Inherited Macartney&Stone retirement flat - anyone rented one out?

[damemaggiescurledupperlip]

We inherited a one-bed retirement flat from DH's parents over a year ago. It has been listed for sale since then, but no real interest.

An alternative would be to rent it out. Has anyone done this in a Macartney and Stone development?

(I don't want to be a landlord, but the ground rent, service charges and double council tax do stack up. We have lowered the price twice, but nothing in the block is selling.)

@Seymour5 I think some McCarthy & Stone are still for rent, otherwise it will be private let I would have thought.

Or I did find these few if they are of any help... They all do renting for people who are retired/of retirement age.

https://www.housing21.org.uk/properties/

https://www.anchor.org.uk/properties-to-rent

https://www.retirementvillages.co.uk/retirement-properties-to-rent/

I'm sorry to hear all of this. ❤

Sorry to take so long to respond too. I never noticed the reponses at the time. I think the thread dropped a bit down my watched threads and I lost track of it, til someone bumped it back up earlier. Wish I had seen the Jeremy Vine Show today. Maybe I can get it on Catch Up On Demand.

@Zovit was his radio show, you can listen again on BBC Sounds, it’s just over an hour into the show

Oh thank you @SweetBaklava

@zov thank you for the links. Because we have no family nearby, we want to remain in our locality where we have support, and there is a huge lack of suitable properties.

Oh, that's OK @Seymour5 I really hope you manage to find some kind of retirement place soon that is long term rent/lifetime tenancy .

🤞🏼I’ll let you know if we get lucky!

I rent a retirement flat mainly because we had sold & rentals were difficult to find, However it is lovely warm,modern in the centre of town. We don,t feel the need to join the social activities as we have a good social life but many people are happy here. I would not buy. Our flat had been on the market for a year & still 2 more not sold.

Out of interest , is it on standard rental terms ( which luckily for renters are now more in renters favour) I think far more would rent if possible but the lack of security of tenure is what pushes them into buying , particularly over 75

by the way if anyone is after a lovely retirement rental- there’s a lovely 1 bedder up for the posh Rangeford village in Corsham - pool, gym, lovely cafe/restaurant, hairdresser , help on hand , lovely grounds , parking

£1350 a month and of course no service charge ) which is huge at this development)

We inherited a M+S flat when my MIL died it took us 3 years to sell, it was one of the nicer ones in the complex , we did manage to rent it out a couple of times which helped towards the fees but didn't make any more than the fees, in this time the boiler went kaput so we had a new one put in and had new carpets put in , when we got a serious buyer who wanted it for her sister to live in M+S were a nightmare to deal with,slow at communication and delay after delay chasing up paperwork constantly, in the end it sold for over 30000 pound less than original price 20 years earlier,, but while MIL was alive it was an ideal place for her to live

I do think you have to view them this way - keep them freshened up to date and expect to lose quite a lot of money - but to be honest it’s cheaper than paying for retirement/care homes over a longish period if that’s the only suitable alternative .

They are not comparable with care homes, though. Retirement flats are for healthy elders. If your health fails and you need nursing care, then you need a care home or buy in extra care as an additional expense if practicable.

That’s part of the reason why supply outstrips demand.

You have to prove your fitness when you are accepted. There are care agencies that come in, but 2 residents have recently had to move out to a nursing home. 2 beds here sell fairly well & not too much loss but 1 beds don't & have lost about 40k in 6 years. Rent or Buy seems to be a new thing. Burghley have started doing this as well as Churchill.

Whilst I agree - I have seen with my own eyes relatively healthy older people being suggested care homes and in some cases the elderly suggesting it themselves, when all they really needed was a warden controlled retirement flat, a bit of company and people ‘around’ to get some help from people if needed

Agree, they each serve different purposes. Sadly, no one has a crystal ball to help predict what our needs will be.

She was in a care home for two years with dementia and that cost £7000 a month which she was self funded so we had to deal with that as well as my DH was the person dealing power of attorney

I think if there were way more secure long term rentals at sensible money of these flats it would take a lot of sting out if it - either that or a guaranteed buy back at purchase price or a 100% rent out , rather than sell option etc -

I don’t think it’s that easy to rent them out privately. I wouldn’t!

An older person is often in denial about what they can manage. Are you honestly going to try and evict someone who fibs about mild dementia and ends up knocking on other residents doors at night. Starts silly arguments with people or moves their seriously unwell confused husband in. Retirement complexes don’t pick you off the floor if you fall.

All of these things happened at my late parents one.

Of course you can try and evict someone who leaves the taps on then goes to bed but have you seen the back logs at court?

thank you for highlighting that it is the comfort & enjoyment of the MIL that matters, not whether the children can subsequently realise their inheritance more easily

It’s not just about getting their inheritance- it’s about having an albatross around their necks having to pay the huge service charges. And again and again we hear of M&S being at best incompetent, at worst obstructive, over sales and letting.

Most of us are more than happy for the “inheritance” to be spent on keeping our family members well supported and happy, but these flats often end up not doing this. It can be a nightmare if they need to move into a care home when the flats can’t be sold but fees need paying as the flat is a supposed asset.

Agree. There is an emotional component to this too. I found it very hard to move on from losing my mother, since three years later I was still having to deal with her property and pop in from time to time.

My friend is trying to sell a retirement flat, he inherited about 9k but that has gone in council tax and service charges, he just cannot sell it...no interest and cant let it out, plus each time he reduces the price he has to pay £100 fee to the free holders, lots of clauses in the lease etc, he might just hand it back to them to avoid getting into debt keeping it going !

Can these flats be sold to the 'webuyanyhouse' type companies?

Each scheme / block has its own rules, the leases are often full of clauses about who to sell to etc so its a case of looking at them individually.