7 November 2017
McCarthy Stone, the UK's leading retirement housebuilder, is pleased to announce the launch of its new in-house resales business.
Active nationally from the New Year, the new team will be dedicated to supporting the company’s homeowners who wish to sell their apartment and are looking for a specialist operator who fully understands this part of the housing market.
The resales team will be run from McCarthy Stone’s Head Office in Bournemouth with a number of field operators based around the country. It will manage transactions from instruction to completion, drawing on McCarthy Stone’s extensive experience in the retirement housing market. The new operation has been put in place to provide the necessary resales support that traditional estate agents have typically been unable to provide given the specialist nature of these properties, which as a result have often been undervalued.
The launch of the full in-house resales service follows the appointment of David Gabriel to the role of Resales Manager in 2016. David will head the new team and focus on resales within McCarthy Stone’s managed portfolio, which is growing rapidly since its launch in 2010. McCarthy Stone moved the management of all new developments in-house seven years ago to remove its reliance on third party operators and improve its service offering. The national roll-out will follow a two-month trial in Hampshire and West Sussex throughout November and December 2017.
Clive Fenton, Chief Executive of McCarthy Stone, said:
"As market leaders, we are determined to support our customers at every stage of their retirement living experience. We provide a range of services through our on-site management teams and our new resale division will provide additional support when our homeowners come to resell their properties. We have typically found that high street estate agents lack the specialist knowledge needed to sell retirement housing, so we are confident that our unique expertise in this market will provide our customers with the best possible service upon resale.”
David Gabriel, Resales Manager at McCarthy Stone, added:
“We are committed to continually improving the service we provide to our homeowners and this is an area where we can really add value. With our new resales service, we are now able to provide additional support to residents and their families during the resale of their properties to help increase the speed of sale and achieve the best possible value.”
This new initiative is just one in a series of actions McCarthy Stone has taken in recent years to ensure its apartments maintain their value and enhance the service offered to its homeowners. This includes setting up its in-house management services team in 2010, providing more internal space, en-suites, walk-in wardrobes, improved bathrooms, level-access showers, enhanced kitchens and car parking, as well as removing exit fees* and introducing 999 year leases. These actions have further helped retain the value of properties and support McCarthy Stone’s homeowners.
Since 2014, McCarthy Stone has partnered with RetirementMove to provide specialist support for homeowners, and this service will continue to be available for those who would like to use it.
*A contribution to the contingency fund, a type of sinking fund, remains payable on resale.