McCarthy Stone resale: Three success stories
With over 500 sales under our belt, McCarthy Stone Resales is the ideal way to buy or sell a pre-loved retirement home. Our experienced team provide personalised support and guidance to help you every step of the way.
What is McCarthy Stone Resales?
McCarthy Stone Resales is the specialist estate agency for buying and selling pre-owned McCarthy Stone retirement living properties.
We offer everything a traditional estate agency does: professional photography and marketing materials, presence on Zoopla and Rightmove etc., but with the important addition of our specialist knowledge and expertise in retirement living communities, amenities and services, as well as our properties.
We also advertise on property sites that are geared specifically to the retirement market, like Autumna and we have the advantage of being able to contact a large database of interested customers. We have a fantastic team who have many years of retirement property experience between them and a real passion for what we do.
Resales Director, David Gabriel, answers your resales FAQs.
The McCarthy Stone resales process in seven steps
1. Contact McCarthy Stone Resales: reach out to our team for help with selling your retirement property
2. Property valuation: our team will assess your property's value to decide a competitive asking price
3. Preparation: we can help you with preparing your flat for sale, including decluttering, painting and minor repairs
4. Marketing: our team will create professional marketing materials, contact our waiting list and advertise your property on popular platforms like Rightmove and Autumna
5. Viewings: our potential buyers are accompanied by our expert team who can explain the lifestyle and communal spaces as well as showing off the property
6. Negotiations: our team will help you in negotiating offers and reaching an agreement with a buyer
7. Completion: once a sale is agreed, we’ll guide you through the legal and administrative processes to complete the transaction.
McCarthy Stone resales reviews: three success stories
Discover firsthand stories about selling a McCarthy Stone property from homeowners and their families.
Mr And Mrs Walker - Martin Court, Grantham
Mr Walker’s mother and father lived at Martin Court in Lincolnshire for just under two years, making the most of the beautiful, landscaped gardens and taking part in the social activities organised by the development.
When their health deteriorated, they moved to a nearby nursing home to receive the additional care and support they required. Meanwhile, Mr and Mrs Walker managed the selling their retirement apartment. After a frustrating 12 months on the market with other agents, McCarthy Stone Resales secured a sale within three months for the full asking price.
What happened when you first listed your property on the market?
Before hearing about McCarthy Stone Resales, Mr and Mrs Walker had tried using both a local and online agent.
“We originally instructed a local agent to market the property. They handled all the viewings, however, we didn’t feel they fully understood the service charges and what was on offer to potential buyers.
The agent seemed uninterested in our property and gave us very little feedback. After 12 months and only three viewings, 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 do the viewings, which brought added complications when potential buyers were not qualified properly for the development.”
- Mr Walker, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
How did you find out about McCarthy Stone Resales?
“After a disappointing 12 months of minimal activity with previous estate agents, they still did not come close to selling the property. Luckily, it was at this point that we were notified by the House Manager, Sally that McCarthy Stone was launching its own Resales service nationwide. My wife and I decided that given McCarthy Stone has specialist expertise in retirement living, 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 parent's property at Martin Court. However, when we got in touch with McCarthy Stone Resales they were like a breath of fresh air!“
- Mr Walker, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
What advice were you given by McCarthy Stone Resales?
“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 makeover, 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 ever before. We were in regular communication with Georgia, who kindly kept us updated with feedback from all potential buyers.”
- Mr Walker, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
What was your overall experience like with McCarthy Stone Resales?
“The House Manager, Sally, did a fantastic job of showing people around the development. She explained everything the viewers wanted to know about the lifestyle benefits, services and 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 suites.
Sally 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 the full asking price on our property within three months of instructing the Resales team.
We are so grateful to McCarthy Stone Resales for all their hard work. We’ve 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.”
- Mr Walker, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
Ms Patterson - Lantern Court, Devon
When Ms Ann Patterson took responsibility for the sale of her aunt’s retirement apartment at Lantern Court in Devon, our McCarthy Stone Resales secured an 11% uplift on the 2018 purchase price and a sale was agreed upon within just 26 days of instruction.
“My aunt was one of the first homeowners to move into the Lantern Court development when it was first built in 2013, She enjoyed many happy years there and made lots of friends.
Sadly, in 2017 my aunt lost her battle with cancer and passed away. As Executor of her Will it became my responsibility to administer her estate and sell her retirement apartment at Lantern Court.”
- Ms Patterson, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
How did you find out about McCarthy Stone Resales?
“We originally instructed a local estate agent to put my aunt’s apartment on the market, as this appeared to be our only option at the time. Unfortunately, due to limited exposure and the agent’s inexperience in retirement living, we had little success.
In November, we were notified by Lantern Court’s House Manager, Richard that McCarthy Stone had launched its own resales service for preowned retirement properties. As we were already aware of McCarthy Stone’s reputation and their expertise in retirement living, we felt they would be best placed to sell my aunt's apartment. We therefore cancelled our contract with the local agent and instructed McCarthy Stone’s Resales team.”
- Ms Patterson, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
What was your overall experience like with McCarthy Stone Resales?
“Within 26 days of instructing them, we had agreed on a fair sale price for the property. The transaction went through extremely smoothly and we contacted the buyers who were purchasing the property on behalf of a relative. We built up a great relationship and shared our own experiences of supporting my aunt into retirement living. Overall, we were really pleased with the McCarthy Stone Resale service!”
- Ms Patterson, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
Ms Conway - Bilberry Place, Bromsgrove
The death of a loved one is hard enough without the added stress of selling their home, as Sue Conway explains. Her mother, Rhoda, 86, had been enjoying life at Bilberry Place, a Retirement Living Plus development in Worcestershire, after moving from Surrey to be closer to Sue. Rhoda had originally purchased the property using McCarthy Stone’s Part Exchange scheme.
What was your mother's experience like living at Bilberry Place?
“Mum was really settled at Bilberry Place. She’d left all her worries behind in Surrey, and it was like the weight of the world had been lifted. She was enjoying making new friends and the convenience of being so close to town meant she was very active, always out and about socialising or taking a stroll.”
- Ms Conway, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
When Rhoda sadly passed away, Sue had to deal with selling her retirement home.
“During such a loss, the last thing any of us wanted to deal with was the property side of things, including all the paperwork and monetary implications.”
- Ms Conway, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
What was your overall experience like with McCarthy Stone Resales?
Despite the circumstances, Sue was pleased to have the support of McCarthy Stone Resales. Sue received an offer in January 2019 and had probate granted just before the exchange, meaning they were able to complete very quickly afterwards in May.
“The whole process with McCarthy Stone Resales was extremely efficient and we had viewings lined up straight away. The great thing about it was that the House Manager took care of the viewings, so I didn’t need to be there.
It was upsetting to have to keep revisiting the apartment, so knowing this was all in hand was such a relief. I’d get email and text updates on how things were going and I felt reassured everyone was doing their very best to secure a sale quickly for us.
I’d read that if you rely on local agents to sell a retirement property you can often be waiting for some time, with little or no interest. Like me, they wouldn’t have the understanding to communicate about the lifestyle benefits and the fantastic communal areas and facilities, which are so important to people when making this type of move.
People want to know about the social activities on offer and how the restaurant works. They want to be introduced to some of the current homeowners and get a real feel for the place. This all needs to be done by someone who truly understands their needs and abilities.
I hoped when we came to sell Mum’s apartment that we wouldn’t take too much of a hit. I was pleased to more or less break even on the price she paid, which was brilliant and the best outcome we could of hoped for.
The fees were very fair and McCarthy Stone doesn’t charge any exit fees like some other retirement providers, so this was also a relief to us.”
- Ms Conway, family member of McCarthy Stone homeowner
Buy and sell with confidence with McCarthy Stone
Whether you’re looking to buy a McCarthy Stone retirement home or the time has come to sell, we're committed to making the move to and from a McCarthy Stone property as simple and hassle-free as possible. And, with independent living for the over 60s at Retirement Living developments or the extra support and services on offer at Retirement Living PLUS properties, available across the UK you’re bound to find the right fit.
Find your ideal retirement property for sale or rent today or contact us online to learn more.
