Selling A Retirement Flat

Slithery

Modern auctions are always a terrible idea. The only people that they benefit are the agents as they get to claim their fees from potential buyers over and over again without ever actually having to sell the property.

Also having a tenanted property won't really save you any money as you'll have to get rid of the tenant before anyone will be willing to buy the place unless you want to take a big hit on the price.

Your best option would have been just to keep it on the open market and reduced the price until it sold in the normal fashion.

jturt83

Slithery said:

Modern auctions are always a terrible idea. The only people that they benefit are the agents as they get to claim their fees over and over again without ever actually having to sell the property.

Also having a tenanted property won't really save you any money as you'll have to get rid of the tenant before anyone will be willing to buy the place unless you want to take a big hit on the price.

Your best option would have been just to keep it on the open market and reduced the price until it sold in the normal fashion.

To be fair I thought a modern auction would be the best idea, I’ve had to pay nothing up front. And can have a reserve price so that I don’t have to sell unless I accept a lower price. It was just giving me some scope to see what people would bid. 

Well the tenant is on a 6 month contract, so I’m not sure what you mean by get rid of the tenant? And it will save me £1067 on the council tax aside from the fact after service charge is paid will earn me £400 and something each month. So it’s definitely some relief to not be paying that out temporarily 

The property is still on the open market, just being marketed in the background 

clearancer

“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”  -  you had an offer and declined? 

Slinky

The town I live in is quite a hot property sales area. The ones that stick around are just these sorts of properties. There's a block that front onto a fairly busy road. I did a search by oldest listed last week. There's one in that block that's been up for sale for nearly 5 years that has finally sold. A couple more from 2020 have also gone.

If it becomes vacant, price it to sell and get it shifted.

user1977

jturt83 said:

Slithery said:

Modern auctions are always a terrible idea. The only people that they benefit are the agents as they get to claim their fees over and over again without ever actually having to sell the property.

Also having a tenanted property won't really save you any money as you'll have to get rid of the tenant before anyone will be willing to buy the place unless you want to take a big hit on the price.

Your best option would have been just to keep it on the open market and reduced the price until it sold in the normal fashion.

the tenant is on a 6 month contract, so I’m not sure what you mean by get rid of the tenant?

It's far from straightforward to get a tenant to leave if they don't want to.

lisyloo

Are you using a traditional agent or online?
a traditional agent may be better for an older age group plus they may already have some buyers on a list.

I sold a similar one quickly pre pandemic without issue.
are there any new shiny ones near you e.g. McCarthy & stone.

what feedback has your agent given you?

babyblade41

We are in rural SE & the small village I live in has an older demographic & yet the next village along has had some gorgeous new build retirement homes but they can't sell them either but these are new builds .

You won't be able to sell with tenant in situ & now probably won't be able to for some time as removing them could be very problematic & not straight forward.

Your only hope is to reduce the price considerably until you do get a buyer , use a local estate agent who knows the properties & local area .

Obviously fees are going to be a problem so it has to be a price that will make the fees feel acceptable 

lincroft1710

jturt83 said:

Slithery said:

Modern auctions are always a terrible idea. The only people that they benefit are the agents as they get to claim their fees over and over again without ever actually having to sell the property.

Also having a tenanted property won't really save you any money as you'll have to get rid of the tenant before anyone will be willing to buy the place unless you want to take a big hit on the price.

Your best option would have been just to keep it on the open market and reduced the price until it sold in the normal fashion.

Well the tenant is on a 6 month contract, so I’m not sure what you mean by get rid of the tenant? And it will save me £1067 on the council tax aside from the fact after service charge is paid will earn me £400 and something each month. So it’s definitely some relief to not be paying that out temporarily 

The property is still on the open market, just being marketed in the background 

You do realise that if the tenant decides they don't want to leave the property at the end of the tenancy, you will need a court order to evict them and that could take many months. 

Scotbot

The buyer pays through the nose at modern auction the minimum fee is around 6k and they lose that if for any reason they can't complete on time. This is highly likely as they are leasehold which often take longer. The buyers at traditional auction are cash buyers and savvy enough to avoid modern auctions. Most are probably under the age limit as well. I am not at all surprised no one bid

NameUnavailable

Has your tenant said that they only intend staying for 6 months? Have you told them you're trying to sell the place?

Most tenancies are for 6 or 12 months and then go onto a rolling monthly contract, which can carry on for as long as the parties want. I'm assuming you discussed all this before agreeing the tenancy though.

All property will sell at the 'right' price. It just might be that the 'right' price for your flat is quite a bit less than what the EA's think. The other option is a traditional auction but cash buyers want bargains.

With a growing older population it's strange that retirement flats are so difficult to sell.