Empty House

NarkT_Ov

The house attached to ours has been unoccupied now since Jan 2014.

My concern is for the gas & electric possibly being left 'live'. If the owener returns and starts to use either there maybe a fault after all this time which may lead to a fire. I remember the when I bought our house the gas and electric had been isolated and required testing before being used again.

Who or what should I do?

G_M

Contact the owner.

Post a letter - many absent owners have their mail forwarded.

Check owner's details at the Land Registry here.

Does anyone ever check the property? An agent? other visitors? Speak to them, or leave a note through the letter box asking them to contact you next door.

NarkT_Ov

G_M wrote: »

Contact the owner.

Post a letter - many absent owners have their mail forwarded.

Check owner's details at the Land Registry here.

Does anyone ever check the property? An agent? other visitors? Speak to them, or leave a note through the letter box asking them to contact you next door.

No one ever visits. Not even the owners parents.

G_M

So try one of the other options suggested!

You responded the same way in your other thread: negatively to one option whilst ignoring the other option.

Try being a bit more positive!

fishpond

Ring the Gas board if you can smell gas.
Ring the Electric board if you can smell electric.
A water leak would be a bigger concern for me at this time of the year.
Has the water been turned off?
Are you sure no one has died in there?
Call the police.

Why has it been empty for so long?

Pete9501

Don't forget legionnaires disease from all that water just sat in the pipes and loft being warmed by the sun, this is terrible and something should be done about it.

Back in the real world, I don't think there is anything you can do.

It could be someone has passed away and it is all being disputed, or someone could be working abroad for 2 years, still nothing that can be done about it.

Davesnave

fishpond wrote: »

Why has it been empty for so long?

Sometimes, they just are.

A friend lives semi-detached to an empty. It's been like that since I moved here, almost 6 years ago.

The patriarch of the family says it's for his son, when he marries.....but if you knew the son, God bless him.......;)

So, it sits there.

This family have form. Other properties they own have fallen down.

Another property, elsewhere, I viewed so long ago I've forgotten when it was: probably the 1990s. The farmer wanted to know how much we thought it was worth. Clearly, we gave the wrong answer.

The truth is, there was no 'right' answer.

moneyistooshorttomention

Presumably Council Tax is being paid on the property??

I don't know whether its possible to find out if it is or no? Not that that would stop being paid for some time if anything had happened to the owner if its being direct debited from their bank account each month.

I read recently of someone who wasn't found dead in her place for quite some time after her death there....because the bills were on direct debit and there had been plenty of money in her bank account to take them from each month. As I recall, they only found her in the end when the money in the bank account ran out and bills stopped being paid.

phoebe1989seb

Davesnave wrote: »

Sometimes, they just are.

A friend lives semi-detached to an empty. It's been like that since I moved here, almost 6 years ago.

The patriarch of the family says it's for his son, when he marries.....but if you knew the son, God bless him.......;)

So, it sits there.

This family have form. Other properties they own have fallen down.

Another property, elsewhere, I viewed so long ago I've forgotten when it was: probably the 1990s. The farmer wanted to know how much we thought it was worth. Clearly, we gave the wrong answer.

The truth is, there was no 'right' answer.

Similar situation next to the house we sold in Wiltshire last December.....

We purchased in early 2011 and the neighbouring atrached property (a similar, but much smaller Georgian, stone, thatched house) had already been empty for some years according to our neighbours. During our ownership the house in question deteriorated badly - by the time we sold their roof had almost caved in and water gushed in each time it rained - and we discovered the owner (a BTL investor with several houses in the village) had gone bankrupt. We saw no-one visiting the house, his other properties were auctioned/sold during 2014 and representatives of the lender called at our address during 2012 and again in 2013 to establish what we knew of the owner/his movements. On their first visit we were infomed it was due to be auctioned off, but this never happened.

Despite the attraction of such a potentially picture postcard cottage, it has remained uninhabited for approaching seven years now....the council were fully aware of the situation, but didn't seem bothered.

Our buyers had plans to escalate the process of dereliction so their new house would be fully detached ;)

anselld

Most Councils have an Empty Homes strategy and a team of busy-bodies charged with bringing such properties back into use. I am sure they would appreciate a call.

NarkT_Ov

Turns out the owner has got married and is living eleswhere according to his parents. They keep asking him to sell it on but it's falling n deaf ears. Partner found out but didn't ask about gas, electric or water.