Our top tips for marketing your retirement home

If you’re thinking of selling a retirement home, if not your own, perhaps on behalf of a friend or family member, you’ll want to sell as swiftly as possible and for the best price. It can take a little longer to sell a retirement property than a mainstream home, largely because if there is an age restriction, there is a smaller ‘pool’ of buyers. At Beechcroft, we find that most of our retirement apartments and houses, if properly presented and marketed, sell within six months.

It is important to prepare the property for sale: declutter and depersonalise, deep clean, ‘set the stage’, improve kerb appeal and keep relevant paperwork to hand. Your estate agent should take professional photographs in good light – check that you’re happy with the images before they are posted online or in marketing materials.

If you’re selling a retirement property, choose an estate agent who understands the unique needs and market dynamics of retirement homes. Check which agents have sold properties in your development and talk to them.

The value of a retirement property lies not only in the property itself but in the lifestyle it offers – easy maintenance, support, security and community. A good estate agent will advise on presentation, show the home in its best and most accurate light, and provide local sold prices to support the valuation. Be aware that a few agents overvalue properties in the hope of gaining your business.

Pricing is really important. Research by Rightmove has shown that homes that do not require a price reduction are more likely to find a buyer than those initially priced too highly. Homes needing a price reduction during marketing can take over two months longer to find a buyer than those correctly priced.

Whatever you or your relative paid for the property, the current asking price needs to be in line with comparable homes selling at the same time. Property values rise and fall. You might have bought at a peak and be selling when market values have fallen.

The best place to start is with resales in the same retirement development. What have neighbouring properties sold for recently? Are any currently on the market and, if so, how long have they been listed? Look at nearby retirement developments and then similar mainstream homes in the wider local market.

Check sold prices on Rightmove or Zoopla. Compare like for like: the number of bathrooms, type of outside space, parking or garaging, and location. A home on the market for weeks or months might be too expensive.

After researching the market, choose a competitive asking price. If you need a quicker sale, you may want to price to attract buyers and remain open to negotiation.

If you want to sell your retirement apartment or house swiftly, it is worth ‘staging’ it. An empty flat with bare walls, little or poor-quality furniture and tired carpets can feel less inviting to viewers.

Think about redecorating and recarpeting. Remove excess clutter and personal items so potential buyers can imagine themselves living there. Rearrange furniture to create space, light and ‘flow’. If the home is empty, consider hiring a few pieces of furniture. Keep décor light with neutral tones.

Keep surfaces clear and clean, open curtains, clean windows and use lighting to make the home feel larger.

A prospective buyer will want information about the property, so gather documents before putting the home on the market. These may include:

• HM Land Registry title documents.
• A copy of the lease, if the property is leasehold.
• Details of electrical, boiler, gas or other specialist checks or work.
• An Energy Performance Certificate. You can find an existing certificate or check how to obtain a new one.
• Appliance guarantees, service agreements, building regulation completion certificates and any builder’s or developer’s guarantees.
• For retirement apartments, current and previous service charge documentation.

Give buyers full information about the management company and services on offer. Beechcroft employs ELM Group as managing agents. Neither ELM nor Beechcroft takes a profit from service charges, which are used to maintain the development.

Service charges remain payable when a property is unoccupied because otherwise other residents face higher costs.

A warm home with good lighting feels more inviting when prospective buyers come to view. Open curtains or blinds to let natural light in and enhance the sense of space. Switch on lights in all the rooms before buyers arrive. In winter or for evening viewings, consider softer lighting. In summer, open windows to allow fresh air into the property.

The key is to make the property as attractive as possible, price it competitively, keep it ready for viewing and allow some flexibility if a prospective buyer makes an offer.