Selling A Retirement Flat

p00hsticks

jturt83 said:

GDB2222 said:

jturt83 said:

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 

I'm lost! You're trying to sell at £135k. There are several others struggling to sell at £90-120k, and you are wondering why there's no interest in yours? I understand that you have had 3 estate agent valuations. Yes, there are newish carpets, kitchen and bathroom.

But, you are £45k more expensive than the cheapest one. That's 50%. And, the cheapest one is struggling to sell. It's not as if it has been snapped up.

 You have missed the point, if there is no interest in the lower priced ones either, why would I lower it? And besides these lower priced ones would need some work, where as mine would not.

So you match the price of the lower priced ones (or make it just slightly higher), and then anyone wanting to buy one will pick yours as the best value of the bunch....

But unfortunately now you have a tenant, and I know you don't want to hear it but the general advice on boards such as these tells potential buyers to walk away from anywhere that doesn't already have vacant possession ......

esubbs

Retirement flats seem to be the only thing that is hard to sell in the last year or so. Currently in the town I'm looking there are 14 properties for sale, 10 of them retirement.
Meanwhile all those people the retirement properties were aimed at when built are staying in their big four bed family homes for fear of losing their investment by downsizing 🤷

jturt83

lisyloo said:

jturt83 said:

user1977 said:

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.

But surely with a managing agent for the building and an estate agent overseeing this and also given the clientele these properties attract (added to the responsibility the managing agent has with the interview) I can’t see it being that difficult. Besides I’m looking for advice and peoples own experiences with retirement properties here not negativity 

You are being advised of a risk here.
if the tenant won’t leave what are you expecting the managing agent or estate agent to do? Estate agents sell properties, they have no authority with tenants.
you will have to serve an eviction notice (and make sure all your paperwork is perfectly in order otherwise it’s invalid), then you’ll, have to get a court order.
around my way the wait for a court date is around 4 months, it may be less or more where you live.
so it might not happen but it’s a risk you’ve taken,
its not being negative for people to advise you of potential pitfalls that others are very aware of.
The law is on the side of tenants not landlords at the moment

you can choose to write it off as negativity, but conveyancers and hence any potential buyers will be aware of it.
they will want guarantees or a discount for the risk of a sitting tenant.
you tenant can also sabotage viewings if they wish 

And I appreciate the advice, but I was looking more for advice with peoples history with selling etc. Not advice on a potential negative outcome. Like I say if we all thought that a tenant would not leave or sabotage a potential move, nobody would rent out properties. In the same way I would never ride a rollercoaster if I thought that coaster would crash. The point is I have rented it out for good reason financially, so I accept any potential outcomes going forward but my reasoning to choose to have a tenant suited me

jturt83

GDB2222 said:

jturt83 said:

GDB2222 said:

jturt83 said:

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 

I'm lost! You're trying to sell at £135k. There are several others struggling to sell at £90-120k, and you are wondering why there's no interest in yours? I understand that you have had 3 estate agent valuations. Yes, there are newish carpets, kitchen and bathroom.

But, you are £45k more expensive than the cheapest one. That's 50%. And, the cheapest one is struggling to sell. It's not as if it has been snapped up.

I'm not trying to sell at £135k, that is what the estate agents valued it at, which is a fair valuation. I listed it for a short while at this price then came down to £115k as a guide price. I still very much would like the valued price, but I'm well aware I may have to come down a bit. You have missed the point, if there is no interest in the lower priced ones either, why would I lower it? And besides these lower priced ones would need some work, where as mine would not.

I apologise if I'm too judgemental. I am just trying to be realistic.

If you want to sell, you need to be competitive in the market place, taking into account the prices at which other comparable flats have actually sold, as well as the condition of your flat. Asking prices for unsold flats are not such a good guide.

If you find that the only flats that have sold have gone for a low price that you won't sell at, then you know where you stand.

Noted, and I will do some more research into what prices properties within the building and close to have sold for to gauge more of an idea of what price I can sell for. 

jturt83

TripleH said:

The estate agents' valuation of £135k is too high sadly, it is merely a 'quoted' sale price. The value is what people will pay for it. The excess supply of properties means you could have a bidding war downwards to sell. It might also make people wonder why so many are up for sale and if there is something wrong with the area (I understand why you are selling and why there are several other flats for sale but some people might not think logically).

Is it costing you to rent it out at the moment?

I know it might not be ideal but it might make sense whilst waiting for the other units to sell?

I personally don't think so, I actually agree with the estate agent's valuation. And if the value is what people would pay for it, why are people not making offers? Even if that offer was well below the asking price, or giving feedback that the price was too high etc.
It isn't costing me to rent out no, but being vacant was costing me close to £500 a month. This is why I got a tenant in, some temporary relief from the financial costs each month, and to let the market calm down a touch, and see what happens with other properties.

jturt83

p00hsticks said:

jturt83 said:

GDB2222 said:

jturt83 said:

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 

I'm lost! You're trying to sell at £135k. There are several others struggling to sell at £90-120k, and you are wondering why there's no interest in yours? I understand that you have had 3 estate agent valuations. Yes, there are newish carpets, kitchen and bathroom.

But, you are £45k more expensive than the cheapest one. That's 50%. And, the cheapest one is struggling to sell. It's not as if it has been snapped up.

 You have missed the point, if there is no interest in the lower priced ones either, why would I lower it? And besides these lower priced ones would need some work, where as mine would not.

So you match the price of the lower priced ones (or make it just slightly higher), and then anyone wanting to buy one will pick yours as the best value of the bunch....

But unfortunately now you have a tenant, and I know you don't want to hear it but the general advice on boards such as these tells potential buyers to walk away from anywhere that doesn't already have vacant possession ......

Yes this is very much the vibe I'm getting, but I would ask what would the advice on the boards do if they were in my position before I had a tenant? Costing me almost £500 a month on a vacant property, added to the bills on my own it was very costly. I needed some relief from paying out, and I can sell the property 4 months in the 6 months so in reality it really isn't that long to wait

user1977

jturt83 said:

p00hsticks said:

jturt83 said:

GDB2222 said:

jturt83 said:

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 

I'm lost! You're trying to sell at £135k. There are several others struggling to sell at £90-120k, and you are wondering why there's no interest in yours? I understand that you have had 3 estate agent valuations. Yes, there are newish carpets, kitchen and bathroom.

But, you are £45k more expensive than the cheapest one. That's 50%. And, the cheapest one is struggling to sell. It's not as if it has been snapped up.

 You have missed the point, if there is no interest in the lower priced ones either, why would I lower it? And besides these lower priced ones would need some work, where as mine would not.

So you match the price of the lower priced ones (or make it just slightly higher), and then anyone wanting to buy one will pick yours as the best value of the bunch....

But unfortunately now you have a tenant, and I know you don't want to hear it but the general advice on boards such as these tells potential buyers to walk away from anywhere that doesn't already have vacant possession ......

Yes this is very much the vibe I'm getting, but I would ask what would the advice on the boards do if they were in my position before I had a tenant?

I would have expected the general advice to be to cut the price until it's at a level where you get a buyer, and not to insert the potential obstacle of a tenant in the property.

p00hsticks

jturt83 said:

p00hsticks said:

jturt83 said:

GDB2222 said:

jturt83 said:

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 

I'm lost! You're trying to sell at £135k. There are several others struggling to sell at £90-120k, and you are wondering why there's no interest in yours? I understand that you have had 3 estate agent valuations. Yes, there are newish carpets, kitchen and bathroom.

But, you are £45k more expensive than the cheapest one. That's 50%. And, the cheapest one is struggling to sell. It's not as if it has been snapped up.

 You have missed the point, if there is no interest in the lower priced ones either, why would I lower it? And besides these lower priced ones would need some work, where as mine would not.

So you match the price of the lower priced ones (or make it just slightly higher), and then anyone wanting to buy one will pick yours as the best value of the bunch....

But unfortunately now you have a tenant, and I know you don't want to hear it but the general advice on boards such as these tells potential buyers to walk away from anywhere that doesn't already have vacant possession ......

Yes this is very much the vibe I'm getting, but I would ask what would the advice on the boards do if they were in my position before I had a tenant? Costing me almost £500 a month on a vacant property, added to the bills on my own it was very costly. I needed some relief from paying out, and I can sell the property 4 months in the 6 months so in reality it really isn't that long to wait

I appreciate that it's costly - I'm in more or less the same position keeping a vacant property ticking over whilst waiting to sell as an executor of an estate (although thankfully I don't have a large monthly service charge to subsidise). But in your shoes, as the only beneficiary, as I understand you are, and with such a property I would have simply put it up for a traditional auction or onto the market at a low price right from the start just so as to get shot as quickly as possible.  

lisyloo

jturt83 said:

lisyloo said:

jturt83 said:

user1977 said:

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.

But surely with a managing agent for the building and an estate agent overseeing this and also given the clientele these properties attract (added to the responsibility the managing agent has with the interview) I can’t see it being that difficult. Besides I’m looking for advice and peoples own experiences with retirement properties here not negativity 

You are being advised of a risk here.
if the tenant won’t leave what are you expecting the managing agent or estate agent to do? Estate agents sell properties, they have no authority with tenants.
you will have to serve an eviction notice (and make sure all your paperwork is perfectly in order otherwise it’s invalid), then you’ll, have to get a court order.
around my way the wait for a court date is around 4 months, it may be less or more where you live.
so it might not happen but it’s a risk you’ve taken,
its not being negative for people to advise you of potential pitfalls that others are very aware of.
The law is on the side of tenants not landlords at the moment

you can choose to write it off as negativity, but conveyancers and hence any potential buyers will be aware of it.
they will want guarantees or a discount for the risk of a sitting tenant.
you tenant can also sabotage viewings if they wish 

And I appreciate the advice, but I was looking more for advice with peoples history with selling etc. Not advice on a potential negative outcome. Like I say if we all thought that a tenant would not leave or sabotage a potential move, nobody would rent out properties. In the same way I would never ride a rollercoaster if I thought that coaster would crash. The point is I have rented it out for good reason financially, so I accept any potential outcomes going forward but my reasoning to choose to have a tenant suited me

I agree it probably won’t happen but the conveyancer and buyers will take it into account.
so for example if there are 2 properties to choose from they might choose the one without a tenant or want a discount to cover a bit of rent in case etc.
so Your buyers may not like the extra risk if there are other flats without tenants.
thats probably more of an issue than your tenant.


I sold one in 2018 pre-pandemic.
used a traditional agent (good one). MAde it clear from the start that there was little wiggle room as the money was being used for nursing home fees so the local authority would not accept an offer below market value (I was acting as deputy under the court of protection).
they already had someone lined up for whom it was perfect.
there were the usual minor delays due to chain, but it sold for the asking price.
there are more luxury properties nearby but they have higher service charges.
i think we were lucky that there was someone that wanted it and it was a 2-bed which are fairly rare in that complex as this was more of an elderly place.

lincroft1710

jturt83 said:

lincroft1710 said:

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. 

I’m well aware thank you yes, if we all thought this way though nobody would ever rent out a property 

For many landlords renting out a property is a business, sometimes their sole business, so they will accept the risks attached. They are not renting out to pay the bills until they can sell the property,