McCarthy & Stone: want to road test a retirement apartment and report back for Gransnet? You could win £200! NOW CLOSED

Hi both - we have the below information from McCarthy & Stone for you:

"Many thanks for your comments. The ages stated above are intended to be a guide. We can be flexible when it comes to the ages of the homeowners we welcome to our developments, as we want to ensure retirees find the development that meets their individual requirements.

Retirement Living Plus is the perfect option for those looking for more of a ‘future-proof’ solution as homeowners can access tailored support services to meet their changing needs; however we find there are many over 70s living very active and fulfilled lives in our Retirement Living and Lifestyle Living developments.

We would suggest calling McCarthy & Stone on 0800 1533314 or visiting your nearest development(s) and taking a closer look. Our teams are very friendly and helpful, and they can provide advice and guidance on the options – in your local area and beyond – that might best suit you. "

lizziepopbottle - we have the below information on pets from McCarthy & Stone:

"For the purposes of our ‘Experience the Lifestyle’ offer we don’t normally accept pets for what is a short stay, however we completely understand how important the companionship of a pet can be, so we welcome a well behaved pet to live with homeowners in their apartment. A quick chat with the Sales Executive at the development will be able to provide further details"

Thanks all for your queries! We have the below information from McCarthy & Stone:

"Thank you for sharing your recent experience with us. All of our apartments are built with the latest high specification fittings, as well as clever storage solutions to maximise space as much as possible; however we do understand that downsizing from a larger property with lots of belongings, can be a stressful process. To help with this we offer a ‘Smooth Move’ service where our removals experts can assist you with anything you might need from packing ready to move, to de-cluttering, to transporting everything safely to your new home.

When you buy one of our properties, you can sit back and let our team of professionals take care of all the maintenance of communal and external areas. This is covered in the monthly service charge. It also covers the cost of the House Manager/Estates Manager to ensure everything runs smoothly, security, buildings insurance, laundry facilities, maintenance, water and sewerage, window cleaning and heating of the communal areas.

At our Retirement Living PLUS properties the service charge also covers staff on-site 24/7, a chef to prepare lunch-time meals and one hour of domestic assistance per week, to use as you wish.

You can find more information on our service charges here: www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/faq/

The value of retirement housing is more than simply financial, it’s a lifestyle choice; and the pricing at the majority of our developments does track the local market.

We recently introduced a new in-house service to provide specialist support to homeowners who wish to sell their apartment. They are there to help homeowners throughout the process, so they can sell their apartment quickly, and for the best price.

You can find more information on this here: www.mccarthyandstoneresales.co.uk

GrannieAnnie123 - we've been informed that the best location for you would be Swift House (in Maidenhead, Kent).

Loiria - we have the below additional information from McCarthy & Stone:

" There are important considerations when buying leasehold. With regard to the points made above, McCarthy & Stone is one of only a small number of retirement developers to offer 999 year leases. This was introduced as part of a series of measures to improve our products, and which has resulted in improved saleability and greater retained value. These also included:

- Setting up an in-house management services team in 2010 with a dedication to high standards, providing a single end-to-end service for customers
- Providing more internal space, en-suites, underfloor heating, walk-in wardrobes, improved bathrooms, level-access showers and enhanced kitchens
- Removing exit fees and introducing 999 year leases
- Increasing car parking ratios

With regard to service charges, we find it can often be cheaper to live with us than a customers’ previous property. We do not charge commission on any services and our electricity and heating bills are often lower. The services covered by the service charge cover a range of day-to-day expenses such as the House Manager, scheme security, buildings insurance, laundry facilities, maintenance, water, sewerage, window cleaning and heating of the communal areas, and they provide good value for money. On average, a person’s outgoings on like-for-like services are no more expensive than their previous property. In many cases, there can be a saving.

Also service charges are agreed in consultation with homeowners through an open-book budgeting process. McCarthy & Stone has developed a simple chart to help homeowners make a direct comparison for use during the sales process. When a customer wishes to purchase an apartment, a McCarthy & Stone consultant will sit down with the customer to help them fill in service charge costs, review what is covered and compare this with day-to-day running costs in their current home.

The vast majority of our properties also increase in value when resold. However, as well as buying a beautiful apartment, our customers also recognise that they are buying into a lifestyle based around security and companionship, ease of maintenance, and enhanced wellbeing. As a result, the value of living in retirement housing is more than simply financial; it is also about helping our customers to live independently and have healthier, happier and, hopefully, longer lives.

At McCarthy & Stone we recognise that there is a need to support customers and their families if and when they need to re-sell their apartment; so we’ve introduced a new dedicated in-house resale service which is there to help homeowners throughout the process, and to liaise with local estate agents to ensure they properly understand retirement housing and how it should be valued, to achieve the best price.

For more information, please visit: www.mccarthyandstone.co.uk/faq

OldMeg - we have the below from McCarthy & Stone:

"Many thanks for your enquiry. The main aim behind this is to demonstrate what living at a McCarthy & Stone development is really like. Our ‘Experience the Lifestyle’ offer effectively lets you try out a property before you buy, which is not something you can generally do with most housebuilders. That’s because we understand that as well as buying a low maintenance, modern retirement apartment, you are also buying into a lifestyle based around security, companionship, reduced responsibilities etc; and what better way to get a feel for this, than to come and spend time there. Ideally, you would be someone that is considering downsizing in the area now or sometime in the future, and who wants to understand the various different options available to you. After which you’ll share your experiences with other Grans net users, so they too can get an understanding of what Retirement Living is all about, and why it could be a good lifestyle choice for them.

You are not obliged to do anything after your stay, you are simply asked to take a tour of the development with the Sales Executive while you are there, so they can show you around and point out all the different facilities, and be there to answer any questions you may have.

Hope that helps. We would suggest calling McCarthy & Stone on 0800 1533314 or visiting Keately Place in Moreton-in-Marsh and taking a closer look.

McCarthy & Stone have also asked us to pass on the below information regarding pets:

“We understand how important the companionship of a pet can be so we do adopt a pet-friendly policy at many of our developments. We work with everyone homeowner on an individual basis to determine the suitability and needs of their pet, and they can contact the Sales Executive for further details or to discuss this.”