Send house to auction - yes or no?

lynzpower

House is on for fixed price £165,000. This would leave me a good wedge after clearing all debt. Problem is, I am forking out £1000 to keep the house sitting there and as all borrowings are interest free this is money down the pan... £1000 is pretty much my whole wage so OH is having to pay for everything in new house and all living costs. So we are very very skint!

heres the rub. How much is the bare bones of what you can sell it for , and how much is your debt? The thing is that if you sold it for the bare bones, then poured in that 1k a month to clearing your debt, at least youd be getting somewhere? as it stands, it appears that you are struggling to get by , as you have this 1k per month going out on mortgage.

I would slash it to the bare minimum of what youll accept, go for offers over and hope someone spots it as a bargain- and takes it off your hands. There ARE still buyers out there, but they have less to spend, and believe that they will get the house for less by waiting. Why not take that wiat out of the equation, if you can of course

FingersCrossed_2

Thanks for all the replies - good advice.

If it sold for 130k then I reckon i'd still have about 10k profit after clearing everything. Still a nice bit of cash. Most of this would go to OH as he paid whole deposit on joint house. Would mean that the 1k a month currently going in to old house would be mine as would have no more debt. Plus OH would clear most of his debt with the cash I hand to him.

So, as a couple we would have almost no debt apart from our joint mortgage. We would be paying half the bills and living costs each and would both have a good amount of cash in the pocket each month. Which would allow for savings and holidays.

So worst case scenario if it sold at the auction would be the above. This is remembering it could still go for over the guide price. If it didn't sell at auction, my only cost would be £395 (+VAT) entry fee. But have told auction company I couldn't pay this until the house sold in any case as so poor.

Other option is to drop price just now and keep going through EA. However, i'm really not convinced this would make a difference. Renting is definitely out as figures just don't add up. Would have too many bills to settle first EA, solicitor, advertising.

Sounds like i've made my mind up doesn't it....

Property is in the Scottish Borders.

poppysarah

£150k would be more appealing. Discuss with EA who he has with money/mortgage to buy and what price he thinks they'd pay for your house.

pawpurrs

Will the auction company accept that you cant pay if it doesnt sell?
Auction sounds wonderful in that exchange happens immediately taking out the stress factor, but not sure how much my house would achieve at auction, but to be rid sounds bliss.

FingersCrossed_2

pawpurrs wrote: »

Will the auction company accept that you cant pay if it doesnt sell?
Auction sounds wonderful in that exchange happens immediately taking out the stress factor, but not sure how much my house would achieve at auction, but to be rid sounds bliss.

Auction company say they don't usually take on clients who can't pay the entry fee. However, I was directed to them through the EA who will confirm I am legit. Plus solicitor says she would prepare something to confirm I have enough equity to meet their fee and that they would get paid immediately on sale of the property.

If the house sells at auction, the buyer has to pay a 10% non refundable deposit on the day. Auction company take their fee from that and I get the rest. They also sign paperwork on the day and exchange happens 4-8 weeks after. Will obviously get my solicitor to check everything fair and in order before I commit to the auction company.

I think if I was to drop the price and stick with EA I would have to go for something pretty low to get the interest. It was on for o/o 155k for a while but still not much happening. Although the buyer who pulled out started with an offer of 170k so it is worth what I am asking.

It is so tricky. If we owned the property outright I would rent it out and keep it for another few years as it is a definite investment. However, the cost of 1k a month and all borrowing being interest only plus, the emotional strain of being so skint just makes me want to get rid ASAP.

It's great to hear all your thoughts. Thanks again

GDB2222

Notlob wrote: »

Consider renting it out!

No, don't!

leftieM

FingersCrossed wrote: »

Auction company say they don't usually take on clients who can't pay the entry fee. However, I was directed to them through the EA who will confirm I am legit. Plus solicitor says she would prepare something to confirm I have enough equity to meet their fee and that they would get paid immediately on sale of the property.

If the house sells at auction, the buyer has to pay a 10% non refundable deposit on the day. Auction company take their fee from that and I get the rest. They also sign paperwork on the day and exchange happens 4-8 weeks after. Will obviously get my solicitor to check everything fair and in order before I commit to the auction company.

I think if I was to drop the price and stick with EA I would have to go for something pretty low to get the interest. It was on for o/o 155k for a while but still not much happening. Although the buyer who pulled out started with an offer of 170k so it is worth what I am asking.

To be honest you can't afford to believe that if you want to sell your house.

It's highly unlikely that you will get a better price at auction than you will on the open market. Auctions are for people looking for bargains. They are for sellers who are desperate. The number of people who go to auctions to buy is tiny compared with the number going to estate agents and looking on property websites.

FingersCrossed_2

leftieM wrote: »

To be honest you can't afford to believe that if you want to sell your house.

It's highly unlikely that you will get a better price at auction than you will on the open market. Auctions are for people looking for bargains. They are for sellers who are desperate. The number of people who go to auctions to buy is tiny compared with the number going to estate agents and looking on property websites.

I understand what you are saying and I do think that if I leave it with the EA it will sell eventually. However, the auction is tempting as it would give me the possibility of it selling soon. Every month I wait for something to come through EA is another 1k down the drain...

I just don't know the right thing to do. EA says that the market is saturated in the Borders and that there are almost no viewers never mind people actually buying. Stressss......

GDB2222

House prices are going down, not up, for the next year or two. I would sell at auction, rather than see prices go ever lower.

FingersCrossed_2

GDB2222 wrote: »

House prices are going down, not up, for the next year or two. I would sell at auction, rather than see prices go ever lower.

Thanks. I think you're right. The Scottish Borders (along with many other places) experienced a massive boom over the last few years and I think this is the end of it. I think 'a bird in the hand....' and all that. However, still no guarantee it would sell at auction. Got to be worth a try though. Just a few days after pay day and we have no money again. Getting rid of this stress and debt is my first priority.