Difficult property to sell

wannabe_sybil

I have been watching these boards for some time, and greatly value the information I have gleaned. However, I would really appreciate any input that you kind people could give on my predicament.

I need to sell our house and move, reasons giving to Estate Agents/buyers - my dear heart drives an hour each way to work. We would like to reduce that and it is best to do that before my little bear starts nursery/school to avoid disruption. Real reason - I am on antidepressants and suicidal and the environment is contributing a great deal to that.

Plus points - we bought in 1994 for £44k. We have no further loans secured on the house. We have £10k savings which I have assumed will disappear with the expenses of moving house. Dear heart has been in his new job 12 months now after redundancy and has FINALLY after years of my pleading agreed to move house. Dear heart believed that things would get better. New bathroom 2004, new windows 2006.

Negatives - the areas near to dear heart's employment are expensive. We are a terrace, with neighbours at the back who are extremely noisy and known to be violent. At the side the neighbours are absolutely lovely - but they have a few four by fours with no tax, insurance or number plates outside plus a camper van and a towing caravan, plus a large trailer, a pile of 'useful bits' and a large stack of tyres in the street. Their yard looks like Steptoes. Both houses are owned by a btl landlord who does not maintain his buildings. This includes the roof of next door which has a hole in, and the damp has affected our property. The council have been investigating since May. Dear heart and I have not decorated, apart from little bear's room, since we moved in, the carpets are thread bare, the damp adjacent to next door has left stains and paper peeling off, plaster is coming off some walls and the kitchen needs to be stripped down to the brick as all the plaster has blown and the units that are still usable are hanging off the walls. The sink is collapsing. There is a huge pile of bricks in the street from where local btl landlord started remodelling another property he owns down the street but I suspect that he ran out of money, as it has been halted since August. Bollards have been fitted across one end of the street and the area has become more and more run down.

I would appreciate any suggestions about how best to sell this property.

Sorry it is so long

poppysarah

Ring all your local EAs - look at rightmove to find them

Tell them you want a quick sale and see how many buyers they have on their books.

hethmar

Sorry to hear how low you feel.

Get an agent round - it may be a btl would be interested in the place, at a low price. Do you need to buy another house or could you rent a place? It would be less hassle for you and you could move on if it wasnt what you wanted.

You obviously appreciate the house sounds a bit of a mess. Is there no way OH could do something to pretty the house up? If you have £10k saved, a cheap carpet may be worth putting down to make things look better even if its just to make you feel happier?

You may have to take a really low price on the house but if you bought it 15 years ago, this may not be such a bad hit for you. Personally Id sell at whatever you can get quickly and move into a rented place with some money in the bank.

Very best of luck.

Nenen

If you are desperate (and it sounds as if you are) then you could put your house up for auction. Although you'd probably get less for it (although who knows in the current market), at least you wouldn't have to go through months of angst trying to find a buyer and then all the worry about the sale falling through at the last minute or being gazundered. Once a property goes under the hammer the sale is final. Find one or two firms that conduct property auctions in you area and ask them for their advice. Depending upon what they think the house might realistically fetch you can set a reserve price (to at least cover paying off your mortgage). Even if getting a really low price for your house means you move into rented house for a while, it might be worth it for the sake of your mental health. No pile of bricks is more important than your sanity! Just make sure wherever you move to comes under the area of a good GP (get OH to ask around at work).

The other thing that occurs to me... although this is a long shot, is it might be worth you getting a couple of estate agents to value the house (but don't sign up to go on their books at this stage) then contact this BTL landlord of the surrounding properties and ask him if he'd like to buy your property at a sunstantial discount. You save EA fees and, as he obviously doesn't care about the properties he owns, he might be interested in yours as it's nearby his 'empire'! However if, as you think, he is in financial difficulty, he might not be in a position to afford to buy your house.

Is there any possibility (a long shot given the way you descirbe the condition of your house) of renting it out and then you renting somewhere in the new area yourselves?

Finally, have you considered going on council/housing asscoiation waiting lists in the area you want to move to? Given your health problems it might (another long shot) be worth a try.
Good luck

wannabe_sybil

I really appreciate this advice.

Dear heart will not spend any money on the house. The new windows and the new bathroom were not to update, they were an absolute necessity as in both cases there was a serious question of how long the windows would stay in the frames and how long the cracks in the bath would last before it went.

But we have savings perhaps as a result of that so I shouldn't grumble.

Thank you again for the advice. I really appreciate it.

mlz1413

Nenen wrote: »

.
The other thing that occurs to me... although this is a long shot, is it might be worth you getting a couple of estate agents to value the house (but don't sign up to go on their books at this stage) then contact this BTL landlord of the surrounding properties and ask him if he'd like to buy your property at a sunstantial discount. You save EA fees and, as he obviously doesn't care about the properties he owns, he might be interested in yours as it's nearby his 'empire'! However if, as you think, he is in financial difficulty, he might not be in a position to afford to buy your house.

I was going to suggest this, BTL LL probably has money but doesn't want to spend on repairs, definately approach him about buying yours, your nice neighbours should be able to get you in contact with him.

Otherwise tidy up, paint the walls and either get some rugs to hide threadbare carpet or buy a cheap carpet for the downstairs as this is the first area to be seen. See if your DH can replace the sink with a 2nd hand one (try freecycle) and tidy up the outside by taking the rubbish to the tip. You may think these things are insignificant compared to the list of things on your wish list, but little things count.

wannabe_sybil

mlz1413 wrote: »

I was going to suggest this, BTL LL probably has money but doesn't want to spend on repairs, definately approach him about buying yours, your nice neighbours should be able to get you in contact with him.

Otherwise tidy up, paint the walls and either get some rugs to hide threadbare carpet or buy a cheap carpet for the downstairs as this is the first area to be seen. See if your DH can replace the sink with a 2nd hand one (try freecycle) and tidy up the outside by taking the rubbish to the tip. You may think these things are insignificant compared to the list of things on your wish list, but little things count.

The local btl has made our lives an absolute misery, and has just told me that he is not buying any more (though you can tell when he is being 'economical with the truth' because he is breathing). I think that he is running out of money because he started to remodel a pub that backs onto our street, knocked down loads of walls, left the bricks piled up in a heap, left a pallet of unused bricks and some sand, but stopped paying anyone to do the work. There are a set of half built walls that I pass most days, with weeds growing all over them, not touched since August. Also the roofers he used to do half a job on the roof next door (missed a gaping patch of missing tiles!) seem to be chasing him for money, but that doesn't mean anything. He is not over keen to part with money even if he had it. He is not a nice person.

Dear heart will not decorate nor buy rugs, nor do anything with sink. I am going on a mission to deep clean inside and out (two year old little bear permitting :rolleyes:) Yes, I agree with you that a 'cheap and cheerful' approach would work wonders, but he does not agree. But he is a wonderful husband and father, and I wouldn't swap him for the world.

But I do appreciate what you say. I think I shall have to see what I personally can do. I do have the feeling that I can't make anything worse Besides, some lining paper on the walls with pale emulsion will work wonders... If I can sort it out myself. I am now on a mission :eek: As long as he doesn't get too upset. I don't think I can do anything about the sink.

I really appreciate the advice and hope I do not come across as 'yes, but...' because you have given me a great deal of food for thought.

hethmar

Getting the place into a bit better shape wouldnt cost a fortune but would make you feel better and make it a bit more desirable. I think your OH needs a bit of a rocket if he hasnt attempted to do a bit of decorating for you. Can you do some painting?


(We cross-posted - glad to hear you are thinking of doing a bit of painting yourself)

The mess in the road outside, have you contacted council/highways about that?

silvercar

Market it as ideal project for developer, someone may be delighted to get a property cheap and will do it up to their taste. May be a builder's dream.

Auction with a reserve may be a good way to sell, would certainly generate interest.

Ms_Chocaholic

It is well worth joining a local freecycle group in your area, if you've not used one before, you'll be surprised at the offers available and you may be able to find a rug/carpet (or post a wanted post).

mlz1413

wannbe sybil check out your local freecycle website, wonderful place recycling at it's best. You maybe able to get things you want from there.

Whilst I understand your DH doesn't want to throw good money after bad you would probably buy rugs even if you lived in a 'nice' house, the cheapest rugs in Argos are about £25 which you can take with you if you leave, but the absolute minimum he can do is labour, as in help you move furniture so you can paint, take little bear to the park so you can paint, do a trip to the tip whilst going to the park.

Really good luck glad your on a mission now :beer: