Cant sell my flat due to being under 30sqm

Leeannero1

Hi.

I cant sell my flat due to it being under 30sqm.

Its 26 sqm and ive had two buyers now who cant get a morgage for my flat in order to buy it and both have had to pull out from the purchase.

I managed to get a morgage myself back in 2019 without this being mentioned but now its become a problem and although i have read that some bigger lenders will lend it has limited who can buy. I.e no buy to lets or anyone who wants a morgage really.
My second buyer pulled out today as she is worried she wont be able to sell it once she wants to move on. This is now a worry i am facing, trying to sell this flat and i am unable to do so.

can you give me some advise please on what i can do?

Thanks

justworriedabit

Leeannero1 said:

Hi.

I cant sell my flat due to it being under 30sqm.

Its 26 sqm and ive had two buyers now who cant get a morgage for my flat in order to buy it and both have had to pull out from the purchase.

I managed to get a morgage myself back in 2019 without this being mentioned but now its become a problem and although i have read that some bigger lenders will lend it has limited who can buy. I.e no buy to lets or anyone who wants a morgage really.
My second buyer pulled out today as she is worried she wont be able to sell it once she wants to move on. This is now a worry i am facing, trying to sell this flat and i am unable to do so.

can you give me some advise please on what i can do?

Thanks

Hello
You can sell it, not a problem at all. At the right price it will sell and possibly to a cash buyer. Try an auction.
I've never known a property not to sell at market rates.
There a specialist brokers but a buyer would not want the trouble of doing that unless the price was right
So auction and/or via mortgages but the right price is important.

Leeannero1

My property is priced correctly, its just that the market has been narrowed down to only cash buyers and people who are not worried about having limited lenders.
My first buyer was a buy to let and she pulled out due to only being able to get a lender with a very high interest rate. 
The second pulled out because she was worried about not being able to sell it herself. 
I will look into the auction as an option so thank you for that. 
Im not asking for anything over what its valued at , just what its worth and both buyers were willing to pay what i thought it was worth myself. Im not in a rush to sell i am just worried that i will be stuck with it.  Im very limited on who can buy if its just a cash buyer as i think its only really suitable to a first time buyer. 
Maybe i just need to be patient? As it will take a lot longer to sell than most would

NameUnavailable

I'm surprised your estate agent didn't raise the issue with you.

Remarket it but state 'cash buyers only', or go to auction (traditional, not modern method). You might get less at auction but you can offset that by putting a clause in the conditions of sale that the buyer has to pay X towards your fees and of course you will set a reserve price.

Leeannero1

NameUnavailable said:

I'm surprised your estate agent didn't raise the issue with you.

Remarket it but state 'cash buyers only', or go to auction (traditional, not modern method). You might get less at auction but you can offset that by putting a clause in the conditions of sale that the buyer has to pay X towards your fees and of course you will set a reserve price.

No the estate agent didnt mention this to me. Im guessing they just wanted a sale so if they did know they would have kept quite. 
I will look into auction as right now im not sure how it works, but its worth a look as an alternative option.
Im in no rush to sell but i do want to sell if you know what i mean

AdrianC

26m2 is, honestly, tiny. Would you be so kind as to show us the floorplan?

TBH, I'm surprised you got a mortgage in 2019.

This is the 2015 "Nationally Described Space Standard". It's not legally binding, but as government guidance, it is a very strong suggestion as to minimum spaces in properties.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524531/160519_Nationally_Described_Space_Standard____Final_Web_version.pdf

Also...
https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Minimum_space_standards

For a single person, one bedroom - 37m2. That's not just a little bigger than yours, it's over 40% bigger.
For two people, 50m2. Damn near double yours.

GDB2222

Leeannero1 said:

NameUnavailable said:

I'm surprised your estate agent didn't raise the issue with you.

Remarket it but state 'cash buyers only', or go to auction (traditional, not modern method). You might get less at auction but you can offset that by putting a clause in the conditions of sale that the buyer has to pay X towards your fees and of course you will set a reserve price.

No the estate agent didnt mention this to me. Im guessing they just wanted a sale so if they did know they would have kept quite. 
I will look into auction as right now im not sure how it works, but its worth a look as an alternative option.
Im in no rush to sell but i do want to sell if you know what i mean

Auction won't help you particularly, as it'll still be cash buyers interested, and they pay less than mortgage buyers. For difficult properties like yours, a lot less.

What I suggest you do is stick with an estate agent and drop the price, so it isn't just "priced correctly", but fairly cheap. That gives buyers the incentive to try really hard to get a mortgage. You'll hopefully get a lot more that way than via auction.

gab3x

If you're in London and by the sound of it the flat does not have a garden then you're in for a long wait anyhow. The pool of buyers is small and they are picky. One thing extra they need to do to buy and they will give up as there is so much out there competitively priced and easier to buy.
And as for the price - the correct price will show on the Land Registry few months after the purchase,  ie it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and go through with the sale.

Owleyes00

Don’t know if this is at all helpful but I did a Rightmove search for “studio flat” in “London” and have found at least 6 others less than 30sm among the first 12 results alone. One is as weeny as 16sm and is up for £300,000!

This doesn’t sound as uncommon as we might be thinking?

AdrianC

Owleyes00 said:

Don’t know if this is at all helpful but I did a Rightmove search for “studio flat” in “London” and have found at least 6 others less than 30sm among the first 12 results alone. One is as weeny as 16sm and is up for £300,000!

And is in an upmarket serviced apartment building on Sloane Avenue, Chelsea.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88591951#/
https://chelseacloisters.co.uk/

Not exactly your typical stretch-to-be-FTB property... More like a pocket-change pied-a-terre...

Owleyes00

AdrianC said:

Owleyes00 said:

Don’t know if this is at all helpful but I did a Rightmove search for “studio flat” in “London” and have found at least 6 others less than 30sm among the first 12 results alone. One is as weeny as 16sm and is up for £300,000!

And is in an upmarket serviced apartment building on Sloane Avenue, Chelsea.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88591951#/
https://chelseacloisters.co.uk/

Not exactly your typical stretch-to-be-FTB property... More like a pocket-change pied-a-terre...

Okay but there were plenty of other examples as well.