A very long, despairing post

missbiggles1

Gingernutty wrote: »

Awwww. Thanks guys.

The bathroom has no independent ventilation and there is no ventilated lobby between the bathroom and kitchen.

The electrics (including live 3 pin sockets) have been condemned in the bathroom. I've been told not to touch anything else, just switch the light on.

The plan, such as it is is move out (try renting somewhere to get a feel for the area), do up house, move in long enough for it to be my main residence and then sell. All the while looking for somewhere else to buy.

That's still on. The complaints to the police will have to be declared but hopefully, a BTL landlord will buy the place and put in scutty tenants.

I will have my revenge.......

But why go to all that trouble when you could just sell it at a bargain price (by auction if you want a quick sale) and move on? I'm sorry, it just seems so pointless to me, just for a few quid which you don't need.

duchy

Does it need to be your main residence for a while for tax purposes?

BitterAndTwisted

I suspect Gigernutty is worried about Capital Gains Tax. As if the property is going to increase in value by hundreds of thousands of pounds by having a new kitchen and bathroom, plus some attention to the electrics while she lives in a rental. As if! Considering what she's got on deposit I suspect this focus on improving the property in order to sell is a throw-back to much less prosperous times, and a desire to not waste what she's got.

In her position I'd find a nice rental, chuck the keys at an estate-agent and tell him I don't want to hear another word about the property until the bank transfer is ready to hit my account. I'd flog that place for twenty-five grand and be glad to have got shot of it, and to be able to wave "bye-bye" to the scutty neighbours. But we're not all the same.

Gingernutty

duchy wrote: »

Does it need to be your main residence for a while for tax purposes?

Something like that - CGT.

As well as losing money on the sale, there will be tax on top.

I am looking at properties closer to work on Rightmove and have seen some I want to view.

Flats mainly, although I'm a little leery of buying leasehold.

The current value, with the problems known, at auction will less than half what I paid for it - I'd take a hit of about £30K.

Let this be a warning to anyone buying property.

FGS!! GET FULL STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL SURVEYS!!!

It's worth it.

ETA : The local councillor I spoke to told me of a scam where people fill the house with second hand furniture to prevent the house being declared empty/void. Could try that...

Savvy_Sue

If you head over the Cutting Tax board, they'll explain how to work out Capital Gains Tax.

Even now, you take the value of the house when you moved in, and a guesstimate of the value when you sell. PPR (ie when you've lived in the house) has to be calculated in months, and you get 18 months grace after you've moved out. Some expenses can be off-set against the 'profit'. Then you have an allowance of £11000 per year before you have to pay any CGT.

It's surprising how often the answer is 'no tax due'. And you can do some 'what if' figures: what if you sold as a 'do-er upper', what if you tarted it up (which I agree may not be worthwhile), what if you did the very very basics?

Certainly if you sell at a loss there's no CGT due.

missbiggles1

Gingernutty wrote: »

Something like that - CGT.

As well as losing money on the sale, there will be tax on top.

I am looking at properties closer to work on Rightmove and have seen some I want to view.

Flats mainly, although I'm a little leery of buying leasehold.

The current value, with the problems known, at auction will less than half what I paid for it - I'd take a hit of about £30K.

Let this be a warning to anyone buying property.

FGS!! GET FULL STRUCTURAL AND ELECTRICAL SURVEYS!!!

It's worth it.

ETA : The local councillor I spoke to told me of a scam where people fill the house with second hand furniture to prevent the house being declared empty/void. Could try that...

I know it's not very MSE but, in your current situation, does it actually matter? Just get rid and move on.

CH27

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I suspect Gigernutty is worried about Capital Gains Tax. As if the property is going to increase in value by hundreds of thousands of pounds by having a new kitchen and bathroom, plus some attention to the electrics while she lives in a rental. As if! Considering what she's got on deposit I suspect this focus on improving the property in order to sell is a throw-back to much less prosperous times, and a desire to not waste what she's got.

In her position I'd find a nice rental, chuck the keys at an estate-agent and tell him I don't want to hear another word about the property until the bank transfer is ready to hit my account. I'd flog that place for twenty-five grand and be glad to have got shot of it, and to be able to wave "bye-bye" to the scutty neighbours. But we're not all the same.

And of a fear of the future.

BitterAndTwisted

This is from the gov.uk site about CGT:



"You can claim full ‘Private Residence Relief’ if you’ve spent time away from home:

• for up to 1 year when you first bought it - for example, because it needed renovation or you still had to sell your previous home
• for up to 18 months before you sold it - as long as it was your only or main home for some of the time you’ve owned it

Gingernutty, this house will need to have increased in value by a MASSIVE AMOUNT before you'll need to pay CGT at 18% on the uplift.

There’s also an annual tax-free allowance in this tax year of over £10,000

How much do you imagine the work you believe is essential in order to sell this property will increase the value in order for you to be liable for CTG? This is a little terraced house in an average street not a substantial Georgian country mansion set in 20 acres!

Given the amount you have banked I'd be willing to wave goodbye to thirty grand just to be shot of the damned place and be able to move on with my new life.

Savvy_Sue

Lest we be thought to be nagging, it's perfectly reasonable to invite an estate agent or two round and ask THEM what the house would sell for now, in its current disastrous state; what it might sell for if you got the remedial works done; what it might sell for if you did the remedials and then threw paint at it; and finally what it might sell for if your name was Kirstie Allsopp and you had the time, resources and inclination to fully tart it up.

A good estate agent should be able to give you ball park figures for all of the above, plus also a guesstimate of what each improvement option would cost you.

Not only that, one of the companies we talked to said that they'd be able to point de-clutterers and cleaners in our direction should we feel the need to sell in a hurry.

RAS

Yep

We had elderly parented house that was so full you could not see some rooms properly.

Functional but not good bathroom (we had ripped up the stinking floor covering), functional kitchen and in need of total refurb (rotten window frames, damage from burst water pipe etc).

Were given a price as seen but spent a lot of time clearing out. Were then given a price for cleared out (about 10% extra) and told not to bother with re-decorating etc as the buyers would rip out all the windows etc so it would waste money.

However, I think you may be wise to spend a bit getting the wiring sorted.