Can't see a way forward

pinkteapot

I have to say I agree with BitterAndTwisted. Drop the price, get it shifted, and move on (assuming you can afford to buy what you want after selling at a lower price; sounded like you could).

I owned a flat from 2006-2009. I sold it in negative equity so had to cover the shortfall. MrTeapot and I now have a wonderful family home that we could live in for 20 years if we wanted to. I'm so glad I didn't keep the flat. Prices are going nowhere fast; I probably would have had to hold on to it for at least 10-15 years from now before made any sort of money on it. And have the hassle of letting it out for that whole time.

If you're in a position to offload it at a reduced price and still buy your next place, do it. And think how lucky you are as there's lots of posts on here from people stuck in those flats who can't afford to sell and move on.

DannyboyMidlands

wilsonrp wrote: »

Guys,

The flat has been off/on the market for a couple of years now and I'm 99.9% certain we would have sold it 20x with parking due to the feedback we've had on viewings.

It's also in a highly desireable road within it's postcode and seems to rank very favourably against what else is available. The decor etc is modern ...................

You may have sold it 1000x over if it had a helipad, swimming pool and 4 more bedrooms but it doesn't so get over it.

It sounds like you are in denial. Its been on the market for a couple of years so is obviously not desirable at the current asking price.

Drop the price, sell it and move on with your lives.

TrickyDicky101

Feedback from potential buyers (IMO) is largely useless and usually is simple code for "I don't want to buy that property" no matter what the actual content of the feedback. Blaming the lack of parking may simply be a convenient way for potential buyers to get rid of the EA who phones them up for feedback. Been there, done similar sort of things.

wilsonrp

Some strong words there....

It's pretty obvious to most people that anything will sell if you drop the price low enough.

In reality this is not a viable route forward as it will simply prevent/restrict affordability. Especially when moving from flats to houses in our area. The flat market is oversupplied and the houses are more in demand.

Some facts and figures;
mortgage owed 146k
equity 0
asking price 142.5k (already reduced twice)
lease remaining 70 yrs
FH offer 129k

Emmzi

I don't think £129 is ridiculous.

angrypirate

And what do you seriously expect? I very much doubt someone is going to come out of the woodwork and offer asking price. Maybe 135k if you're lucky?

pinkteapot

What have similar (or at least similarly sized) flats sold for in the area recently? You can't evaluate the offer of £129k without knowing that.

The asking price is £142.5k so you might get offers of £135k if you're lucky - it's a bit of a stretch to say that an offer of £129k is "embarrassing".

The lease only being 70 years will be a problem for some buyers...

I bought in Jan 2006 for £115k. At peak in 2007 the same flats were selling for £125k. I sold in Feb 2009 for £103k. Since then, two more have sold, one at £105k and one at £98k so, despite losing money, I know I got the right sort of price when I sold.

DannyboyMidlands

On the face of it £129k, 10% below asking, seems like a reasonable offer for a flat that's been on the market for 2 years.

wilsonrp

129k puts us in a position financially where we would be hard pushed to find something else suitable locally.

Also ..... and I accept I'm letting some emotion get the better of me here. It's a bitter pill to swallow for me and more especially the wife (as she's been there much longer) to sell to these FHs who have been very unfair IMO. The no-letting rule is nuts when you think we could sell the flat to a family of 14 if we wanted to and although the property would be totally unsuitable. The FH would have 0 control over it.

The FH will convert the building back into a house. Houses in this road go for around 400k. (and yes I did offer to buy the FH out).

You could say he has us by the preverbials and it's not a good feeling.

I will do the research on similar sales in area and post again.

Thanks....

pinkteapot

I can understand your feeling about the freeholder.

First thing to do is check local sold prices (you can do this on Rightmove). If £129k is a reasonable offer, drop your asking price to say £135k and you might get an offer of £129k from someone nicer.