Buying a repossessed house

G_M

Merlin04 wrote: »

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?

Ideally pay cash and avoid mortage-related elays.


If cash, then DIY the conveyancing (at top speed).


If getting a mortgage, choose a conveyancer who will move fast.



If getting a mortgage, choose a lender who your broker recommends will move faston your application.


Keep on top of the conveyancer and (subject to any mortgage lender requirements) ignore/skip as many Enquiries, searches etc as possible.



If you want a survey, choose a surveyor who will do it this week and get the survey babck to you asap.


If you want a gas/electrical inspection (assuming the gas/electricity is not disconnected - it may well be!), as surveyor above.

nichekos

My wife and I bought a repossession just over a year ago, as first time buyers.

This goes against a lot of the usual advice - but we opted to instruct the solicitor recommended by the selling Estate Agent, and we used the EA's in-house mortgage service too.

To note - had it been a more conventional (non-repo) sale, that's probably the last thing we'd have done! However, we theorised keeping it all in a reasonably tight bundle / under one roof with the EA would mean the sale would go through quickly and more smoothly.

As has been mentioned with repos, you really do need to act fast - higher offers can (and will!) be made at any stage. It's stressful as anything! The seller (usually a bank) just wants to make as much as possible and generally will accept higher offers all the way up until exchange. So we thought working closely with the EA would be the fastest way of making the sale happen.

Of course the EA is working for the seller, not you, but we built up a really good rapport with the EA. And it really worked out well - despite higher offers being made, we eventually got it over the line at the price we wanted to pay.

In terms of timescales, our final offer was made on around Dec 10th 2017, exchange around Jan 17th 2018, and completion on Jan 24th 2018. So a little over 6 weeks from start to finish, with Christmas in the middle. We're certain the EA was hurrying along the solicitor and mortgage process to our advantage, due to the relationship we built with them. And of course - the EA wants the sale to be done as quickly as possible too - the last thing the EA wants is for higher offers to be constantly made, thus delaying the sale (although they are of course dutybound to pass on any higher offers).

We definitely felt the EA was genuinely helping us, and we don't think we'd have completed so quickly without that. Of course maybe we were just lucky! But I thought it was worth sharing this perspective / approach, as it goes against a lot of usual advice.

shortcrust

nichekos wrote: »

My wife and I bought a repossession just over a year ago, as first time buyers.

This goes against a lot of the usual advice - but we opted to instruct the solicitor recommended by the selling Estate Agent, and we used the EA's in-house mortgage service too.

To note - had it been a more conventional (non-repo) sale, that's probably the last thing we'd have done! However, we theorised keeping it all in a reasonably tight bundle / under one roof with the EA would mean the sale would go through quickly and more smoothly.

As has been mentioned with repos, you really do need to act fast - higher offers can (and will!) be made at any stage. It's stressful as anything! The seller (usually a bank) just wants to make as much as possible and generally will accept higher offers all the way up until exchange. So we thought working closely with the EA would be the fastest way of making the sale happen.

Of course the EA is working for the seller, not you, but we built up a really good rapport with the EA. And it really worked out well - despite higher offers being made, we eventually got it over the line at the price we wanted to pay.

In terms of timescales, our final offer was made on around Dec 10th 2017, exchange around Jan 17th 2018, and completion on Jan 24th 2018. So a little over 6 weeks from start to finish, with Christmas in the middle. We're certain the EA was hurrying along the solicitor and mortgage process to our advantage, due to the relationship we built with them. And of course - the EA wants the sale to be done as quickly as possible too - the last thing the EA wants is for higher offers to be constantly made, thus delaying the sale (although they are of course dutybound to pass on any higher offers).

We definitely felt the EA was genuinely helping us, and we don't think we'd have completed so quickly without that. Of course maybe we were just lucky! But I thought it was worth sharing this perspective / approach, as it goes against a lot of usual advice.

I think that gets a little blurred when you use the EA's solicitors and mortgage advisors!;)

eddddy

nichekos wrote: »

We definitely felt the EA was genuinely helping us, and we don't think we'd have completed so quickly without that. Of course maybe we were just lucky! But I thought it was worth sharing this perspective / approach, as it goes against a lot of usual advice.

I think it would be fairer to say that the EA was looking after their own interests - and fortunately, their interests were aligned with your interests.

A lot of buyers seem to see the EA as 'the enemy', but as you suggest, it's often better to have them on the same side as you.

Merlin04

Thanks all, this is all sound advice for a very uncertain time in our new home search! Just to clarify, we did meet the seller several times before the house was repossessed; he has now moved out. He moved very quickly following repossession so we’re hoping he didn’t have the inclination or the time to remove boilers etc.��

Hectors_House

Merlin04 wrote: »

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.

We bought a repossession back in 2009.

We were in a good position (no other property to sell and deposit cash in the bank).

It was also in a area of town that was only just starting to be turned around (had a bad reputation at the time).

The previous owners may have done damage before they left. It cost us £12,000 to get our place liveable.

When you view look out for anything that will help you know if the estate agent is lying if they tell you they’ve had lots more viewing (we found grease put down in the hallway that made the floor dangerous and the EA didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked him if he had resolved the health and safety issue since my viewing and we called his bluff as he was making out there had been more interest and tried to get us to raise our offer - we lowered it).

As others have said, get everything done as quickly as you can. You will still have the fingernail biting wait whilst they try to get a better offer then you’re.

Ours was up for sale at £95,000 but we managed to get it for a lot less but we knew we were in a good position so played hardball.

Good luck!

Merlin04

When I search forums I always find it useful to see updates from the original poster, so here goes - we managed to secure a lower offer on the house and are due to simultaneously exchange and complete very soon (of course, the house is still on the market until the very day we buy it!) Any tips or advice on reconnecting services, ensuring records are changed so we don't get saddled with the previous owner's debts etc. would be much appreciated from those of you who have successfully bought a repossession. And thanks to all for your encouragement and advice - it gave us the confidence to go for it!

eddddy

Merlin04 wrote: »

Any tips or advice on reconnecting services, ensuring records are changed so we don't get saddled with the previous owner's debts etc.

Debts cannot be transferred with house ownership.

However, take meter readings on the day you take ownership of the property (maybe even take a photo of the readings) and tell the suppliers as soon as possible - to avoid any arguments.

Similarly, tell the council the date you take ownership, for council tax purposes.

In extreme circumstances, I guess you may get bailiffs etc turning up looking for the previous owners, so maybe be prepared to show ID and perhaps a copy of your solicitor's completion statement.

That should prove that you are not the previous owners, and that the house (and goods within it) no longer belong to the previous owner.

phoebe1989seb

We purchased a repossessed rural cottage in February 2018 (cash purchase) and the only real issue we've had - other than the usual awful state of the place (which we were expecting as we wanted a project) - is that our one and only neighbour seems to hold a grudge against us for buying their friends' former property

No issues with meter readings here as there's no mains gas and the electricity was already on a pre-payment meter.

No water at the property either as it was originally supplied from a well on a nearby farm which the farmer had chosen to disconnect. As such we knew from our first viewing we'd be looking at having a borehole drilled.

We moved straight into a building site - our worldly goods had already gone into storage when the sale of our previous house had completed - with no running water, flushing loo or heating....which was fun!

No visits from bailiffs or other parties assuming we were the previous owners......

We've been very fortunate imho as there was no vindictive damage done prior to repossession - unlike a couple we visited once who had removed everything including most of the floorboards prior to the lender repossessing their flat :eek:

Good luck, OP and thanks for the update!

Edited to add - we have discovered quite a bit of indiscriminate dumping (old car seats being the most memorable....so far as we've not cleared all the overgrown land yet!) on our land, but I think that sometimes just goes with the territory in rural locations, lol!

[Deleted User]

Re waste in garden: To be honest that can happen wherever its a neglected property. I've found this with rental properties as well.