Advice for housing muppet, please

wecanhelpu

If you can afford it you would be better off trying to put right any problems and then selling on the open market.

I would advise steering clear of these "quick sale agents" as you call them since they are generally lying, thieving scumbags and will rip you off.

Selling and moving into rented accommodation would be a good move if money is tight.

If you are in serious debt, have a look on the DFW forum there are lots of peoplr who can help you there.

by the way where abouts are you? 80k for a 4 bed house sounds cheap

best wishes

hev_2

Most of the time I try and take a pragmatic view of matters. When all is said and done, cutting your nose off to spite your face is usually a pretty daft thing to do and it would be sensible to take whatever chance I could get to get out.

However, after the abuse, deception and general nastiness of the local Rackham, I would rather torch the place! Besides, he specialises in buying when people are desperate, about to be repossessed etc. He wants to own the whole street and that is why I think he has hunted round for bad tenants, to drive the price down. He must have been gutted when some of the recent tenants have actually been quite decent

In this area, if all was hunky dory, then perhaps we could get 120k. Looking on upmystreet, prices vary from 70k to 130k, perhaps more. It is actually quite a roomy place.

Do you think it worth getting a survey done before we even try getting it on the market, so that at least we know where we are (perhaps should have thought of that, like I said, I am a muppet at this )

I do appreciate you commenting, thank you.

Hev

EDIT Sorry, some refers to CB1971 re selling to local landlord

hev_2

We are in West Yorkshire, for those who are interested. I don't want to get too detailed, because I am bound to get carried away about the local landlord who got us into this position. And yes, four bedrooms, all of which would take a double bed, bathroom fitted 2004, nagged water board and all drains cleared last autumn, new windows last November. Don't want to think about the elderly wiring, however....

I keep trying to think nice thoughts.....

We are not in serious debt, but there is a place potentially coming up to rent next month, which is why I wondered about quick sale agents.

And really, I think things can really only slide rapidly downhill.

Thank you for all the suggestions. I think getting a survey done first might be a good idea, but I worry that putting money into the place to get things right will only be throwing money away, because of the area going downhill so fast we may not get the money spent on repairs back.

Thank you for all your help.

Hev

wecanhelpu

It's not just a case of getting your money back, you need to make the house attractive to buyers. Even BTL buyers.

So spending a few quid replacing some slates/tiles and clearing up the damp and any other little odd jobs means the house will be easier to sell.

If you think things are going to get worse, get out asap. Stick the proceeds into a high-interest account and give yourself a bit of breathing space.

Best wishes to you and family

CB1979_2

get some EAs round and listen to them if they value it at £90k (you may be surprised) and if you're happy with £80k, market it at £80-85k for a quick sale.

have a look on rightmove, for places in your area, there must be some selling near you??

personally wouldn't bother with a survey, the buyers will get that done.
try and make good anything that can be seen with the eye, if you have damp but unsure if it's due to the windows you need to make sure you get some ventilation going through, otherwise the damp won't ever go away!

your problem you may have will be how is the area deemed by the locals? does it have a crap reputation? unfortunately you can do nothing about your neighbours.

Is £80k FTB territory in your area? or is that for 2nd/3rd rung up the ladder?

remember at the moment there are loads of people desperate still to get on the ladder (but not sure if yours sound more like a family home rather than FTB place!)
if however not may families will want to buy there if it's as bad as you make out, but sounds like an ideal BTL property for £80k.

end of the day, I'd get it valued and see where you go from there.

hev_2

Thanks, wecanhelpu.

I really strongly suspect that the apparent problems are not from our property but because neighbouring properties have not been kept up properly. I think damp may be coming in from neighbouring terrace.

There is no chance of getting neighbour's landlord to do anything. He makes Gollum look like one of the Waltons! (can you tell I don't like him )

Thanks, CB1971.

Everyone knows who the landlord of these properties is, and in all the time I have been here I have genuinely never heard anyone say anything good about him. However, it is near school, good roads, good buses, shops etc.

Even in this row 80k is FTB, so someone desperate may take a gamble after watching too many makeover shows. But we were FTB when we bought this property. And we bought it off two ladies (didn't ask questions) who had also been FTB (and also dodged around to avoid selling to local landlord)

wecanhelpu

There are several things in your favour :

you have a large house in a popular area,

you have lots of equity,

you're not being forced to sell for financial reasons,

and the house is cheap enough to attract a range of buyers.

stay positive and good luck

hev_2

Thanks, wecanhelpu.

Like I say, I am a muppet when it comes to this - I swore we would never move again because I found last time too confusing and traumatic

Really appreciate your post.

Hev

epz_2

at 80k you are looking about £390 a month to break even(5.5% interest and 10% maintenance), now i am betting you could get more than that in rent.

it then gives you a couple of options, 1 rent it out and put the profit to your rent, or two advertise it with a rental potential of X and the btl parasites will be able to work out a profitable price.

are you sure you arnt undervalueing it and isnt there any laws requiring people shareing common walls etc to maintain the building. might be worth calling your insurer as im sure they will have some legal cover built into your policy.

hev_2

The insurer is a good idea, I will get on to them Monday.

Honestly, no-one gets money out of the Landlord.

I may be undervaluing, it is a figure plucked out of the air by a muppet, but given potential problems I don't want to live in a fools paradise.

Honestly, I don't know whether anyone can check, but this is the only house in the row where the police have not been called, and at one point we had the noise nuisance people on speed dial!

Thank you.

Hev