Read original story here or search Strand Court on this site. WebI have been trying to sell my deceased aunties 1 bedroom McCarthy and Stone retirement apartment for nearly a year now, I've had 1 viewing and 0 offers, the price has been How could a relatively newly-built apartment in good condition, with more than 100 years remaining on the lease, collapse in value so spectacularly? Do note, while we always aim to give you accurate product info at the point of publication, unfortunately price and terms of products and deals can always be changed by the provider afterwards, so double check first. The news spread like wildfire and reminded WebMcCarthy and Stone sales team urged part-exchange as god-send Mrs Grimsdale discovered that she would be 65,000 better off selling her own house and buying a After announcing that he would not seek the speaker's post on Thursday, he was asked about Wednesday's cryptic letter from Rep. For a two-bedroom apartment, they are about 55 per week. We do not charge commission on any of these services and they are provided at cost. British Airways vs Virgin Atlantic: Premium economy comparison, Video shows 1950s Aston Martin that was owned by the King of Belgium. Our service charges in Retirement Living are about 36 per week for a one-bedroom apartment. 2011-04-28 184,950, 29, St. Richards Lodge They are fixed for 15 years. It has to be acknowledged that the purpose of taking management in house has largely been With heavy rain forecast, here's what you need to know, Could UK smaller companies offer opportunities for income-seeking investors? When Guardian Money checked this week, there were 18 listings on Rightmove of flats in Laurel Court, many with reduced stickers. Our ability to buy land will be reduced [if we are not exempted from the ground rent ban] and that will affect supply. When a resident passes away, we, of course, put charges on hold until probate is granted. WebKevin McCarthy was well aware he was going to lose his bid to become Speaker of the House of Representatives on the first ballot, three people with knowledge of the situation Laurel Court flats attract praise but some have proved hard to sell. Perhaps even more shocking is the council tax bill on Crosss one-bed flat, which has spiralled to 3,000 this year and is heading to 4,500 next year or more than the tax on a multimillion-pound mansion in Mayfair. One of the buy-it-now companies has offered me as little as 15,000 for it. 5th Floor If you have to live in one, then rent instead. That Mr Fenton makes mention that 30% of the development is unsaleable. This button displays the currently selected search type. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. In many cases, our service charges are cheaper than like-for-like costs in a customers current property. When Tony Crosss father was the first buyer at a McCarthy & Stone retirement development in Folkestone, Kent, he thought he was getting a bargain. As big banks fail savers on rate hikes, SIMON LAMBERT on how to ditch them and get a better savings deal, BUSINESS LIVE: ITV profits dive on streaming investment; Taylor Wimpey flags housing market slowdown; Metro Bank losses narrow, The first Mini made in Germany: New Countryman SUV is built at BMW's Leipzig factory - and there'll be an electric version, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey: We might have to keep raising interest rates but hikes are 'not inevitable', Perfect storm hits housing: All the warning signs are flashing that the property market is in for serious shake-out, says MAGGIE PAGANO, Do YOU know how much a flooded home costs to repair - and is it covered on your insurance? When Cross first inherited the flat in 2015, the estate agents put it on the market for 143,000. Conditions will apply, and we ask any customers to discuss this with us. Our services vary across our developments. His argument will be torn to shreds. It is an incredible loss to take. WebIncredible story of how McCarthy & Stone retirement flat in Clacton-on-Sea fell from 250,000 to 60,000 in eight years More horror stories from customers of Britain's Nixon had been caught lying on tape, revealing his role in covering up the Watergate scandal. We have been working hard, us and all the other retirement housing builders, to try and increase our output. WebMcCarthy & Stone was undoubtedly trashed by the Peverel/Firstport connection. Smith, who has been furloughed and is concerned about the future of her job, says she cannot afford to pay the service charges that have landed on her doorstep. Mr Fenton admitted that the company sold on the freeholds. Avoiding disasters. My advice to M&S and Churchill would be to come clean and either scrap or considerably reduce ground rents now. Some apartments from Britains biggest retirement builder have dived in value due to hefty charges. We don't as a general policy investigate the solvency of companies mentioned (how likely they are to go bust), but there is a risk any company can struggle and it's rarely made public until it's too late (see the. But theres always an opportunity so if you find a spare 3million down the back of the sofa I suggest you put in a cheeky bid. She says two auction houses have told her that they are not taking on retirement properties. Reader Anne Barber emailed to say she switched for the first time using my A Spokesman Said, saving 200 by going from NFU Mutual to Hastings. 2015-04-29 214,450, 39, St. Richards Lodge What other charges does a company like this impose? Our responsibility is to develop more homes for people. The average apartment in Folkestone has gone up in price from 137,000 to 162,000 since 2007 so why is the McCarthy & Stone flat potentially going for less than the price of a garage in the seaside town? First Mum died and then Dads health deteriorated to the point he had go into a home. And they dont want to pay more than for an ordinary flat locally on the open market?. In April 2018, a woman told the newspaper how she was struggling to sell the retirement flat her late parents had bought in 1997 and that she had been forced to cut the price from 185,000 to 140,000, well below the 260,000 average for a normal flat in the same Surrey village. Read our policy. And Mrs Grimsdale was told she had to make a decision in four days to benefit from part-exchange. All of our new leases are for 999 years. Presenter Paul Lewis then subjected outgoing McCarthy and Stone CEO Clive Fenton to tough questioning. Picture framer, also in Bolsover Claim To Frame. Trump Allies Are Threatening to Sue Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner and Progress Pond Kimberly Leonard / Insider: DeSantis' new memoir skips juicy details about his life that could emerge in a presidential bid. As the Daily Beast reports, Ellmers was primaried in a redrawn district in 2016. The details of how this will be applied to retirement homes are still being thrashed out but it may be that in the future, ground rents won't be an issue for new homes - retirement or not. Kings Place My advice to anyone considering a McCarthy and Stone property whatever you do, dont. The seller and the agents will already know this but the only people buying on this estate are the Chinese and they want new-builds. Also, the people that want to normally buy them are reluctant to move house and, of course, there have been travel restrictions, which have made it difficult for relatives of prospective buyers to travel to view.. Another purchased for 151,000 in November 2009 sold for 105,000 in April this year. Exposing abuses. After all, we dont like them and they dont like us, so lets do this. Even allowing for the houses illustrious history the current owners just cant flog the joint. She still has her mothers funeral to pay for and a 407 council tax bill for the flat. The second point is, what are ground rents for? As Crosss home has sat on the market since 2015, the local council has applied the doubling in tax, and can triple it next year. It went up for sale on 26 June, and since then there has not been a single viewing, despite the price having been cut. It may all prove to be too tempting for those that own McCarthy & Stone. Most other house builders dont do this. Big Taco Bell franchisee collusion scandal at The Hill! Here's what he left out. Letters from FirstPorts solicitors said it would go to court if the service charges were not paid, and suggested that Smith turn to the equity release lender or sell the property at an auction. Previously McCarthy & Stone developments were funded by debt to such an extent that at their nadir they ended up nearly 900,000,000 in debt (before being re-financed and effectively run by the banks) It said: We are extremely sympathetic to Ms Smiths situation and we have been doing all we can to support her with the sale of her mothers flat. However, those changes impose inherent future risks to the company and their residents. Adding to the loan would mean accruing interest on the charges. We communicate it to our customers and they know exactly what they are paying.. Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone is to be taken over by US private equity group Lone Star at the end of today after the 647m bid received its final legal approval. WebMcCarthy & Stone was founded by John McCarthy and Bill Stone in 1963. So far, she has been billed for 1,800 but after being charged legal fees for missed payments, she was told that the sum owed had grown to more than 2,200. In the event that we are included in that ban we cannot pass that cost on to our customers. 2013-10-14 226,000, 5, St. Richards Lodge We were seeking to increase our homes to 3,000 homes per annum. 2017-10-12 275,000 Roger Stone and Noel Fritsch break down the FTX Scandal with Kevin McCarthy and McCarthys cheerleader 2011-04-15 199,950, 41, St. Richards Lodge And the value of those properties on average has increased in 75% of cases.. According to the estate agents, retirement apartments are not selling due to the pandemic, making them unattractive places to live for fear of catching the virus. WebMcCarthy has brushed off the affair allegation. 2012-05-31 212,000, 20, St. Richards Lodge Neither do we charge ground rent on any of the houses or bungalows that we build. Sign Up for Newsletter. 2014-10-09 165,000 Blackmans final words to the Afghan as he lay close to death anyway were: Shuffle off this mortal coil you c***.. This info does not constitute financial advice, always do your own research on top to ensure it's right for your specific circumstances and remember we focus on rates not service. Initially Cross says the service charge was high but not outlandish. How much tax would you have to pay on a home or buy-to-let? Southwestern University. McCarthy & Stones ground rents are fair and stable and set at the outset of the development. 2011-11-30 189,950, Category: Ground rent scandal, HomeSlider, Latest News, McCarthy and Stone, News, PressTag: BBC R4 MoneyBox, Churchill Retirement Living, McCarthy and Stone. Editor, Marcus Herbert. 2014-04-16 180,950, 10, St. Richards Lodge No loyalty has been shown to my mother, from whom they have over the years received a large sum of money, always on time.. But she sold it herself for 50,000 more after only two weeks on the market. Though McCarthy & Stone present themselves as a cuddly friendly company whose sole goal is to look after the interests of the elderly, never forget that behind McCarthy & Stone are asset managers(ACMO, M&G, Canada Pension Plan,Royal London asset Management, Soros Fund Management, FIL Investment Advisers, The Vanguard Group, Franklyn Templeton Group , Aviva Investments, Goldman Sachs) whose purpose in life is to maximise returns on behalf of their investors. She is far from alone in finding herself landed with the problem of trying to sell a retirement flat that wont shift while bills continue to mount. FirstPort is making no allowances for the current economic climate, the world pandemic, people being furloughed from work and, as in so many cases such as myself, redundancy may loom. Stay in Touch It ultimately secured the backing of shareholders owning 86% of the firm, above the necessary 75% threshold, despite resistance from some McCarthy & Stone shareholders. Rita May Bailey, who is now We take care to explain each option so customers can make an informal decision on what is right for them.. Our ground rents do not increase after the 125th year. If they are for no defined services and are wrong in the wider housing market how can the retirement housing sector claim an exemption? The means to raise extra funds is in place. Im going to go bankrupt at this rate, he says. She admits knowing that the property was leasehold, but had no idea that the ground rent would go up so much. Almost everybody will save up to 200 by going on a price comparison site like mine or GoCompare or Confused. 2015-03-27 159,995 Stopping forfeiture. It can also take longer for the property to sell and the service charges will still need to be paid while your parents - or you, if you've inherited it - still own it. If you see a cunning effort do take a picture and send it to me. Do send more punnies to kelvin@the-sun.co.uk. So if McCarthy & Stone do come under pressure (especially if they lose the ground rent income and sales fall) where do they find streams for increased income? Now. A flat bought in April 2010 for 150,000 sold for 75,000 last year. As Baroness Gardner said, you needed to be a mathematician to understand it. He also implied that restaurants were a common feature in retirement developments. He told me: My advice to anyone considering a McCarthy and Stone property whatever you do, dont.. Days after the Observer got in touch, Smith received a letter from the lawyers saying that the additional fees would be waived and that she had until mid-June to sell and pay the charges. McCarthy and his team categorically denied those reports. Cross changed agents seven times. Older people have become reluctant to buy retirement flats during the Covid pandemic. 2011-11-22 187,950, 12, St. Richards Lodge Our ground rents are fair, says McCarthy and Stone (even though they go up to 600 and are for no service whatsoever). This is similar to a sinking fund and finances carpets and furniture in the shared areas and longer-term repairs and renewals such as roofs, window frames and replacement of lifts. Ground rents are payable on all leasehold properties in England and Wales. This means that McCarthy & Stone will continue to be the landlord and be responsible for the estate management of the development. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, McCarthy & Stones Laurel Court in Folkestone, where Tony Crosss father was one of the first buyers. It goes to the development and ensures that our homeowners do not face any unexpected financial burdens. 30 per cent of the space in our developments is non-saleable. He said then that he was considering selling the property to a buy-it-now company for only 28,000. 2016-08-16 255,000, 32, St. Richards Lodge The bill certainly does and explains why our foreign aid budget jumped by 1.2billion last year to 13.3billion as we are committed to spend 0.7 per cent of our national income overseas every year. Rolling Stone: McCarthy Gave Tucker the Jan. 6 Tapes. Thats no comfort for many who bought in Crosss development, Laurel Court. In fact, McCarthy and Stone in the past sold its ground rent portfolio to a private equity investor, Vincent Tchenguiz through his so-called Tchenguiz Family Trust in the British Virgin Islands. This does mean that it requires a more comprehensive level of servicing and the service charge is higher than it would be on a non-assisted living development. Your support will do two things. Nov 17, 2022. Didnt stop Firstport flogging off the leaseholds of McCarthy & Stone development house managers flats did it? How come the Communists have got all the money? LKPs advice is: do not buy retirement leasehold at all. In response to Liz Wynne Here's what he said. WebLIVE: McCarthy FTX Scandal, Roger Stone & Noel Fritsch. We do not have to speculate. The inside of a McCarthy & Stone retirement flat where residents have a 24-hour call system. 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