Can't sell our house!

olly300

Becks045 wrote: »

We can't sell them seperatly as they are on the same deeds. Although they are seperate houses i.e. own council tax, utility meters etc the access is via the same drive and when the conversion was granted about 18 years ago I beleive it was granted that they would always be on the same deeds.

There lies your problem.

You are selling something that only a few people would want.

Be patient.

In one of the areas where I use to live any house or flat of 2-4 bedrooms sold within weeks. There as a 6 bedroom house that considered of a separate 1 bedroom annexe and a 5 bedroom house took a year to sell and that was last year.

pcwilkins

Perhaps nobody else thinks it's worth £285k?

After all, the property is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay.

I think Red Panda is right, though --- buyers will just look at the price and not realise it is two properties. You need to think of a way of making this more obvious. And get a new agent because they really should have thought of that.

Peter

Debt_Free_Chick

Becks045 wrote: »

We can't sell them seperatly as they are on the same deeds. Although they are seperate houses i.e. own council tax, utility meters etc the access is via the same drive and when the conversion was granted about 18 years ago I beleive it was granted that they would always be on the same deeds.

I suspect there's more to it, than that. I would imagine that there is a section 106 agreement with the Local Authority, which means that the annexe is just that - it's an annexe to the main house and cannot in any way be split off.

It would be interesting to know whether it has permission for use as an annexe or a holiday home - usually the two are quite different classes of use. OK - it's for the buyer to verify, via the searches, but if you are not sure, you may be giving prospective buyers duff information.

Because of the price bracket (i.e. you are getting two houses for the price of one) it does mean it competes against large 6 bedroom houses but then I guess it depends on what you are looking for.

But it doesn't, does it. The six bedroomed house has a much bigger footprint and probably in a much bigger plot. It is likely to have more than one bathroom too. You are offering a 3 bedroomed house, with an annexe - which is not part of the main house. It's simply not going to appeal, unless you happen across a buyer who wants their parents to live with them, but in their own space. OK - that's not unusual, but it's certainly not common.


It's not immediately obvious that a second cottage is included - you have to read all the way through the description - even then, I missed it first time around.

People "skim" through property ads - you need to make the features stick out, up front. It needs no more than 6 bullet points underneath the photo to push the main features, including the annexe.

Becks045

Am changing the estate agents as soon as we are out of the initial 16 week contract. Not happy with them for numerous other reasons!

I have asked the agents to make it clear that its 2 properties as I agree otherwise it looks mega expensive for what appears to be initially a 2/3 bed house.

Guy_Montag

I'd rather buy this one for £10k less:

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/search.rsp?lo_u=909&lo_n=Margate%2C+Kent&se_c=1&poi_e=0&poi_n=0&se_t=1.0&nh_st=1&stc_s=false&mi_p=275000&ma_p=300000&tr_t=buy&pa_n=2&re_s=price&eventsubmit_dosearch=1&initial_search_time=1189610560246

or this one:
http://www.rightmove.co.uk/viewdetails-8821245.rsp?pa_n=2&tr_t=buy

etc...
(If I was earning £80k so I could afford it)

It seems to me you're selling a two bed for the price of a four bed - but I don't know the area.

Becks045

After these comments, I think it may be me worth checking to see if we can sell them seperatley. I presume I contact the council about this or is it land registry?!

Perhaps a 1 bed detached house and a 3 bed semi-detached house would sell easily rather than a combination than the two together otherwise we could be waiting for years!

Doozergirl

It would certainly make them worth more, individually.

You need to speak to the council about the likelyhood of getting planning permission/change of use for two seperate residential units.

Then, you need need to speak to your conveyancing solicitor about getting the property split up; whether there is a restrictive covenant and if so, if there is a way around with indemnities etc?

Debt_Free_Chick

Becks045 wrote: »

After these comments, I think it may be me worth checking to see if we can sell them seperatley. I presume I contact the council about this or is it land registry?!

Check your deeds - if you don't have them, then see if they are recorded with the Land Registry. For £3 you may be able to view them online. Put your postcode in here.

If there is a section 106 agreement, it should be with the deeds - or reference should be made to it in the deeds. To be double sure, check with the planning department at the local council. You're gonna need the answers to these questions when you sell, anyway, so you might as well do the groundwork now (although it will really be for the buyer to find out this stuff).

jonewer

Generally, if you are trying to sell something and no-one wants to buy it, thats a pretty good indication that you are asking too much for it. I have a half empty can of beer for £10k. Any takers?..... {sound of crickets chirping}.........wonder why?

Also, the pics on rightmove dont seem to show a garden or the facade of your property. These are the two things that would be really important to me if I was looking to buy something like this..... and I just noted that it doesnt have a garden.... so if I was looking to buy a house in the area, I would cross yours off my list instantly. Sorry.

jonewer

Doozergirl wrote: »

It would certainly make them worth more, individually.

You need to speak to the council about the likelyhood of getting planning permission/change of use for two seperate residential units.

Then, you need need to speak to your conveyancing solicitor about getting the property split up; whether there is a restrictive covenant and if so, if there is a way around with indemnities etc?

I'm not so sure. There doesnt seem to be any garden, only off-street parking for one or at best two cars. Although I could be wrong on this, I'm just going by the photos. Who is going to buy a granny flat with no outside space bar one parking bay? Who is going to buy a two-bed house with no outside space?

What do you imagine is the target market for these two properties?

(Granny Flat) Little old ladies like to have a garden to potter in.

(Main house) Young proffesionals/famillies like to have space to park AND have their friends over for a BBQ.... who is going to buy these two properties seperately other than at bargain discount prices? Specially when you can buy a 4-bed detached bungalow with potential for loft conversion AND good-sized garden AND off street parking AND double garage for £10k less than the current asking price?