McCarthy and Stone over 55 sheltered accommodation

coachman12

walshy21 said:

Just wondering if there are any members who have an apartment up for sale and obviously we cannot have viewers but are still being charged the full rate of the service charge and ground rent even though the apartment is empty. My mum had to go into a care home after Christmas and now we can’t have viewings and paying for an empty apartment. Just wondering how ethical this is given the age of the residents? 

McCarthy and Stone have a great many awful online stories over many many years. You seem unlikely to get any sympathy from them. Plus many of their flats for the elderly are managed by the company called FirstPort ( formerly Peverel----name changed to try and hide from dreadful criticisms from TV, radio , newspaper and online complaints----including in The House of Commons). Check if the flat in question is managed by FirstPort-----if so, you will get no sympathy with your particular point which you have raised ( see separate MSE Forum entry  about FirstPort/Peverel on the MSE Praise , Rant and Rave Forum on this site earlier in March or in February).
I agree with Walsy's point about the need for ethics, as opposed to the contract; and the need for flexibility rather than uncaring financial strictness by a multi-million £ company, whether McCarthy and Stone or FirstPort/Peverel, especially when so many other companies are being so helpful in the present emergency, particularly with regard to the elderly and vulnerable in our society.

https://www.leaseholdknowledge.com/devastating-expose-of-mccarthy-stone-on-tv/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3295830/incredible-story-of-how-mccarthy-stone-retirement-flat-in-clacton-on-sea-fell-from-250000-to-60000-in-eight-years/

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2019/nov/16/flat-retirement-builder-value-mccarthy-stone
http://www.spanglefish.com/aboutpeverel/news.asp?intent=viewstory&newsid=83342
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5866968/selling-a-mccarthy-and-stone-apartment

Good luck, Walshy-----but you are up against some of the most criticised companies that exist.

eddddy

coachman12 said:

McCarthy and Stone have a great many awful online stories over many many years. You seem unlikely to get any sympathy from them. 
< snip >

You seem to have missed the point of Walshy's post.

Walshy seems to be asking a hypothetical question about morality.

• Walshy is saying that her mother shouldn't have to pay her service charge bills whilst the flat is empty.

• But Walshy hasn't said who should pay them instead - for example, her mother's neighbours, the taxpayer, the managing agent, the freeholder etc

• Walshy might be thinking that the managing agent should pay - but that means the managing agent will have to ask the mother's neighbours for more money to cover the bill.

• Is it right that the mother's neighbours should pay more service charge, because Walshy's mother's flat is empty? 

(There's an entirely different question of whether the service charge is unnecessarily high, whether the building is well managed etc. But that has nothing to do with Walshy's question about the flat being empty.

If Walshy or others want to have a discussion about the amount of McCathy and Stone's service charges or the quality of their management services, it would be ideal to make that a separate thread, rather than muddling up multiple things.)

Davesnave

walshy21 said:

 I was wondering if anyone else was in a similar situation?

Yes, Mc Carthy & Stone; their business model has had to be re-structured to avoid financial problems.

And without wishing to be too harsh, the effects of Covid19 are probably going to impact them pretty severely too, given the demographic which has been their prime market.

paddyz

Of course you have to pay all the charges until you sell, that is stated clearly in the agreement, ultimately it’s a business they are looking to make money, they will have many owners that get moved into nursing homes, do you really think they can afford to lose months of charges for those many apartments, you say you are not asking for the other owners to pay but that is exactly what would happen in the long run if people did not pay 

davidmcn

paddyz said:

they will have many owners that get moved into nursing homes

Indeed, this is the nature of any home owner's final property - it's likely to become vacant at short notice, still incurring bills until such time as it's disposed of. Generally creditors will understand that they may need to wait until the property is sold before they get paid - and in practice they don't have much choice if the cash isn't available.

theartfullodger

Don't ever remember seeing ethics used in connection with that company before

Davesnave

theartfullodger said:

Don't ever remember seeing ethics used in connection with that company before

There are good and bad ethical positions. Once it became known how hard it was for owners or inheritors to sell these properties without taking a considerable financial hit, their popularity decreased. This is probably the reason why Mc&C have now gone into rentals.

[Deleted User]

I'm afraid this would have been laid out in the legal documents before signing.  The ramifications of the end of the agreement are only becoming clear now.  Unfortunately, this happens again and again, what seemed acceptable at the start is not acceptable now you are all having to deal with it when the property is no longer being lived in.  Unfortunately, McCarthy et al are a company who were set up to make a profit, they aren't a charity although of course, when you were looking for an arrangement they probably made out how wonderful the arrangement was for an older person.  Now you are at the rough end of the deal.  I'm afraid morals and legals don't always have much in common.

AdrianC

theartfullodger said:

Don't ever remember seeing ethics used in connection with that company before

I'm sure they have several developments there.

OP - the time to consider the service charges is before buying, not after.

in_my_wellies

I took me 2 and a half years to sell my mothers apartment even in normal circumstances during which time all charges and bills needed to be paid. Plus 2 x 1% of the sale price on completion to the management company. All in the paperwork my mother signed. This was Pegasus.
Mum bought hers new and from my research it seems new properties take a huge hit until the 'market' finds its level for the area. She also bought the show home so an extra premium on top of the new build price. I was relieved a sale went through even at a loss of around £60,000 just to be rid of it. Hers was the only 2 bed but there are now 11 x 1 bed properties (out of 44) for sale in the complex. All on the market for around 50% of purchase price, they will lose around £75,000 - £95,000
OP - I feel for you, but you just have to take what you can for it