Buying a repossessed house

Merlin04

Sadly the house I’ve had an offer accepted on has just been repossessed. The estate agents had told us there was a legal issue and so not to have any chargeable work done by the solicitor but didn’t tell us it was a repossession until after the court case - my understanding is they thought the owners wouldn’t lose the house with a buyer in place. Any advice on what to expect from the repossession process would be much appreciated, as we really don’t want to miss out on buying the house when it goes back on the market.

hazyjo

Also wouldn't have expected them to lose the house with a buyer in place. Suppose it depends on what's owed and how much the house might fetch.


If someone betters your offer (or is in a better position), their offer will prob be accepted over yours. That's usually the case until exchange (or very close to).


I think you are in for a nervous wait - plus risk spending out and losing it anyway. Up to you if you choose to continue or walk.

G_M

Get everything done fast.


Any other offers before Exchange of contracts will be considered, and accepted unless either you are on the verge of exchange and/or there is little between the offers.


Don't expect answers o quesions - stadard conveyancing enquiires will be answered by "not known" as the bank selling will..... know nothing about the property.

davidmcn

Although you might now face competition from other parties, you may also wish to consider lowering your price given that you won't get the sorts of warranties a "normal" seller would provide, and the property might not be left in great condition (have another viewing yourself though to check).

Davesnave

davidmcn wrote: »

the property might not be left in great condition (have another viewing yourself though to check).

Just to reinforce this. Sometimes, the kitchen, the boiler and the bathroom go awol via eBay, or just because of anger.


It's not in the repo-ed person's interest to lower the value of their own property, but rationality doesn't always come into it.

Merlin04

We are indeed very nervous...we love the house and were thrilled our offer had been accepted. Our only consolation is that it had sat on the market for many months before we made our offer, so hopefully lots of new interest won’t be sparked when it comes back on the market empty...

Merlin04

Thanks for your response, I’m assuming we’ll have to go completely on the findings of our survey and the knowledge we were given by the then seller, before he lost the house. I don’t suppose you have any tips on how to move things quickly in a situation like this?

James_Green_1982

Have you actually met the seller?
If you have managed to get to know him and form some kind of working relationship - you may stand a better chance of him ripping out the boiler etc.
Hopefully he will not direct any anger at the bank towards you and by extension - the house.

I would try and develop / maintain a good relationship with the guy getting repossessed. You may not get the house in the end - but you've got nothing to lose by keeping him onside.

hazyjo

James_Green_1982 wrote: »

Have you actually met the seller?
If you have managed to get to know him and form some kind of working relationship - you may stand a better chance of him ripping out the boiler etc.
Hopefully he will not direct any anger at the bank towards you and by extension - the house.

I would try and develop / maintain a good relationship with the guy getting repossessed. You may not get the house in the end - but you've got nothing to lose by keeping him onside.

Would have thought the seller would be long gone. The lender's selling it now. 99% sure it will be empty.

davidmcn

hazyjo wrote: »

Would have thought the seller would be long gone. The lender's selling it now. 99% sure it will be empty.

Yes, if they've repossessed then (one would hope...) the debtor will no longer have access to the property, so what's done is done.

eddddy

So the bank will be the seller now.

The bank will choose their EA - so it's likely to be a different one from the one the seller chose.

The strategy I often see for Banks/EA selling repos is:

• Set a low guide price to get lots of interest
• Have a number of 'open-house' viewing days
• Leave it on the market for 2 weeks, collecting all the offers
• Select the best offer

If that happens, you can either re-submit your same offer to the new EA, or adjust it.

Logically, if yours was the best offer received over many months, it should still be the best.

But the extra buzz might generate more interest, and so more competition. (People sometimes get excited when they hear that a property is a repossession.)