be patient re property sales when you are not enjoying where you live and want to start a new chapter. In your 80s and recently widowed it must be especially challenging.

Am I right that you reduced the price by £200k to find the reserve and it didn’t hit that reserve during bidding? How does that reserve compare to the price of similar size new homes? I would expect a new home to sell for more than a 10 year old home. Has it been decorated or changed in a way that would put some buyers off? A 75 year olds taste might not be a 35 year olds taste.

I imagine that the price it was bid up to would be sufficient cash for her to get her retirement flat and live out the rest of her days in as much peace as she can muster as an elderly widow. The people the property ‘loss’ would have an impact on are the beneficiaries of her will. And if she stays there the executors of the will will also be the ones trying to get it sold in the future so their advice and opinion is really important. Are they willing to just advise her to sell it for whatever she can and move on?

What do you think is so wrong with the house @DrUptonsGardenGnome ?

To be honest there must be something seriously off-putting about it if it couldn't be sold either through a house buying company or at auction - even with a 200k reduction!

It must have been massively overpriced to begin with. But what is stopping it selling now it has been reduced by 200k?

And what do you mean by the house couldn't be sold as a starter home? Is it in bad condition or something?

Drop the price - make it a bargain, as long as it covers new purchase.

As to resale of the retirement complex flat at some point in the future it can definitely be a pain, but I think you need to deal with the here and now.

Sorry to hear this @DrUptonsGardenGnome

I think you may need to share more information in order to get more targeted advice. If you are dropping by as much as £200k is there any other alternative such as remodelling to make it more suitable for your MIL or is it a location issue which is forcing the move?

Sorry - I had not seen your updates. What a pain!

Honestly there must be something wrong with this property and you need the EA to be blunt about this or you cannot know the way forward.

If one of the house buying companies turned it down there must be a reason for this. It will not be a small ting! Do you have any idea at all what the problem is?