After retirement, Annette and Pete Mackay decided to downsize from their four-bed Victorian terrace in Bury. The pair, who’d lived in the house for just over a decade with regular visits from their three children and four grandchildren, put their property on the market in spring 2021 when Pete, 78, was in the early stages of dementia. While sad to leave their “forever home”, they were excited at the prospect of having a more manageable space, with a lovely garden to spend time in.
The couple found their dream retirement property in nearby Tottington a fortnight later. “It was a three-bed terrace with a small garden and was on a popular walking route,” says Annette, 72. They made and secured an offer in the high £200,000s within weeks.
With the property “sold, subject to contract” (SSC), the pair engaged solicitors and commissioned reports and a survey. But a month on, after shelling out an initial £500, they received a call. “The estate agent said the buyers were withdrawing the house from sale for personal reasons,” she recalls.
The couple were heartbroken. “We were devastated, but also felt we weren’t being told the whole story.” It was only two weeks later when she passed a local estate agent’s window that Annette found the truth. “The house – our dream house – was listed as ‘sold’ through another estate agent, for around £20,000 more than the original asking price.”
