Trying to sell a retirement flat.

Wabsnazsm

I have been attempting to sell a retirement flat that belonged to my Mother before she died. I am having the most awful time trying to get a buyer for it. In fact, it's a minor miracle when we actually get a viewing for the flat. The block in which the flat is based has had a fairly bad reputation for a while. It had a site manager who was notoriously poor at her job and the place was in disrepair, very tatty and drab with very little atmosphere. Along with the fact that many of the residents had died and left empty properties, the place felt lifeless. At great expense to the flat owners, we have had renovations done with new paintwork, carpets and lighting in the communal areas and the corridors. It has been spruced up a treat and we have a new site manager who is a breath of fresh air.

Still, we cannot shift the flat! It is becoming an unsustainable drain on the finances of my Mum's estate and I'm starting to feel more than a little desperate. I have dropped the price of the flat considerably but ground rent and service charges are still quite high. Council Tax runs at a 100% premium for this empty property so....I'm stuck for my next move. How can I convince people that this is a decent purchase? I truly need to get things moving and I don't know what to do about it.

in_my_wellies

I feel for you. My mum bought one of these for £239,000 in 2014. She quickly developed Alzheimer's and I needed to sell in 2017. It was well maintained and occupied but the sale price had dropped to £199.000. Mum lived with me but had ongoing management fees, ground rent, insurance, etc still to pay. 
A sale for £185,000 eventually completed in late January 2020, just before lockdown. By then I would have accepted any offer. 
The elderly couple who bought it never moved in due to lockdown and it sold three years later for £160.000 having been on the market for over a year 

The manager was lovely but she did say she didn't take the job to run a care home, not experienced for that. When sold to people in their 60's all was good but as people get older needs change and 6 of the 44 flats needed carers which meant changing role for the manager

This isn't much help to the OP but might serve as a warning to anyone thinking of buying one

Screenshot from Rightmove Sold Prices: 

Property sale history

Table showing sale history of current property

Date sold	Percentage change from last sold price	Price	Property	Tenure
17 Feb 2023	-14%	£160,000	Flat	Leasehold
28 Jan 2020		£185,000	Flat	Leasehold