Assisted Sale

roach81

Has anyone had any experience of a bank assisted sale?

We have both physical & financial problems with our property, we are in negative equity and we have not managed to sell on the open market. I have spoken to my lender (HSBC) and they have offered me an 'assisted sale' through a company called movewithus.

The service sounds great; a quick sale within six weeks, the bank will help with costs, and they will lend us the shortfall on completion, and have even said they may consider writing off some of the debt. All this without affecting our credit rating...

Sounds too good to be true...what is the catch?

new_home_owner_3

load of blowhole there just like estate agents

Bufger

roach81 wrote: »

Has anyone had any experience of a bank assisted sale?

We have both physical & financial problems with our property, we are in negative equity and we have not managed to sell on the open market. I have spoken to my lender (HSBC) and they have offered me an 'assisted sale' through a company called movewithus.

The service sounds great; a quick sale within six weeks, the bank will help with costs, and they will lend us the shortfall on completion, and have even said they may consider writing off some of the debt. All this without affecting our credit rating...

Sounds too good to be true...what is the catch?

The catch is that they will 'consider' writing off some of your debt. The other catch is that they will be able to determine sale price, as its a quick sale they will want it will be considerably less than what you would want, your negative equity will be substantially more then and your debt higher.

What was the rate of the shortfall loan?

If you did go for it ask for all of that in writing first and dont let them fob you off. You might see a couple of them go all sheepish when you ask for it in writing, thats usually a clue as to just how good your deal is :rotfl:

m_13

Have you visited the www.movewithus.co.uk website:

movewithus and various styles are a trading name of Partners In Property (UK) Limited, a national network of the country's leading independent estate agents. Registered in England No. 3332891. A wholly owned subsidiary of Partners In Property Solutions plc. Register Office Sterling House, Harding Way, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 3WR. Registered in England No. 3883536

They're not magicians so I don't know how they could guarantee a sale within six weeks other than if the price is so low it couldn't fail to sell!

What are the physical problems with your property? Do you mean that you need it to be adapted to meet your physical needs or that it is has problems?

broke2

Hi roach81

Any developments since your post? We are desperate to sell our Channel Island guest house as we have migrated. Got a fair bit of equity in the place but huge mortgage & can no longer fund the mortgage repayments (already on interest only) so HSBC have just offered us an assisted sale but im unsure - if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the property & its a great lifestyle business on a wonderful island but there are just no properties selling at the moment & it sounds like there is no change coming soon as far as the property market is concerned. Maybe we are just not marketing it in the right areas but at the end of the day we cannot afford any more payments, already a couple of months in arrears and stressing like mad about repo etc.

Any advice?

silvercar

Assisted sales remove control from you to the lender. The general feel is that the estate agent has control. I know a couple of people who have done this, it is a way out of a hole but you may feel that you have lost control. From an outsiders point of view you can see that the sale is conducted in such a way to get that elusive sale. The price will therefore be at a level to attract a buyer quickly. From the sellers point of view, they may feel that the property is being sold to cheaply, but then people often can't see the price needed to shift their property in the current market.

CloudCuckooLand

broke2 wrote: »

Hi roach81

Any developments since your post? We are desperate to sell our Channel Island guest house as we have migrated. Got a fair bit of equity in the place but huge mortgage & can no longer fund the mortgage repayments (already on interest only) so HSBC have just offered us an assisted sale but im unsure - if it sounds too good to be true it probably is!

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the property & its a great lifestyle business on a wonderful island but there are just no properties selling at the moment & it sounds like there is no change coming soon as far as the property market is concerned. Maybe we are just not marketing it in the right areas but at the end of the day we cannot afford any more payments, already a couple of months in arrears and stressing like mad about repo etc.

Any advice?

As you have plenty of equity, you need to consider reducing the price to sell it yourself. Even in today's market, well-priced, decent properties are selling.

If the bank repossess or assist, the equity remaining will likely be dented more than if you just priced it competitively on the open market.

And they will deduct fees and charges, as well, especially for a repo.

broke2

Thanks CloudCuckooLand
Its already on market at £200k less than valued at - its just that nothing at all is selling there. My concern is that if we reduce it much more it just looks like there is something wrong with it! Its already below what most other properties are on the market for & looking around at holiday spots in the UK I think its a good price too.
Maybe we just need to come up with some really good marketing in different areas...I just don't know where to start.......

silvercar

..I just don't know where to start.......

A link on here would get you some comments on how it is being marketed.

broke2

alderneyestateagency . com property 144 (the Town House)

swoffers . co . uk property for sale in St Anne

sorry I can't post direct links as new user...

broke2

We're listed with Alderney & Guernsey agents only at the moment & my view is that I need to be advertising on an international scale to attract the right kind of buyers....

...problem is, all international sites don't include Channel Islands as most people just lump them together as part of the UK so anyone searching for a specific UK area is not interested in my place.

I guess I'm looking to attract someone who is not sure what they want or where they want to be....

...this is a lifestyle business in a great location with offshore tax perks but how do I "get it out there"?

Any advice, pointers or re-directions would be much appreciated.