Be cautious about buying McCarthy and Stone!

SarahB16

Hoenir said:

As with hospices. These establishments are people intensive. On call 24 wardens for example cost money. Last year's budget ramped up the cost of employing people significantly. Just another unintended consequence of the policy. 

I agree.  That is why I was interested to hear if what was being built was more of a multi-generational community was being built which may lead to people supporting their neighbours as they get older.

Most people wish to continue living in the same place or at least in the same community without the need to move away when they get older.  This is why I think housing schemes should have a mix of properties to enable people to move to smaller properties but still within the same community or even road as they get older.  Great if there is some sort of community hub too.   

There are better housing standards these days in terms of homes being adaptable and if a person can live independently in their own home for the rest of their life (which is what most people want) with the support of neighbours and friends there is no need for them to move into retirement village type places (e.g. Audley) or lower end (such as McCarthy Stone or Churchill) as they are still expensive in terms of their service charges.  

I think there are many 'Good Neighbours' community groups set up across the country and hopefully this is all that some people may need as they get older but I do appreciate that some people will need a higher level of care and support.

My personal opinion is that people do need suitable housing options for when they get older but I don't see what is being provided at the mid-market level, i.e. we have housing association/registered providers or Audley Village/McCarthy Stone/Churchill but I can't see what is being offered between those two extremes? 

The cost of adult social care is getting higher and higher and we are all paying for this via our council tax (which I don't object to) but if housing was developed in such a way that there was more 'natural' adult social care from simply being neighbourly then the cost may be lower but the housing needs to be built such that it creates these communities where people can live for their whole life so they know their neighbours and will wish to help and look out for each other.  

Megwich

We have lived in a mccarthy stone apartment for eight years it was the ideal solution for both of us as we each have heart problems. My husband has aortic stenosis and I have paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Our life and health has been blighted since a smoker moved into the apartment beneath us. Secondhand smoke now penetrates from her apartment to ours Please check that your development is smoke free before considering a move!

silvercar

Megwich said:

We have lived in a mccarthy stone apartment for eight years it was the ideal solution for both of us as we each have heart problems. My husband has aortic stenosis and I have paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. Our life and health has been blighted since a smoker moved into the apartment beneath us. Secondhand smoke now penetrates from her apartment to ours Please check that your development is smoke free before considering a move!

Unless from open windows, smoke shouldn’t penetrate from one apartment to another. Sounds like something is wrong with the build.

PS welcome to the forum, though sorry the content of your post are what prompted you to join.

Woody1968

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6543108/be-cautious-about-buying-mccarthy-and-stone

I also suffered the same issues as you detail. Late father's flat (2 bed) finally sold in Sept 2025 for £70k (purchased at approx £210k in 2020). Aside from the monthly maintenance fees (1k per month), due to being empty for more than 2 years councils can now double the Council Tax charge (£4k per year in our case).

Making a quick review using data available on Rightmove regarding my late father's own location.

56 Apartment development.

No for sale 27 Inc STC (Feb 2026) 48%

Lowest 2 bed price: 90k (Feb 2026)
Lowest 1 bed price: 70k (Feb 2026)

No sold
2026 YTD - 0
2025 - 2
2024 - 1
2023 - 7
2022 - 7
2021 - 0
2020 - 1
2019 - 1
2018 - 4
Average over 8 years (2018 - 2025) = 2.8 per yr.

*Data - Rightmove

Madmel

We did sell a similar place, but it was Pegasus/Peveril rather than M&S. However, DH & I owned it and MiL lived there. After she died we redecorated it and put it up for sale with their in-house utterly useless people. To cut a long and boring story short, we did get a sale, we did make more than we originally paid for it and we are well rid - it took well over a year.

Lessons learned: it takes ages. Make sure your solicitor/conveyancer has experience in dealing with these sales as they are slightly more complex than normal sales. We were advised to redecorate and re carpet as buyers like to be able to move straight in - it took one weekend for us to do it. Be patient. Be prepared to hand over a percentage of what you finally get to them - it's buried in the small print.