Advice - negative equity

sarahc81

Hello all. I'm looking for some advice on how to proceed with a situation my husband and I are in.

We purchased a property in February 2016 in Hertfordshire for £480k.The referendum vote occurred a few months after which made prices stagnant in the area. We weren't concerned at the time as we felt this was temporary uncertainty. But now similar properties are being listed for around £40-50k less than what we paid and remain unsold.

We're both very worried at the situation as we are approaching negative equity. Ideally we would let the uncertainty play out and for prices to go back up again. However the news about interest rate rises and the economy means we don't know whether it's better to try and sell now in case they continue to fall.

Does anyone have any advice on how to handle this situation?

We're able to put our property for sale now if we need to. Someone further down the road has listed theirs and reduced the listing price so that it's around £40k less than what we paid. My husband and I did go round to speak to them and explain we may also try to sell soon and that lowering the price like this isn't in any of our interests but they've kept it at the same level. How could we make ours stand out and achieve the same price? We may try and modernise the kitchen/bathroom or add a small conservatory or some feature. But we're also worried that it may not help it sell and it's resulted in further expenditure and stress.

Also does anyone also know if there are possible legal options for the advice we were given? Prices in the area had increased a lot over the last 2-3 years before we purchased. It has a 35 minute rail link to London and we were assured by the estate agents that it was a good purchase. The surveyor also agreed with the valuation and the bank must have also agreed as it provided the mortgage against it. It seems unfair that they can provide all of that advice then walk away when it's incorrect and we're left to suffer and deal with the consequences.

Obviously this whole situation has caused us both a lot of stress so if there's any advice on the best course of action.

Crashy_Time

So you now don`t want the house because it is going down in value? More stress to market it for sale now IMO, you would be chasing the market down, pay down as much mortgage debt as you can while rates are low.

ACG

Are you only selling because you are worried about the future prices?
I moved house 4-5 months ago. I could not care less whether my house is worth £10k or £10m.

BoGoF

Forget the legal action nonsence, YOU bought a house at a price you were happy to pay. Did you see it as a long term home?

MobileSaver

sarahc81 wrote: »

Also does anyone also know if there are possible legal options for the advice we were given?

It must either be half term or the HPC crowd are getting even more desperate now that things are still not going their way?

On the almost negligible chance that this is a genuine post, why not do something radical like just stay in your perfectly good home and worry about house prices 5 or 10 years down the road when you decide that you need to sell?

Crashy_Time

ACG wrote: »

Are you only selling because you are worried about the future prices?
I moved house 4-5 months ago. I could not care less whether my house is worth £10k or £10m.

You would be in a very very tiny minority there.

hazyjo

Eh? You want to sell because you might have lost money? Which you'll only lose if you sell.

I really need a facepalm emoji!

Did you buy this property as a home or an investment?

You are aware house prices go up as well as down? Did you know that when you bought? Sorry for stating the obvious - only it's not coming across that you knew it was.

Stop checking prices and enjoy your home (presuming it's a genuine post!).

Crashy_Time

hazyjo wrote: »

Eh? You want to sell because you might have lost money? Which you'll only lose if you sell.

I really need a facepalm emoji!

Did you buy this property as a home or an investment?

You are aware house prices go up as well as down? Did you know that when you bought? Sorry for stating the obvious - only it's not coming across that you knew it was.

Stop checking prices and enjoy your home (presuming it's a genuine post!).

They are now aware that prices go down, before they thought they only went up (if it is a genuine post) I`m pretty sure though that there are many people getting valuation "shocks" up and down the country now, so I don`t see why it wouldn`t be genuine?

knightstyle

Houses should be viewed as a place to live long term, not a short term money making item.
So my advice is to stay there and forget about the loss of value which is annoying but not a reason to move.
IMO the market will pick up eventually, maybe as much as 10 years before you are back where you started.
We bought a house for £130k in August 1988, within a few months the value had gone down to £100k and the mortgage rate went up to about 14% but we rode it out, not easy scrimped on everything, even had to drive an old Austin Ital with no 3rd gear!

sarahc81

Thank you for your responses (other than the one that was rude). The reason why we are considering selling now is because if they have continued to fall and not recovered then should we need to sell at a later time we may not be able to do so. We would be unable to afford to buy another property without selling.

This was intended as a long term purchase and not an investment. We are living in the property having lived with my husband's mother for several years. But that doesn't mean we're happy with the price coming down. And if the outlook is such that they may continue to fall then recovering what we paid, moving back with his mother, and buying again when things stabilise is something we've been considering. If it's better to sit and wait then that's of course what we would prefer. That's why I was asking for advice as we're unsure what is the best option at the moment.

Crashy_Time

sarahc81 wrote: »

Thank you for your responses (other than the one that was rude). The reason why we are considering selling now is because if they have continued to fall and not recovered then should we need to sell at a later time we may not be able to do so. We would be unable to afford to buy another property without selling.

This was intended as a long term purchase and not an investment. We are living in the property having lived with my husband's mother for several years. But that doesn't mean we're happy with the price coming down. And if the outlook is such that they may continue to fall then recovering what we paid, moving back with his mother, and buying again when things stabilise is something we've been considering. If it's better to sit and wait then that's of course what we would prefer. That's why I was asking for advice as we're unsure what is the best option at the moment.

If it`s a long term purchase why do you want to sell?