When David Walker became Power of Attorney of his parents estate, he was tasked with selling their retirement apartment at Martin Court, in Licolnshire. Read about David’s challenging journey here and how McCarthy & Stone Resales helped David achieve the right result for his family.
My mother and father lived at Martin Court for a little under 2 years, where they enjoyed spending time in the beautiful landscaped gardens and taking part in the social activities organised by the development. Unfortunately, after some time, their health deteriorated and subsequently they both had to move to a nearby nursing home to receive the additional care and support they required.
As Power of Attorney my wife and I undertook the responsibility of selling my parents retirement apartment at Martin Court. We originally instructed a local agent to market the property, who conducted all the viewings. However, we didn’t feel they fully understood the Service Charges and what entitlements they gave potential buyers. This is an important aspect of retirement living and without a detailed explanation of the lifestyle benefits the charges can put buyers off. The agent seemed uninterested in our property and gave us very little feedback. After 12 months and only 3 viewing we decided to change agents.
We had been pursued by an online agent with promises of a quick sale, so we decided to go with them. As there was no local representative for the agent, my wife and I had to conduct the viewings, which brought added complications when potential buyers were not qualified properly for the development. On several occasions visitors were inconvenienced when they attended a viewing of the property only to be told they did not meet the necessary criteria for the retirement development (in some cases they were too young or too immobile).
After a disappointing 12 months of minimal activity, giving into their regular sometimes over bearing requests for us to reduce the price to encourage a quick sale they still did not come close to selling the property. Luckily, just around this point we were notified by the House Manager, Sally that McCarthy & Stone were launching their own Resales service nationwide. My wife and I decided that given McCarthy & Stone’s specialist expertise in retirement living and experience with this niche market they may be able to help us.
Due to our negative experiences with our two previous agents, we’d lost all confidence that we were ever going to sell my parents property at Martin Court. However,
when we instructed McCarthy & Stone Resales they were like a breath of fresh air!
Before re-marketing the property, Georgia our Property Consultant and Sally gave us some great advice about de-cluttering the property and dressing it ready for viewings. They suggested relatively inexpensive ways of giving the property a make-over, which made all the difference for the professional photographs.
When the property went on the market again we were astounded by the level of activity we received almost immediately. Within the first week we had had more viewings than we ever had before. We were in regular communication with Georgia, who kept us updated with feedback from all potential buyers.
The House Manager, Sally did a fantastic job of showing people round the development; explaining entitlements, lifestyle benefits, as well as the social scene at Martin Court. She was also able to introduce potential buyers to current homeowners and give them a tour of all the communal areas, including the guest suite. She knows the development better than anyone and was able to give visitors a greater insight into day to day life at Martin Court.
Thanks to the expert negotiating skills of Georgia we were able to secure full asking price on the property within 3 months from instructing the Resales team. Georgia was professional throughout, always getting back to us, answering any questions or concerns we had and keeping us up to date on the progress of the transaction via email
Although the chain was relatively straight forward, and our buyer was keen to move swiftly, Solicitors on either side seemed to slow the process down. Georgia always acted promptly, chasing both legal teams and pushing the transaction through for us. Even when she went on holiday, the other members of the Resales team continued to keep up momentum on the sale.
We are so grateful to McCarthy & Stone Resales for all their hard work- we have already recommended them to our family and friends. Georgia especially, made us feel like we were her only client, she controlled the whole situation with prompt action and outstanding communication, ensuring we achieved a satisfactory result.
