At our wits end - house for sale

FingersCrossed_2

Hi,

I would be incredibly grateful for any wisdom which may help us sell our house. When my husband and I bought our home together we put our old houses on the market. That was over 7 years ago and my old house still hasn't sold! As a brief history:

2007 - House sold but buyer pulled out day of sale (he'd split from partner and couldn't afford on his own). He then did a runner so we couldn't claim any losses.

2007 - 2010 - House on the market. Some interest but no real joy.

2010 - 2014 - House rented out but also on the market at same time for part of that period. Few tenants one of which was a nightmare (stopped paying rent, changed locks, refused to leave...)

2014 - Date - House back on the market. House totally redecorated and re-furnished. Price reduced to below home report value. Secured a buyer with exchange date of February 2015. Sale delayed due to deeds issue (not previously aware of). Issue resolved but buyer pulled out. Appears they couldn't secure funds.

So now we are selling the house through a reputable auction firm. Guide price is 15% below home report value and we are willing to sell fully furnished at no extra cost. First auction was earlier this month. Some interest and a viewing but no offers. Feedback is that it's a great property at a brilliant price but people are put off as no garden (it's a large property). One cheeky offer the other day post auction but was 50k below home report value which we simply can't afford to accept as wouldn't cover mortgage.

I've just started mat leave and after thinking we'd finally sold we're gutted to be back to square one. We've resolved the deeds issue (minor problem) and the house looks the best it can. We're persevering with the auction firm and are willing to take a fair chunk less than the home report value. Is there anything else we can do? It costs us £1000+ a month which means instead of spending time with my children I'm having to return to work early and work long hours. Re-financing isn't an issue. Any wisdom, tips or suggestions welcome. Sorry for mammoth post...

ellie27

Your house has been on the market for best part of 7 years? I guess it was and still is priced too high.

What is wrong with the house? I assume and many others would assume there is something wrong with it, or something wrong with the sellers eg their expectations are way too high in terms of what they think their house is worth.

Where are you? In Scotland.

When was the last home report valuation done? Perhaps the valuation is outrageous and you are expecting that value. The house we are buying, we are paying £60k under home report valuation.

FingersCrossed_2

We are in Scotland. The house has been completely refurbished since we bought it and I honestly don't think there is anything wrong with it (of course I'm the seller so realise I'm bias). The feedback from viewers is always that it is a great property and much bigger than expected. The problem they consistently raise is that there is no garden but there is nothing we can do about that. The price we initially accepted 7 years ago was 50k more than the guide price we are selling for now.l and the current guide price is still 20k below the home report value. There is a little room for reducing that further but not much. The current guide price is based on advice from estate agent and auctioneer rather than one we've came up with. Thanks

FingersCrossed_2

Last home report was done at the end of last year and reviewed for the February sale in January so should be an accurate value.

ellie27

2007 was a boom, in our area houses are selling at over 10% less than what they were bought for back then.

If there is little room left for reducing as you need the money then you may just have to decide not to sell or just take the hit.

Remember the home report valuation is what the surveyor thinks someone would pay for it at that time, nobody is going to pay that money for your home by the sounds of it so that valuation is not 'accurate'

FingersCrossed_2

The guide price for the house is 30% below what we 'sold' it for in 2007. Current value is 140k and we've set a guide price of 120k. We could go down to 110k if needed but have been advised not to market at that as would have no room for manoeuvre on offers. Recent 'sale' was for 119k. Don't mean to sound defensive or like head is stuck in the sand because I realise the right price is crucial. It's just that everyone we speak to advises price is fine and viewers report it is a lot of property for the money. It just isn't translating in to offers despite viewings.

societys_child

In this forum, someone will always tell you "it's overpriced" even though they know nothing about the property . . .

p00hsticks

FingersCrossed wrote: »

Some interest and a viewing but no offers. Feedback is that it's a great property at a brilliant price but people are put off as no garden (it's a large property).

No offense but if it really were a "great property at a brilliant price" I think you would have sold well before now, and attracted more than one viewing at auction

FingersCrossed wrote: »

One cheeky offer the other day post auction but w as 50k below home report value which we simply can't afford to accept as wouldn't cover mortgage.

FingersCrossed wrote: »

It costs us £1000+ a month which means instead of spending time with my children I'm having to return to work early and work long hours

Perhaps this boat has now sailed, but how seriously did you consider this or try to get an increased offer ? I'm not familiar with the Scottish system, but if you sure - from what you say, the guide price you were willing to accept £20k below the home report value and you are losing over £1000 a month each month this goes on. If you could raise the money to cover the mortgage shortfall, after seven years on the market I's personally have been tempted to bite the bullet, get rid, draw a line under it and move on - apologies I can't be more positive for you

TBagpuss

Do you have a link to the property?

I would think that the lack of garden with a large property in particular will be off putting to a lot of people.

Althoguh you've had problem tenants, was the property difficult to find tenants for? Are you marketing it as suitable for investment . / buy to let buyers?

FingersCrossed_2

Link is; http://www.futurepropertyauctions.co.uk/property_details.asp?id=129166

We did ok finding tenants and whilst it did bring in some much welcome income, it isn't a viable long term option for us. The property is quite far away from where we live so by the time we had paid a letting agent to look after it and all the other costs associated with letting it was still costing us a lot per month. The biggest problem is how the borrowing is arranged as it is very costly and we can't re-finance as on paper we can't afford it (although we do somehow manage).

It would be an ideal investment for someone with cash available.

fairy_lights

Is the big concrete area in front of the house part of the property or is that communal/public space? Could part of that be used as a garden or outdoor seating area?