Surveyor said my flat was worth the money but I can't sell or remortage 3 years later.

saajan_12

hlamming said:

My flat is non-standard build of concrete. - does the surveyor note that in his report?
I got divorced 3 years ago and sank my entire settlement into buying a property. I had no credit rating - that all stayed with my husband when we separated financially - even my credit card and mortagage were paid from his account. I hired a surveyor post-Grenfell to determine that the flat I bought and subsequently refurbished would hold it's value.- No way they could / would predict that it would hold its value in the future. They'd give you a static valuation for that point (as per your subsequent post). That could plummet the next day. 

Three years down the line and I want to sell or remortage to buy a retirement property and I've discovered that my flat is essentially worthless.It's got nothing to do with cladding; it's the construction. Nobody can buy it and nobody will lend on it. - A mortgage co might give you £0 value because they simply do not want that type of property on their books.. similar to how much you'd pay for a house in the middle of nowhere where you have no desire to live.. doesn't mean the house / land / etc is worth £0 on the market, but its worth £0 to you. 
I've tried 3 mortgage brokers and all lenders turned it down. - try a paid, whole of market broker, they may cost £250-1000 but should be able to advise if any lenders consider non standard construction properties. Possibly ask the agents / neighbours which lenders were involved in the properties in that area. If you find it, you can at least point your buyers to them so they don't pull out later. 
A finacial advisor advised me to lay a claim against the Surveyor. The Surveyor says it's not his problem. - what claim in particular does the advisor say is false? Without seeing it myself, the only thing I can suggest is did the surveyor mention the non standard construction?
My life's savings are sunk in this flat and I'm stuck; it's worthless. What can I do?

hlamming said:

The exact words were: " In my opinion the Market Value on 30 June 2017 as inspected was: £ 255,000.00 Two Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand Pounds Only. 

Re surveyor, you need to understand what they would / wouldn't comment on

• would have given a valuation at the time, not a guarantee of the future value - can you demonstrate that was incorrect in 2017?
• valuation is different to whether a lender will lend - may not know lenders' criteria, or future changes in criteria
• should note the non standard construction

Practically, other next steps outside the surveyor could be:

1. Speak to a whole of market broker - will have a small fee but you can then advertise which lenders take this and avoid all the abortive costs. 
2. Ask EA / neighbours which lenders have been involved in similar properties in that area / block
3. Advertise for cash buyers only
4. Sell at auction

AdrianC

hlamming said:

The exact words were: " In my opinion the Market Value on 30 June 2017 as inspected was: £ 255,000.00 Two Hundred and Fifty Five Thousand Pounds Only. 

That is exactly what it says on the tin.

One person's opinion, at a fixed point in the past, four years ago.

No more, no less.

powerful_Rogue

Duplicate thread

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/78452556#Comment_78452556

hlamming

robatwork said:

Please redact his report for any personal information and put it up here, so we can see his exact words. The exact phraseology here is significant.

This is the quote from the Surveyor.  "I am pleased to advise you, that my opinion is that this property is, on the whole, a reasonable  proposition for purchase at a price of £255,000.00 [Two Hundred and Fifty­Five Thousand  Pounds Only]. I found no evidence of any significant problems, and I cannot foresee any  difficulties arising from a resale of the property in normal market conditions."
Are the times we live in 'normal'? I cannot remortagae let alone sell. Potential buyers who've returned fro more than one viewing cannot get a mortagae to buy it. It's a lovely flat,

AdrianC

hlamming said:

Are the times we live in 'normal'?

Do you really need to ask that question?

How many people in 2017 do you think foresaw 2020/1 turning out like this...?

GeordieGeorge

hlamming said:

My flat is non-standard build of concrete. I got divorced 3 years ago and sank my entire settlement into buying a property. I had no credit rating - that all stayed with my husband when we separated financially - even my credit card and mortagage were paid from his account. I hired a surveyor post-Grenfell to determine that the flat I bought and subsequently refurbished would hold it's value. Three years down the line and I want to sell or remortage to buy a retirement property and I've discovered that my flat is essentially worthless.It's got nothing to do with cladding; it's the construction. Nobody can buy it and nobody will lend on it. I've tried 3 mortgage brokers and all lenders turned it down. A finacial advisor advised me to lay a claim against the Surveyor. The Surveyor says it's not his problem. My life's savings are sunk in this flat and I'm stuck; it's worthless. What can I do?

When you say that no-one can buy it, what do you mean? Clearly you were able to buy it, and it seems likely that someone who doesn’t need a mortgage could also buy it, so why are you saying that no-one can buy it?

cymruchris

It's not worth nothing. It still has value - but possibly not to the people you might normally target. It's guaranteed to sell if it went to auction - and there are investors that buy properties for rental where to them the finance isn't an issue. Things are a bit rough at the moment - and although some properties are flying off the shelves - others can't shift no matter how hard they're pushed. Are you needing to sell NOW? or can you wait? Do you need to sell at all? 

GixerKate

If its non-standard construction then mortgages are always going to be rare however, what about selling it back to the council or putting it in auction?  

Crashy_Time

Someone will obviously buy it if you reduce the price enough, 25k off clearly isn`t enough of a reduction?

hackneylou

hlamming said:

My flat is non-standard build of concrete. I got divorced 3 years ago and sank my entire settlement into buying a property. I had no credit rating - that all stayed with my husband when we separated financially - even my credit card and mortagage were paid from his account. I hired a surveyor post-Grenfell to determine that the flat I bought and subsequently refurbished would hold it's value. Three years down the line and I want to sell or remortage to buy a retirement property and I've discovered that my flat is essentially worthless.It's got nothing to do with cladding; it's the construction. Nobody can buy it and nobody will lend on it. I've tried 3 mortgage brokers and all lenders turned it down. A finacial advisor advised me to lay a claim against the Surveyor. The Surveyor says it's not his problem. My life's savings are sunk in this flat and I'm stuck; it's worthless. What can I do?

We have friends who always buy non standard properties - they have one built of wood for example. What they do is buy them at auction so that may be your best bet to explore.