I can’t get rid of my mum’s retirement flat even after cutting the price by £190,000

Alex Roll, 62, has struggled to sell the retirement flat she was left in her mother’s will – even though she reduced the price by £190,000 and offered to pay a year’s worth of service charge. She told The i Paper that the inability to sell the home has placed a “significant burden” on her and her family, adding she believes “the retirement housing resale market is fundamentally broken.” Alex, a retired teacher, said what should have been a straightforward process of her mother’s estate has “become prolonged and stressful.” Retirement homes are properties typically designed for people over 55 and are often sold on a leasehold basis. Shorts Alex’s tried to sell the flat, based on a McCarthy & Stone development, in December 2024, through their specialist resale agency. It went up for £569,000 based on the valuation the agency gave, but generated no interest and led Alex to list the flat with a local estate agent in April 2025 for £450,000. “I even offered to cover a year’s worth of service charge of around £14,500 just to attract buyers,” Alex said. She then reduced the price to £350,000, almost £190,000 less than what it was bought for in 2017, but still had no interest, which led her to rent it out instead. She now charges £3,750 a month, which covers the ground rent, service charge and servicing the air vents annually. Alex Roll has had to rent out her mum’s flat as she was unable to sell But she is frustrated, saying McCarthy & Stone continues to build new developments while substantial numbers of existing apartments sit empty and unsold. Alex still pays £1,206 per month, with ground rent currently sitting at £510 per year. McCarthy & Stone also take a percentage of rental income despite not sourcing the tenants themselves. “What many people do not realise is that estates continue paying for services that cannot possibly be used by a deceased resident. “For example, invoices I have suggest that emergency monitoring systems are charged on a per-occupied apartment basis, yet those costs continue to be recovered from vacant inherited properties. “Similarly, the service charge includes provision for one hour of domestic assistance per week, despite the apartment being vacant.” Alex has attempted to gain clarity from McCarthy & Stone on service charge expenditure but says this has been “difficult”. “As a leaseholder and executor, I believe I should be able to understand exactly how substantial service charge costs are calculated, particularly staffing costs, which represent one of the largest elements of expenditure,” she said. Estate in £19,000 worth of debt Gordon Taylor, 72, said his mother would be “turning in her grave” if she knew what was happening with her flat, which she bought in February 2015 for £225,000. He inherited the one-bed home in June 2024 and put it on the market in August of the same year for £160,000 with a local agent before moving over to McCarthy & Stone Resales. It was listed for £170,000 and while Gordon had some viewings, no offers were made. Gordon Taylor is part of several action groups trying to put pressure on the developers He said: “I think the reason the flat is not selling is because people focus on service charges, but I am also convinced McCarthy & Stones focus on selling new before old. “If you ask for a property in Burgess Hill, it shows you developments with new properties or ones that have not even been built yet. There is no mention of my mum’s development, which has 20 properties empty out of 57.” Current service charges on Gordon’s flat are £886 per month, and ground rent is £435 a month, but he has not been paying it since August last year as the estate has no funds. It is now in £19,000 worth of debt which will be settled upon the sale of the property. Gordon said: “Had my mother not been cremated, she would be turning in her grave.” He would like to see regulations put in place for developers to only be able to charge service charges for 12 to 24 months after the death of a resident which would then give them an incentive to sell them. “These properties are good to live in for residents and resales are excellent value but there is a lack of awareness about them. “This also does a disservice to residents in underpopulated developments as they are being deprived of the full experience of living in a thriving retirement environment,” Gordon said. Susan Aufiero says her mum would be horrified with the current situation she finds herself in ‘It is like a noose around my head’ Susan Aufiero admits she would rather give her mum’s flat away than keep dealing with the burden of trying to sell it. In her 60s, Susan inherited the flat in March 2026 after her mother’s death; her mother bought it in 2022 for £320,000. Susan put the flat up for sale in May this year with McCarthy & Stone Resales, which valued it at £210,000, but she asked it to be advertised at £249,500. However, the flat has now dropped to £220,000 and Susan still has not had any viewing offers. Susan is paying £1,000 a month in service charges which have risen by over £300 since her mother bought the flat four years ago. She said: “The impact of not being able to sell has been massive. It has affected my mental health and I have not been able to grieve properly. It now hangs over my head like a noose, and I am unable to move on. “This money is seeping away and my poor mum and dad would be horrified if they knew.” Susan said she would like McCarthy & Stone to offer a buyback scheme or to cap service charges but feels as though they are “disinterested and incompassionate”. A spokesperson for McCarthy & Stone said: “We are aware that some people who inherited their property have difficulty selling it, and we’re extremely sorry to hear of any of these cases. “Whilst we cannot change the challenges being seen across the whole housing market, we are working hard on options to provide even more support to these customers, including after a homeowner passes away. We are also taking action for the future so new customers have more ways to access the McCarthy & Stone lifestyle, such as renting from us rather than buying. “Our Sales and Resales teams operate independently, enabling each to support the specific needs of their customers with the same level of care, expertise and service throughout the buying and selling journey. “All owners and executors are provided with detailed breakdowns of service charges. Our service charges, which we believe deliver exceptional value, are linked to ownership, not occupancy and the vast majority of charges are passed on at cost: we don’t add any mark-up, and they are paid fairly by all apartment owners. “We are working hard on a number of initiatives, specifically aimed at addressing some of the issues raised, to ensure that that remains the case.”