Stuck in a 1 bedroom flat - is there anything we can do?

Essexgirl81

poppy10 wrote: »

I wouldn't have gone that far! :eek: That's quite a fall. The problem is any bidder worth their salt is going to try to negotiate at least 10% off asking price, so you might have been better off cutting to £115k or £110k at least for a week or two to test the waters.

Yes, in normal circumstances that may have worked out but an identical (if not in slightly better condition) flat upstairs is on the market for £105,000 and we need to resolve this issue quickly before the prices tumble even further. I believe it's all about damage limitation now. I really need to grab people's attention if only to get more of them wanting to at least view this flat. In all the time we've had it on the market we only had one person come round to have a look and that's pitiful. But let's be honest, it hasn't been realistically priced.......until now.

As I said before, you can pick up a 1 or 2 bedroom flat in the main town for as little as £89,995 now so we also have to compete with that. We have an ever so slight edge on those ones as we are in a new-ish development here and (in some people's opinions) generally considered to be in a more desirable area.

Just have to see what happens really!

Dick_here

Essexgirl81 wrote: »

I got in touch with the mortgage company today to ask advice about what really happens if we sell in negative equity.

They were very helpful and understood our situation. They said that it would go in our favour that we have continued to meet the monthly repayments and have no foreseeable trouble in doing so.

Basically, they were sure that we could work something out once we had an offer of some kind.

Which means what exactly, did they tell you ? I'm genuinely curious !

barnaby-bear

!!!!!!_here wrote: »

Which means what exactly, did they tell you ? I'm genuinely curious !

They have no debts and reasonable income so mortgage company (probably a bank) may decide they fit the criteria for an unsecured loan - so they pay off the difference between mortgage and sale value with this loan and the bank lets them pay it back in monthly payments.

barnaby-bear

Essexgirl81 wrote: »

Yes, in normal circumstances that may have worked out but an identical (if not in slightly better condition) flat upstairs is on the market for £105,000 and we need to resolve this issue quickly before the prices tumble even further. I believe it's all about damage limitation now. I really need to grab people's attention if only to get more of them wanting to at least view this flat. In all the time we've had it on the market we only had one person come round to have a look and that's pitiful. But let's be honest, it hasn't been realistically priced.......until now.

As I said before, you can pick up a 1 or 2 bedroom flat in the main town for as little as £89,995 now so we also have to compete with that. We have an ever so slight edge on those ones as we are in a new-ish development here and (in some people's opinions) generally considered to be in a more desirable area.

Just have to see what happens really!

It seems sensible logic - I preferred your flat to the other FWIW.

teafiend

I'm not an expert at all, but have you checked whether its possible to worm your way out of the fixed rate deal? Our fixed rate was due to come to an end in November, but we were supposed to move house in September and would have had to pay ERC. Luckily for us, a brilliant adviser at Nationwide pointed out that if we switched from the fixed deal to the Standard Variable Rate, the ERC didn't apply. So we switched to the SVR in September and it cost us £60 a month more for the two months left of the fixed rate, but it would have saved us over £1000 in ERC if the planned move had actually happened. (We didn't need to have the house revalued to make this switch as it wasn't classed as a remortgage, so this might be possible even though it looks like you're in negative equity.) Alternatively, can you cope with the mortgage payments until the fixed rate ends so that you don't have to pay ERC and then perhaps the SVR will be cheaper anyway?

Maybe you could make an appointment with your mortgage adviser? I think ours also said we could change the term on our mortgage at any time without it being a full-on remortgage. So putting the term up would lower your bills. But I don't know if you'd want to put it up from 35 years though.

Essexgirl81

AliceBell wrote: »

Maybe you could make an appointment with your mortgage adviser? I think ours also said we could change the term on our mortgage at any time without it being a full-on remortgage. So putting the term up would lower your bills. But I don't know if you'd want to put it up from 35 years though.

Hiya,

Thanks for your input - much appreciated :cool:

Thanks also for the suggestion of extending the mortgage but, as I understand it, we can only have as many years that are left until my husband reaches retirement age which would be in 33 years time.

This explains how we originally came to have a repayment mortgage over a 38 year term!! Obviously, the 'normal' term is 25 years so, in theory, we have until 2017 (when my husband reaches 40) to get ourselves sorted out with a family home before it will be too late to be allowed to have it in the conventional way at an affordable price!!! Fingers crossed!!

His parents are lucky. They are in their early 50's and have already paid their mortgage up in full.

Entertainer

Nothing wrong with you having a child, you've done everything in the right order. You sound like a level headed person with a good marriage. Frankly, we want people like you to have kids in this country!! The only error, as you know, was your husband's weird "pre nup";) conditions, which to his credit he has now apologised for. Contrition = good.

It would probably be the right thing financially to sell if you could as the market is falling so fast and is likely to continue to do so. To do that, you would probably have to bite the bullet and slash your asking price savagely, effectively being ahead of the curve, which it sounds like you have done.

If not, you will have to hunker down and stay put, try to boost your income and pay off as much debt as possible.:money:

drbeat

pinkshoes wrote: »

I presume the child wasn't planned???

What the hell has that got to do with anything? What a terrible thing to ask!

drbeat

I know someone in exactly the same position as the OP. Bought a 1 bedroom flat in 2004 though for 79k. He's trying to get shot of it now for 100k but a respossession on the same road - same flat type - is up for grabs for 30K cheaper! Don't ya just love the banks for screwing people over! Lend them the money and then a few years later devaluate the asset! LOL!

Oh yeah...he MEW'd on his property too!