Trying to sell an Unmortgageable house

JH81

Hi,

I need some help please. Over a year ago my Grandfather passed away, leaving my Mum with the house. Basically its a good sized detached property nice views etc, but it was in need of a complete refurb, the garage whilst attached at the back was poorly constructed and needs taking down.

We accepted an offer of £160k in May, this dragged on for a while as they were trying to get a mortgage sorted, every lender obviously wants a full structural survey on the property. They got the mortgage and we signed but then they couldn’t get insurance so pulled out.

We then went down the auction route but couldn’t sell, accepted another offer at 145k but they then reduced this offer by £10k then £20k after a survey - they too were offered a mortgage but on a retention (not sure how much)

Now we had a cash offer, thought we'd got rid £130k. he then went and had a structural report who are saying the house has structural issues and needs loads spending on it, and may be worth pulling down. So they pulled out the deal as well.

I have no idea where this came from as the house looks fine, there are some cracks in the wall inside but no signs on the outside walls, everything looks solid (it was built in the 1950's).

This is causing so much stress as we don’t really know where to turn. We have offers now of cash at £100k which the auctioneer is pushing us to accept, but thats so much less than what we expected even in this market.

So im looking for some helpful advice. I was thinking that we should get our own independent survey done to identify what the issues are, but from that report are we able to find out what needs doing to make the house mortgageable? Is this just a waste of money and should be cut our losses and get rid?

Many Thanks in advance!

Hammyman

I can't believe that after so many people pulling out for the same reason that you haven't already commissioned a survey. Get a proper one done, not those cheap jobs just to keep the mortgage company happy.

Cracked walls don't look good. Fix them. If it needs a refurb, refurb it. It'll be far easier to sell as for some reason, people seem to be put off by houses needing work.

JH81

I know, but this is something I know very little about and the Estate Agents dont help, they just say take the offer. We dont have loads to spend on a refurb thats the problem, and its not likely we would be loaned the money to do the work.

RAS

You need to know what is wrong, so get the survey.

It may be fixable for £10K and so you would expect to sell for????????? Or is may need £50K and that would limit your options. You need to know even if you have no intention of doing the work.

propertyman

If the cracks inside are not significant e.g. loose lathe and plaster, or signs of movement, water damage etc, then here is what you might do if there is nothing fundamentally wrong.

In order to sell the house you were advised to "freshen it up" and give buyers an idea of what they could get after the other works.

This may mean a bit on materials and a lot of hard work filing in cracks and removing old wallpaper and painting, trashing old carpets and a good clean of the timbers.

A day or so doing small repairs taking out old kitchen units that are missing doors etc, cleaning windows clearing out gutters and tidying the grounds, fixing loose door handles or missing bulbs etc.

It does not remove underlying issues of old wiring old plumbing, terminal boiler and the astronomers friendly hole in the roof, but you are giving buyer's an idea of the possibilities.

The darker and dirtier it is......

ognum

Frankly it sounds like you should accept the £100K and just sell it If you havent the money to refurb or the ability accept the money and be happy with it It may not be as much as you thought/would like but its better than the stress of holding out isnt it

You can do a lot with £100K so just move on!

The_Palmist

agree with above, there's not much options. Get the survey and you might lose few 100 quids, accept 100K, you might risk losing a few 10Ks.

JH81

Thanks for replies,

I guess what I cant decide is should I cut my losses and get the money, or get the report, maybe spend £5k on plastering the cracks, taking down the garage, do something with the electrics - which would make it mortgageable and maybe raise the price to £135-£140. But thats a risk.

Heres my question, im not sure if anyone can answer on the basis of my vague description, but are surveyors basing the structure issues on the cracks alone? They say they dont know what it is as no drains or trees are causing it. So if the cracks are filled they dont see them, then there isnt a problem?

Hoof_Hearted

Is it of standard construction?

JH81

Yes as far as I am aware

Hoof_Hearted

I think you do need to get a proper structural survey to establish exactly what is wrong. Possibly a structural engineer rather than a surveyor. Some things cost a lot less to fix that you imagine. If the house is made of bricks and/or blocks it is better than having one made of concrete. The latter are virtually impossible to mortgage.

If you could post a link to the house or pictures of the problems, it may help.