anyone thinking of buying a Mccarthey stone retirement flat DONT

[Isseywith3witchycats]

3 years ago my MIL died and to date trying to sell her flat in Braintree has been an absolute nightmare, 1st buyer found a cheaper one, second buyer pulled out on exchange day current buyer has been waiting for paperwork to come from them which has taken forever just about to go to exchanging paperwork and they have now said prospective buyer can not buy it as she is 58 years old this flat was bought 15 years ago for £147000 and even at £105000 which was what we accepted still cannot seem to sell it, thing is in the complex its in its one of the best ones large due to being on a corner and ground floor so direct access to the gardens and have had a brand new boiler put in and over the three years it has cost service charges so god knows what we are going to do when whats left of the estate money has gone 7 heirs so each heir wont get a massive amount of money

Your children will be receiving any lump sum that was accumulated before 2014 I think. They certainly will not be receiving 100% of the pension that transferred from your ex to you. The spousal pension is pittance.

Again in my particular situation that is not the case. I have worked out what my ex and myself if still married would have got if he/we lived 30 years after pensionable age and it is less than I am currently holding in investment plus it has already provided me with a good pension for three years - the same amount actually as my H was receiving. Admittedly it was a very high final salary pension. I now hold more than I originally got in the divorce settlement. Thise assets are inheritable IHT free.

They will actually be inheriting more. Currently I am drawing out a lesser % than my fund is increasing. You must realise that everyone's situation differs?

Agree we have strayed off the topic of retirement properties!

McCarthy & Stone developments? Avoid like the plague.

My own personal view is that you should be able to let them provided the tenant is of appropriate age and mobility for that development - and pre purchase whether new or 2nd hand everyone should pay a £12, 000 'service charge' one off premium - that goes into a pot so that no service charges or ground rent at all are due and payable after the person is no longer at the flat - yes it would be a bit more at the beginning and some would lose out and others gain depending if it took 3 months to sell or 3 years- but the large payment upfront by all would balance it out. - but at least relatives would know where they are !!!! Council tax too should be nul and void at that point - and I think it would smooth the flow of sales too - no service charges should be allowed to go up by more than 3% a year - it should be regulated.

I'm about to buy one & it is £927/month!! I'm not keen but my wife is. I am about to break the bad news to her today. Found a few stories like this.

Yep. And when you die you'll be leaving the person who inherits that flat with a £925 a month bill for something they can't even use.

@saraclara to be fair though that situation is similar I think with anyone who has a leasehold flat to sell in these circumstances - although admittedly rarely as high as that charge and with a broader market .

The difference is the size of the market though. A normal flat, sensibly priced, is likely to sell within six months or so. My colleague was paying her step mum's service charge for two years! There are so many new retirement developments being built, that supply outstrips demand.

The one near me is for the over 70s only. That's a pretty small pool, and the hard sell is for the new properties. It turns out that much of that pool prefers that to buying from a private vendor, even when the latter is vastly cheaper.

There's a smaller retirement place a few hundred yards away, where it seems that half the flats are for sale with a local estate agent, and have been for a very long time.

@saraclara indeed which is why my 85 year old father in law just bought a 3 bed bungalow in a funky town!!

That would be ideal! Right in the middle of a funky town so easy access to everything, and lots going on. Preferably with cool and helpful neighbours.

I don't want to live with other old people. I want a mix of ages around me. But of course that will rely on me not needing care at any point.

@saraclara which is exactly what he has. He says the last thing he wanted was a complex where people vanished off every week - reminding him of his own mortality . He has a lovely modern medical centre and cottage hospital 5 minutes walk plus the bus stop , a spar and a coop and pub within 2 minutes - plus the town centre5 minutes walk with train station too . He's now 11 miles away from us and 20 minutes drive , rather than 170 miles away . He was fussy on criteria so was a bit hard finding somewhere that fitted and buying and selling at 85 is really hard - but I do think it will be a lot easy than his previous house with stairs and a huge garden in a village with few facilities these days and where he constantly needed to drive