December 13, 2024

Three quarters of Churchill Retirement flats have lost money when resold, says The Times

An analysis of Land Registry data has shown that three-quarters of the flats built by Churchill Retirement – owned by the McCarthy family who founded McCarthy and Stone – have resold at a loss, according to The Times. The average fall in value has been 18%, or £43,000, the newspaper said, with one flat in […]

The Times says families ‘lost £3 billion’ on resales of leasehold retirement flats, while developers and freehold speculators made millions

The Times today suggests that families have lost £3 billion on the resale of leasehold retirement flats between 2001 and 2015 in a series of articles that add up to a devastating investigation of the sector. Some 80 per cent of the properties sold had fallen in value, with an average loss of £38,846, the […]

Guardian reports dismal retirement flat re-sale prices, as seller ponders £28,000 offer

‘My flat was £161,950 in 2007 – now I’m offered just £28,000’ When Tony Cross’s father was the first buyer at a McCarthy & Stone retirement development in Folkestone, Kent, he thought he was getting a bargain. The sales rep offered him an “early bird” discount, knocking £3,000 off the cost of a one-bed flat, […]

Your Housing Group shared equity retirement flat that sold for £38,000 on ITV

A family who bought a shared equity retirement flat and lost £50,000 on its re-sale will feature on ITV tonight. Housing Crisis: What Next For The Elderly? Tonight Housing Crisis: What next for the Elderly? Tonight Most experts agree we are in the midst of a housing crisis but much of the focus has been […]

£15,000 for Pegasus Court leasehold retirement flat in Rochdale – which once sold for £85,000

Another disastrous retirement leasehold resale price, where neighbours have paid £165,000 A leasehold retirement flat at Pegasus Court, in Rochdale – built by Pegasus Retirement – is up for auction with a headline price of £15,000 later this month. The property has been sold twice before: for £59,750 when new in 1997, and for £84,950 […]

Resale disaster zone: Burlington Court in Bridlington, where one flat has sold for £36,000

5 flats sold for less than £50,000. 12 flats less than £60,001 The dismal state of retirement flat resales is starkly illustrated by figures from the Land Registry concerning Burlington Court in Bridlington. Five of the flats here have been sold for less than £50,000; seven of the flats have sold for less than £60,000. […]

Ground rents are essential to McCarthy and Stone’s business model

… but leaseholders are concerned it is selling freeholds to anonymous buyers … McCarthy and Stone complains about ‘right to reply’ to LKP / Better Retirement Housing articles McCarthy and Stone told The Times yesterday that there would be fewer of its form of retirement flats if the government reduces ground rents to a minimal […]

Another day, another set of fees in a retirement flat sale …

Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to make you aware of the exorbitant transfer fees, contingency fee & charges for information packs that we were charged by E&M Estates Management Ltd when I sold my parents flat last week. The flat in question was built by Mcarthy & Stone in Deal, Kent, managed by Peverel & […]

Family hit with £9,341 contingency fee charge on Anchor’s Cherry Trees flat …

… that’s on top of a £26,950 fall in value after 11 years of ownership A family whose parents owned a one bedroom flat at Anchor’s 59-unit Cherry Trees site in Redcar, Cleveland, have been hit with a double whammy common in retirement leasehold. First, the flat for over-55s was bought for £79,950 in 2004 […]

‘Our flat at McCarthy & Stone’s Buckingham Court has fallen in value £60,000 in 14 years’

(… and what does the Elderly Accommodation Counsel / HousingCare.org actually DO, apart from advertise these properties for sale?) By Ian Robinson If you require an example of how bad the resale value of the properties are in the retirement market you need look no further than the McCarthy and Stone built Buckingham Court. We […]

Oldies should downsize and give retirement house builders lots of money, reports Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph has repeated a load of retirement house builder propaganda in a story about oldies downsizing. Story link is here It is basically a re-hash of the 2013 report by the think tank Demos, called The Top of the Ladder – which was paid for by the House Builders’ Federation on behalf of […]

Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation at Number 10

LKP / Campaign against retirement leasehold exploitation were invited to 10 Downing Street for a meeting this afternoon to discuss the leasehold sector and the need for reform. Every area of the sector was discussed – including, at length, retirement housing – at a meeting that was held at the request of Sir Peter Bottomley, […]