'Selling Dad's flat after he died was a nightmare'

A woman said she was left paying hundreds of pounds a month for her late father's retirement flat for two years because she could not sell it.

Jackie Stacey, 67, from Caterham, Surrey, said the financial pressure and uncertainty became so severe she collapsed at home from stress weeks before the sale finally completed.

She said she and her brother were forced to slash the asking price by £70,000 while continuing to pay rising maintenance charges, management fees and council tax on the empty property in Epsom.

Epsom and Ewell Borough Council said it could not comment on individual cases.

It pointed residents to its policy outlining that owners of properties that remain empty and unfurnished for more than a year can face a 100% council tax premium.

Stacey is one of hundreds of people who contacted the BBC after families said they were being left with hefty bills when inheriting retirement properties.

Our earlier reporting found thousands of retirement flats across England and Wales were vacant.

Families blamed high service charges for making the properties unattractive and complained of a collapse in the value of the flats.

Stacey said her parents bought the retirement flat in the centre of Epsom around 20 years ago after her mother had a stroke, adding: "It was perfect for them."

When her mother died they took out equity release while her father lived there alone.

She said: "Just before he died he said 'I hope I haven't left you a headache'. We said 'no dad, it would be fine'.

"When I put it on the market I didn't envisage any of this."

She described the flat as "beautiful", with a garden backing onto a park, and said she could not understand why it proved so hard to sell.

"It's honestly been a complete nightmare. We couldn't sell it but had to keep paying. The stress has been unbelievable."

She said ongoing costs including maintenance charges, ground rent and council tax created a "real money drain".

"The council tax was £300 and then they doubled it," she said. "We had to pay £600 a month."

She said the pressure of continued costs and the risk of buyers pulling out left her feeling overwhelmed.

"I collapsed at home… it was because of the stress," she said.

The property was initially marketed for £245,000 but eventually sold for £175,000 after repeated reductions, which she described as "a total relief".

In the end, she said, she and her brother each received about £15,000 to £17,000 from the sale.

"We were fearful we were going to reduce it so much we could have been left with a £10k bill," she said.

"My dad would have been so upset. My parents went without for us and said it would all be for us."

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