Retirement flat

DW51

All I want to say is think twice, actually think more than that if you are thinking of buying a retirement flat. Having going through the process of selling my parents it’s an awful process. Hard to sell, the bills go up and up, the fees are ridiculous and just been given a £10,000 sinking fund fee. They lost so much money in this process. Do your research and don’t do it. Book a cruise.

trevjl

Just sold my late mums, took a while but no issues, service charges reasonable, she loved living there and doubt she is losing any sleep over whether I am happy with it or not

barnstar2077

Sinking fund fee?

westv

barnstar2077 said:

Sinking fund fee?

Fund for future large scale expenses.

SarahB16

barnstar2077 said:

Sinking fund fee?

Sometimes called an 'event fee'. It is usually triggered when a person leaves their flat.  

Event fees should not in themselves be viewed too negatively as where there are event fees the annual service charges should, in theory, be lower.  This is viewed as helping older people with their cashflow as they are relying on their pension.  Then when they leave their flat (usually on passing) the event fee will come from the sales proceeds. 

Different organisations have differing charging structures so anybody looking into purchasing a retirement flat do consider the total service charges payable (i.e. annual service charges plus the event fee).  

My opinion:  I wish there were more cohousing* schemes in the UK as they offer so many benefits without the extortionate fees that come with many of these retirement flats. 

                              Home - UK Cohousing Network

* Not to be confused with co-living schemes which are something totally different.