Bridgefast Management has launched a property sale service targeting homeowners who need to sell their home to raise funds for full-time nursing care.
Ivan Gould, chief executive of Bridgefast, said: ‘This is the first service of its kind and is designed to make the property sale easier. It enables the seller to make immediate financial provision for a care home as it advances funds in anticipation of the sale of the property.’
The advance is interest-free for the first 90 days and is issued 14 days from receipt of title deeds. In essence, Bridgefast is a one-stop shop for people going into care, offering all services under one roof. Clients are assigned a dedicated adviser as point of contact and the firm aims to sell the home within three months.
Commenting on the size of the growing market for care home funding, Gould said: ‘The Times reported that 70,000 people are forced to sell their homes each year to fund nursing care. There are two ways to do this ‘ you can either pay the £2,500-£3,000 a month or buy an immediate care annuity, which costs £50,000-£150,000.
‘So even taking the lower £50,000 estimate and multiplying that by the 70,000 potential clients this is a £3.5bn industry that we need to grow into.’
A variety of services are included in the deal, such as all legal services and a vacant property service, such as draining the water system, changing locks and vacant property inspection visits. There is also a payments service, to cover service charges and council tax.
The firm will also inventory high value/risk items, for example antique furniture, and arrange house clearance or auction. Each application requires an application fee of £395. Management fees are 2.5% of the eventual sale proceeds, the minimum fee being £2,250, including estate agents, valuation and legal fees.
