I have just been reading another article talking about how the price of retirement flats drops when they come back on the market after the person who bought it new either dies or moves into care

MOnica, sometimes people do want to buy 'pre -loved' apartments. The choice of the first buyer (s) matters enormously. Many will prefer to buy the apartments with views, balconies, facing south or west and not overlooked. The mistake, I think, is to buy any flat within the complex, whether it's small, dark and without any outside space, just to be part of the sheltered community. Later on, the more desirable ones are much more likely to re-sell, rather than the pokey dark ones.
I have a friend who bought a new apartment some years ago. It was lovely; light, bright and well designed. She sold it on recently and made a profit of £125,000. Her family has moved to another town and she's moved in to another new place near them. It can be done. The principles are the same when buying property of any kind: location, aspect, outdoor space, condition, storage etc.

Re-reading what I wrote earlier, one reason why new ones sell better than older ones could be that they are in theory less likely to need major repairs, eg a new roof, the cost of which would be split between the flat owners.
My friend pays quite a low maintenance charge which covers the warden (who no longer lives on site) and the groundsmen, and communal facilities, with a portion going into the funds for minor repairs, but the company would expect residents to stump up for major expenses, an unknown figure.

Well your relatives might have been waiting to die Purplepixie but ours were not.

And you don’t know us!

My MiL and all her friends, 90 residents, were totally happy in their retirement home which my mil likened to a hotel.

One size doesn’t fit all. Yours and you might have hated it but not everyone did/does.

Silvershadow

Purplepixie

I can’t think of anything worse. Retirement living and waiting to die.

Except that they’re not! Have you ever visited one? No, well until you have you cannot say that. Far from waiting to die, they enjoy friends, meals, entertainment and family nearby. No upkeep of old houses and gardens, no worries at all really.

YES! I have been to several, thank you! My mother in law lived in a one and also my aunt and uncle. I went along with them while they chose the ones they wanted and I hated everything about them. So don’t say NO because you don’t know me!

M0nica

But WHY do people not want o buy these flats on the resale market.

New or resale these flats are not my choice but i have friends living in them who are very happy. But as I said, they sell new, why don't they sell on resale?

(Leasehold on my local McCarthy and Stone was 999 years from its building).

I think this depends on location, tbh. How many comparable properties available in any given area. And - how nice different flats are as situated within the building.

Compare for example the 3rd floor sunny with a nice view Juliet balcony one with the ground floor north facing too near the busy back bits. Which do you think goes quickly and which takes longer to resell.

I was given to understand depending on your income and savings u can claim housing benefit for service charges

Chocolatelovinggran I was in the same position. Took 3 years to sell godmothers flat in an affluent part of London. I let it out to a retired couple, the return was handsome.

Silvershadow

My DH and his brother sold his mother’s McCarthy and Stone flat at half what his mother paid for it, bought from new. The whole saga lasted nearly three years. They rented it out to cover the fees which were still payable despite her death because they couldn’t sell it. They feel very lucky to have sold it now. Hindsight is a wonderful thing but we have said we would only move into one ourselves if we rented. We wouldn’t want our own kids having this problem.

This is what my Mum and Dad did. They rent from the company who owns the complex, but trying to get repairs done is stressful. They were without a shower for weeks and washing with a bucket before it was fixed. The flat above had a water leak that came through the kitchen ceiling knocking out the light. That took weeks to fix. The blinds in the living room have deteriorated because they get sun most of the day. Oh, we have given those to the tenants, so that’s your problem.

But WHY do people not want o buy these flats on the resale market.

New or resale these flats are not my choice but i have friends living in them who are very happy. But as I said, they sell new, why don't they sell on resale?

Leasehold v freehold problem
Leasehold is always problematic

I don’t want to buy one as I’ve seen what they are like to live in. Mil moved into one at 88 years old and had 4 lovely years there. They are great places for a certain generation which is now dwindling due to death. But now I’m widowed and no family, and getting on in years, that type of living style just doesn’t appeal. I like my quasi invisibility living in my terrace with its death trap stairs, I don’t want to acknowledge I’m getting older and what my later years of existence might be. I’m the latch key gen x generation of independence. The close knit, being kept an eye on and do what’s socially expected of you, just isn’t for me. Nor, is it for a lot of similar aged/circumstances female friends. The living model just doesn’t suit us.

This spell checker gets worse by the minute. Should say flats not plays.

I think the Management and other fees on Retirement and other plays is a racket. And a real earner for the companies who manage them.

Somebody should look into this. It's long overdue.

I’m putting my father’s retirement flat on the market tomorrow after eight months of battling HMCE and Probate.
It’s not a McCarthy & Stone type of development, just a privately built block in a village centre with fees of around £400 pcm. Dad refused point blank to rent so I’m stuck with the fallout.
He bought coming out of Covid when prices were high so I’ve always accepted that I’d be selling at a loss and tbh if it covers the IHT I’ll be happy.
The estate agent I’m using has sold the few flats that have changed hands since dad bought his so I’m confident that it will go eventually.
I have considered renting it out but my three adult children do not want to have to sort it out when I pop my clogs.
Having said all that… it really was the best thing for dad when he lived there. He’d been very isolated before and appreciated what it offered. If I never see it again it will be too soon.

There is a complex near me where a friend lives. She leads a very active life, as do most of the residents. It is on a bus route with a small shop nearby too. Management fees are very reasonable but there is no guarantee that residents won’t ever have to contribute more for a major cost eg roof repairs. So that is an uncertainty as well as the rising costs each year, with no ceiling.
That doesn’t explain why new places sell better than older ones, but this complex has fairly quick turnovers.

A retirement property here is on the market for £85k after being purchased for £175k in 2023. Still no takers and this is not the only one. Another's one on the market for £60k. Wouldn't touch them with a barge pole

Purplepixie

I can’t think of anything worse. Retirement living and waiting to die.

Except that they’re not! Have you ever visited one? No, well until you have you cannot say that. Far from waiting to die, they enjoy friends, meals, entertainment and family nearby. No upkeep of old houses and gardens, no worries at all really.

I can’t think of anything worse. Retirement living and waiting to die.

M0nica

valdali

There's a lot of clever marketing & leafleting of the new developments too. Targetted to older people in big homes, who've probably been bogged down over the years with repairing this, getting someone in to do the garden etc etc.Never getting the whole place straight, always something left to redecorate etc.

Siting them in "nice" areas locally & promising they'll make the conveyancing easy. I can see why they are tempting.

But that does not answer the uestion why people wll happily buy these flats new but not on the resale market.

Monica, what do YOU think may be answer to your question?

When MiL sold to McCarthy and Stone, from memory there were three valuations from local estate agents. They did meet near enough that price and bearing in mind her house needed modernisation they were happy with it. The declutterers came and also packers on the day. She moved in. There was help unpacking. She ate in the restaurant, used the very large washing room with 20 industrial washing machines and tumble dryers. She loved the organised entertainment. She made many friends. The GP and pharmacy were literally across the road. Sainsbury’s was five minutes walk away. I could go on and on. It worked for her, 84 years old when she moved in and died at 90. It was a happy ending for her. She also had plenty of visitors. The security of it was also very appealing to elderly ladies living alone.

The simple answer is cost Monica. People who buy new have the means to afford the fees. They want to be first in the apartment. Few want to buy second hand which means selling the property themselves, via an estate agent.

If you buy new, they help you declutter, buy the old home from you, arrange the removals and moving in, it’s all easy for elderly people recently bereaved who do not want the hassle of doing it all themselves.

MOnica are resale flats as easy to hear about as new? If there are still some new flats available the management can have no interest in marketing resale ones for less.

valdali

There's a lot of clever marketing & leafleting of the new developments too. Targetted to older people in big homes, who've probably been bogged down over the years with repairing this, getting someone in to do the garden etc etc.Never getting the whole place straight, always something left to redecorate etc.

Siting them in "nice" areas locally & promising they'll make the conveyancing easy. I can see why they are tempting.

But that does not answer the uestion why people wll happily buy these flats new but not on the resale market.

There's a lot of clever marketing & leafleting of the new developments too. Targetted to older people in big homes, who've probably been bogged down over the years with repairing this, getting someone in to do the garden etc etc.Never getting the whole place straight, always something left to redecorate etc.

Siting them in "nice" areas locally & promising they'll make the conveyancing easy. I can see why they are tempting.

With 24/7 management a couple of whom one is frail can stay together for longer which is beyond price in itself and into the bargain puts off the cost of care home fees.