Stuck because we can't sell our house. There must be a solution, please help.

HAMISH_MCTAVISH

myhouse wrote: »

If there are 3 buyers in an area and 10 houses for sale, all 10 will sell if they are all sufficiently affordable to encourage buyers into the market.

Affordability is not what's stopping buyers. Mortgage payments are lower than rent in 80% of the UK, even with mortgage interest rates at 5%.

It's the fact they can't get mortgages.

Sure, if prices dropped to £50 each and nobody needed a mortgage, then it wouldn't be a problem.

But that's just silly.

Procrastinator333

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

And they're often not the reason too.

Ultimately, there are only around a third of the number of buyers that the market used to have because banks are rationing mortgages.

If there are only 3 buyers in an area, and 10 houses for sale, then 7 houses will not sell even if everyone drops their price.

But in such a scenario, if 1 house was reduced by a bit more than the others, all other things being equal, they would be the one that sold first. Being cheaper than the competition is obviously a potential strategy to securing a sale if you need to sell in a shorter timeframe.

Procrastinator333

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Affordability is not what's stopping buyers. Mortgage payments are lower than rent in 80% of the UK, even with mortgage interest rates at 5%.

Still quoting that Zoopla survey I see. Didn't Zoopla also release data that prices fell by something like 15% over the last year? Don't see you quoting them on that.

Procrastinator333

berbasulk wrote: »

My partner and I currently are living together in my one bedroom bachelor pad. We are very keen to move to somewhere bigger so I have been trying (without success) to sell my place for around six months now.

We are fortunate because I don't have a mortgage on my place and between us we have around 90k in savings. However, because my partner cannot get a mortgage we can only borrow money against my income and this doesn't give us enough to buy what we would like/need.

Therefore, unless we can sell my place and release the equity then we appear to be stuck where we are until that happens and it's starting to get us down.

My question is, have I overlooked something? Do we have any other options or do we have to just keep on waiting until we find a buyer?

Thanks, in advance

Firt off, I think you a re a troll from HPC. 7 posts and that kind of story, just stinks of the sort of thing they would do.

If not, then you need to weigh up what is most important to you. If you are desperate to move, just reduce the price and take it on the chin. If you want the max out of it, then be prepared to wait and just be sure you are getting viewings.

You could rent it out, but I would not be too keen to be relying on someone else to pay rent to enable you to pay your mortage. Having said that, if your incomes would cover it, maybe this is a route worth exploring. Talk to the mortage companies and see if they would factor it in to the lending multiples. Probably best to work out what your options are before you pick which way to go.

myhouse_2

HAMISH_MCTAVISH wrote: »

Affordability is not what's stopping buyers.
It's the fact they can't get mortgages.

The fact that they can't get mortgages...i.e. can't get the money to buy...i.e. can't afford it...
so.... affordability is the problem!

Seanymph

Procrastinator what's HPC?

Just in case it isn't a troll;

Start at the front door and look at how well maintained it is, what colour it is, does it blend, are the communal areas painted, maintained, is there rubbish outside, graffiti? Does it look like a nice area? Can you park?

How is the internal decoration - I wouldn't buy black and white kitchens because I'd have to replace everything - so, is your flat modern, but not too individual? Does it have storage? Cupboards? Bookshelves? Space for you to fit them? Do you have loads of stuff everywhere? Get rid of it - put it into storage if necessary - clean windows? Kitchens and bathrooms sell property.

How many places is it marketed? My last house was VERY niche, I put it on with 12 agents - eventually one sold it right out of area - basically I put together a mailshot with photos on it and sent it out to about 50 agents asking if they had someone looking for something like it - and at the bottom asked them if they would like to put it on their books at x%. 10 contacted me and said 'yes please'.

I also mailshot property finders - these are professionals who find property for other people.

I checked it was on rightmove and other property sites.

You can put it on ebay yourself.

Is there something particular you can get featured in the paper about it - mine got a full page in the local paper when I asked them because of it's history. Are you in a new building? Or an old one converted? Can you interest them in a feature on 'following the sale of a flat in these difficult times' with a sort of diary of the sale?

Is it, say at the seaside? Coast magazine has feature properties - could it be a second home? Could you put an advert on the gym notice board? Contact nearby big companies and ask them to circulate an email to their staff?

make sure it's as right as you can get it (and that the price is fair and achievable!) then get VERY pro-active.

(oh, and you may want to rethink the bankrupt g/f - I had an ex with a bankrupcy, blamed the ex wife for their poor money management, and after dragging me as low as I ever want to go I slung him out and he ended up bankrupt again - people with no money sense can be an expensive indulgence - and that advice is a bonus!)