Selling A Retirement Flat

jturt83

Hello All, 

Just looking for some advice on selling a retirement flat please...

At the end of September 2020 I lost my Father and inherited his retirement flat which is mortgage free and valued at £135,000. My preference is to sell, and although it is costing me around £250 in service charge each month, and £150 (now rising to £175) in council tax (after my 6 month waiver from when probate was granted) I still want to get the best price possible and as close to what it has been valued at by 3 different estate agents, even though I have reduced the price somewhat to help.

I've had very little interest in the property since it went live around December 2020 on the open market, I have tried a modern auction, and renting out the property. And although since last week I now have a tenant on a 6 month deal, before then it was costing me a lot of money each month. I've spoken to retirement property specialists and looked to exhaust any possible help but in terms of selling the property but I've had no joy in selling.

The property is in Kent, and has a new kitchen and bathroom and carpets are not too old so in comparison to some of the other dated properties on the market it is quite attractive. I understand the market was a bit all over the place since covid, and there is possibly a backlog on these types of properties, and being a tough property to sell anyway it hasn't made things easy. 

Does anybody have any advice please? Or any experience or knowledge that may help me in selling the property in the near future.

Many thanks 

user1977

Are any similar properties in the area actually selling? If so, at what price? 

jturt83

user1977 said:

Are any similar properties in the area actually selling? If so, at what price? 

Quite a few on the market yes, and in the same building for a similar timeline to mine there has been around 5 or 6. And they range from £90-120k but they too were struggling to sell. There’s a few with home wise at a very low price but I don’t know much about what home wise do. 

But in terms of selling I would need to look but I don’t think many if any have sold since but I shall double check 

user1977

Or to put it another way, what comparables have the agents used to price your flat? The best evidence is prices from completed sales.

lincroft1710

Getting a tenant in may have seemed like a good idea, but it could delay you trying to sell if they decide not to vacate when you and a potential buyer want to exchange contracts.


Modern method of auction - bad idea, puts potential buyers off.


Normal method of auction, you may get less money, but the property is sold. But as you have a tenant, you can't use this method.


Many years ago a former colleague who was a chartered surveyor and arranging sales of repossessed properties told me a funny but true story. He had valued a flat for a building society and it would be the 3rd identical flat in the block, the BS were trying to sell, the other 2 so far had had no interest. BS manager rather agitatedly says to my colleague "Look we have more money invested in this one, can we market it at a higher price than the other 2". Colleague politely but firmly points out to BSM that with 2 already on the market and not selling, putting a 3rd on at a higher price is going to encourage even less interest in that one,


This is the same for you. Forget whatever price the EA gave, the flats aren't selling. You have to have the best flat at the most competitive price and if you don't have the best flat, the your price has to be even more competitive.


Many years ago I had to sell my deceased father's bungalow. The best offer received was below the asking price and less than what I really wanted. But the money would enable me to finance early retirement and improve my own home, plus I no longer had to worry about bills and maintenance of another property., so I accepted the offer

TripleH

My in-laws sold their retirement flat to the daughter of their neighbour.

The rules do limit the demand for these places and the service charge can put a lot off.

Unless the flat you're selling is newly refurbished and the other properties are in need of a desperate overhaul that will cost more than the price difference, you may have to take a hit on the sales price am afraid.

jturt83

user1977 said:

Or to put it another way, what comparables have the agents used to price your flat? The best evidence is prices from completed sales.

Yes when they came to do the quote they compared with what properties were for sale and the price presently and what price the most comparable property within the same building last sold for. I feel their valuation of the property was correct but even an auction could not bring any “bids” 

jturt83

lincroft1710 said:

Getting a tenant in may have seemed like a good idea, but it could delay you trying to sell if they decide not to vacate when you and a potential buyer want to exchange contracts.


Modern method of auction - bad idea, puts potential buyers off.


Normal method of auction, you may get less money, but the property is sold. But as you have a tenant, you can't use this method.


Many years ago a former colleague who was a chartered surveyor and arranging sales of repossessed properties told me a funny but true story. He had valued a flat for a building society and it would be the 3rd identical flat in the block, the BS were trying to sell, the other 2 so far had had no interest. BS manager rather agitatedly says to my colleague "Look we have more money invested in this one, can we market it at a higher price than the other 2". Colleague politely but firmly points out to BSM that with 2 already on the market and not selling, putting a 3rd on at a higher price is going to encourage even less interest in that one,


This is the same for you. Forget whatever price the EA gave, the flats aren't selling. You have to have the best flat at the most competitive price and if you don't have the best flat, the your price has to be even more competitive.


Many years ago I had to sell my deceased father's bungalow. The best offer received was below the asking price and less than what I really wanted. But the money would enable me to finance early retirement and improve my own home, plus I no longer had to worry about bills and maintenance of another property., so I accepted the offer

The tenant is in now, and for a min of 6 months. 4 months of which I can’t sell so the estate agent tells me. So it will delay selling but to be honest things take time anyway and I’d rather wait for the right offer than rush and having a tenant in gives some light relief from outgoings.

Oh yes of course I’m willing to accept less than what the estate agent has valued it at, and I have dropped the price by 15k but still nothing. And my argument is when I’m told to reduce the price is that there are similar (not as nice) flats in the same block at a considerable price reduction and they are not selling. And also we know the audacity some people have to put in a low offer but not even that

Robin9

The retirements flats in my area seem to be complexes that have minimum age occupancy and cannot be tenanted out - are there any similar restrictions on your fathers flat.

There is definitely a stagnant upper limit

jturt83

TripleH said:

My in-laws sold their retirement flat to the daughter of their neighbour.

The rules do limit the demand for these places and the service charge can put a lot off.

Unless the flat you're selling is newly refurbished and the other properties are in need of a desperate overhaul that will cost more than the price difference, you may have to take a hit on the sales price am afraid.

Yes the service charge can be off putting, however this one isn’t too bad in comparison to others and quite a few properties these days come with service charges. 

I’m ok to taking a hit, but I’m not even getting any viewings or offers aside from a few at the start of the year 

jturt83

Robin9 said:

The retirements flats in my area seem to be complexes that have minimum age occupancy and cannot be tenanted out - are there any similar restrictions on your fathers flat.

There is definitely a stagnant upper limit

That is correct yes, the age limit is 55 or above. And yes I also had to get written permission from the directors to rent it out and sell via a modern auction. I believe there is some give or take on the age by a few years subject to an interview with the estate manager