Hi, since my mother passed away, my father wants to sell the property and buy a retirement flat.  Although it is a bit soon, I think it will suit him better, especially as he cannot really manage the garden etc anymore.

I was wondering whether anyone can point me in the direction of impartial advice and the pros and pitfalls, if any, of these types of property.  He will be cutting it very fine financially so I want to make sure he is making the right decision.  He keeps contacting the retirement building companies and giving them (IMO) too much personal financial info and they seem to be giving him advice on his finances, which worries me slightly. 

Also, if new retirement properties are sold direct from the company, is it possible to make an offer in the same way as you would do through an estate agent, or are the prices set in stone, does anyone know?

Many thanks

Kazzie, as no one has replied to you, here goes:

Local estate agents have retirement flats for sale, and the same goes as buying any other type of property.  If you go direct to e.g. McCarthy & Stone, they work on a different principle.  It also depends on what your Dad wants - is he looking for sheltered accommodation, or what McC & S call 'assisted living'? Or just a retirement flat as such?

I wouldn't contact any of the 'retirement building companies', I'd go direct to a local estate agent.  I know one who has years of experience, in fact I bought this bungalow through him in 1990 and he has all that experience of the local housing market to draw on.  I also would NOT give the retirement building companies any info about personal financial circumstances - it's none of their business and they are not qualified IFAs (independent financial advisers). 

Go to a reputable well-established local estate agent.

HTH

Many thanks for your suggestions.  I agree re the financial info and I also think going through an estate agent is better.  The only thing is that McCarthy offers to pay various fees if you do everything through them - I need to spend some more time looking at the paperwork their advisor has sent.

I notice that is quite difficult to get views on retirement living.  I think my dad wants to regain a social life (my parents were living quite an insulated life partly because of my mum's ongoing illness), there aren't any family members close by and friends of their age have either moved away or died.  He is tempted by the social arrangements that are apparently going on in retirement blocks but when I looked at the lounge of one of them it was empty and reminded me of a care home style lounge.  I am a little worried that he is going to feel more isolated in a flat and the social life isn't as good as he thought.  He is also not very healthy so likes the idea of not having to worry about a garden etc and the fact that there are alarm bells to pull in an emergency.  The block I looked at had only 6 men living in it, the rest were women.  There is a brand new block a few miles away which is apparently much nicer and less pokey, but I havent' seen it yet.  It is not easy to get advice and opinions on this type of property, so thank you for responding, Margaret!