Making a loss just to get rid of my house

Oog

Afternoon, knowledgeable people...

So, as some of you know, I have a house to sell which has been on the market since before Christmas. The house is ok, newly re-wired, ready to move in, garage, gardens, etc and I have had plenty of viewings but there seems to be just too much choice locally and not enough buyers with mortgages out there.

I reduced the price. And then again. And then again. I had an offer but the guy’s mortgage got declined for a suspect credit rating after the MIP.

I have now put it up for auction to try and get rid and this finishes at the weekend. It has not even reached £5K below my reserve price.

So, do I wait until the auction finishes and remarket, possibly with another EA?
Do I rent and hope things will improve (I don’t really want the hassle, plus it’s just prolonging the debt and only just covering my expenses)?
Or, as I am tempted to do, just accept the ~ £25k loss and sell to the last bidder?

As this is on a ~£100k house it hurts my MSE feelings somewhat, but my mortgage debt for this property will be cleared completely and it will only be the kind, but not insignificant, offering from the Bank of M+D which helped me rewire my new house that will be left to pay back. (Slowly… with what I would have been paying on this mortgage).

Random thoughts?

Oog

phoebe1989seb

Sometimes you do just have to bite the bullet and accept taking a hit. We did this on our last house sale. Having bought (mortgage-free) while prices were at their peak in 2007 in an area we hadn't researched properly, we went on to spend a further £40k+ of our savings on doing it up. When we sold last year it was for considerably less than our total outlay, but as we really needed to get away and make a fresh start - and fortunately we were still able to buy mortgage-free - all things considered, we decided the loss was worth it.......

I don't understand about the type of auction to which you refer though.....I'm guessing this is some kind of online auction, as opposed to the traditional kind?

If you are able to clear your mortgage on the property I guess it's definitely worth considering taking the hit......

PasturesNew

Do you have a link to the online auction? It'd help us understand the house, the price band etc ... and you never know who is lurking, they might bang on another £5k to the price knowing they might be able to win it.... and then the other guy might bang a bit more on ... and ...

fannyanna

We've just done what you're considering and couldn't be happier. We bought a property in 2007 which we then renovated. Went on the market at less than we paid and we then accepted a lower offer. So we had a loss on purchase price alone (without even considering renovation costs).

But now that we've finally got rid of our one bedroom flat we're in the process of buying a 3 bed house. For us we decided the benefits in just getting on with our lives (space to start a family) far outweighed any financial losses.

DannyboyMidlands

Can't you just live in it? Why do you need to sell?

anggrrr

Have you already bought?

I found that the loss I made on my house (it had been on the market for 15 months and a buyer appeared the day after I gave notice to withdraw) was more than equalled by the drop in price in the house I purchased. For me moving *now* was worth 5K as I really couldn't wait to leave my old home. That said those looking for unrealistic prices in old road still have houses on the market after 5 years...

Oog

Here is the link:
http://www.iam-sold.co.uk/properties/e33c93c587264259b377db7990d14942.html

Not many hours left!

I need to sell because I have already moved into my new place which is now habitable and I am reaching the end of my council tax exemption (plus am expecting a new arrival in July so could do with the money saving). I don't need two houses!

I hoped to get £95k but that's looking unlikely now. A similar house sold on this online auction site around the corner for £87k which would have been acceptable, too.

Oh, well.

Gentoo365

Personal opinion here as I know nothing about property auctions.

However I would always expect an auction property to sell at below the fair price. This is because the buyer needs to put a deposit down and complete quickly with losses if the searches and surveys mean problems. Also they are looking for bargains and are assuming that either there is an issue with the property, or the vendor needs a quick sale, so the price is not the issue.

'Since before Christmas' is not that long for a house to be on the market (albeit I know nothing about your local housing market). I have been looking for my next property for almost a year now (first one fell though due to vendor). I have seen some great properties stay on the market for ages, but then get sold.

I don't know your financial situation, nor that of your local area, but I would consider seeing if it sells in the summer.

That said, if you need to get rid of it then you just have to take what you can get.

pinkshoes

There are LOADS of similar properties with ASKING prices of around £85k, which means they might not even sell for that.

The area is one that has been hit massively by the recession, hence a complete lack of buyers.

I would be tempted to accept the auction offer then move on with your life. If may be a loss, but it's a small price to pay to be able to move on.

(I did the same with my property, although a £10k loss on a £200k+ property, and am SO pleased I did - I have my life back, and a little boy!)

Oog

Thanks, Gentoo365.
It may not be a long time on the market but it's a long time to pay two mortgages!!!
I budgeted to cover up to one year of 'double trouble' and this comes to an end this summer. I don't want the hassle of renting anymore either (I had considered this as an option).

mandi

In your position I would rent out using an agent to avoid any hassle. Have you contacted any agents to see the amount of rent the property would achieve ? Have you rented out before ?

Have you thought about an Open Day ? This would be the cost of an add in your local paper .. perhaps print some flyers ?

25k is an awful lot of money to wave goodbye to .

Act in haste repent at leisure .:)