Die Verschuldung der Familien ist ein „Albtraum“, da Tausende von Alterswohnungen leer stehen

I personally know people who’ve had to deal with this. Finding a buyer who ‚qualifies‘ is so hard that inn some cases the person who inherits the property would be happier just handing it back for free than continuing to pay the service charges indefinitely.

Buying a home shouldn’t just be about a financial investment or providing an inheritance but a lot of buyers of these types of property don’t realise that far from passing on a valuable asset to their families when they die, these sort of arrangements can bequeath a massive headache. That doesn’t mean it’s always a bad move but – just like Shared Ownership or Shared Equity – people need to go into it with their eyes open and understand that ‚home ownership‘ doesn’t always mean exactly the same thing and that it’s certainly not always preferable to renting.

this is a literal nightmare for some.

these are really extreme cases but some people are being charged thousands a year in service charges and have literally no legal recourse.

its legal robbery with no oversight and way to escape.

im absolutely flummoxed as to why labour are doing nothing about it. they promised to sort out ground round, but thats not even an issue for most people. i have no idea why they aren’t sorting out service charges.

as far as I’m aware the uk is the only country in the world with a crackpot system like this.

if you really hated someone i suppose you could die and leave them a flat like this in your will.

Another reason why wife and I had a conversation when the mortgage was paid off on where we live now.

The only way we are leaving that house is in coffins. Ironically, McCarthy Stone are building some flats not far from us. That bunch of shysters are the absolute master’s of sharp practice.

That market sector is truly broken.

These flats are like residential homes. They are designed to suck any and all money off a person before they die.

My nan lived in a retirement flat, it’s been almost 4 years since she passed and the flat has had one interested ‘qualifying’ buyer in that time (who then withdrew from the purchase). It’s racking up the debts, it’s been listed below what others have gone for historically and had price cuts since, it’s just near impossible to sell it. Literally no buyers in the market almost regardless of what it’s listed for.

These aren’t just flats though. The ones near us are more like a half way house between independent living and a care home. They have staff and communal facilities. Whether it’s good value for money I’ve no idea. But the charges are considerably less than a care home.

Perhaps renting them out might be the way forward. Families who don’t want aged relatives living with them or the massive costs of care homes might think they are a reasonable alternative.