Found an abandoned property - need advice

Ath_Wat

Wasn't there a thread recently about someone's elderly friend who thought they owned another house somewhere but couldn't remember where?  Could be that.

deannagone

As others have said, it doesn't look abandoned, it does look a bit uncared for but not abandoned.  I noticed the path through the grass verge to the house and the bins myself.

You could put a note through the door saying you are looking for a property to purchase, would they be interested in selling but there's obviously no guarantee the owner will respond or be interested.  

There was stuff in the papers within the last month about some poor old man with health problems who'd let his garden get completely overgrown, abandoned cars front and back.  He was living there, but the outside was in a far worse condition than this house. To me, there are signs its actually lived in.

Woolsery

A house stayed unlived in and unloved in my village for a very long time. The back story was that the family to which it belonged had 'reserved it' for one of their sons in the event of his marriage. Having met the son, I was doubtful such an event would ever take place... and I wasn't the only one!

But lo, one day I was passing and saw workmen (there may have been workwomen too ) fixing the place up. The son was indeed engaged and soon he and his bride moved in.

So there you go; even the most improbable things can happen and prove the cynics like me wrong. However, there was another house owned by the same family which did eventually fall down. I haven't discovered the back story to that one yet. No one seems to know, but they strongly disapprove, despite it not affecting anyone else.

brianposter

One way in which houses get into such a state is when the owner develops mental problems and goes into a care home. If they have not appointed anyone with a power of attorney there is no-one with the power to sell the home and it simply sits there until they die. At least that is apparently what happens in Scotland. 

fourmarks

p_m said:

What if the owners have passed away? Does the land registry update to show this, or just when the property moves to its next ownership? 

I'm looking to purchase the property to renovate it, there will be money to be made on this in this particular area. If nobody is living there and haven't for a long time then i expect whoever has ownership probably would be open to a discussion about selling. I'm not sure on the process of how to contact someone about this if there is nobody there, this is why i'm trying to establish who owns it and if anyone has any tips on the process as i'm new to this.

I think you'll find Lord Lucan prizes his privacy extremely highly.

GaleSF63

If it was known locally to be empty I don't think the bins would still be there. 

trakky14

We have a massively overgrown house in our village that you can't even see from the road as its covered in trees and bushes...the owner died years ago and its owned by multiple members of her family that cannot agree/do not speak so its just been left there as they obviously have no interest in doing anything with it. It is next to a river and regularly floods. It doesn't even have electricity or running water, the lady who lived in it did so until she died (can't be more than 10yrs ago) the mind boggles!!! Such a shame.

Skiddaw1

There's a house like that in a neighbouring village. It's a proper, traditional Cumbrian cottage in one of those 'sought after' Lake District villages but the house has almost completely disintigrated now. The roof has collapsed and the garden is totally overgrown. I don't know the back-story but I'm guessing it's a contentious probabte house. As you say, such a shame.

nyermen

Pretty sure that grass has been tended in the last year or so.  I have a shaded back garden (several TPO'd oaks), and just mowed the lawn last week for the first time since last october (no-mow may and all that).
It was up to my waist, except for the thistles which were up to my neck...

Jude57

My ex, who worked in construction and had lots of mates who also had useful skills, was always looking for an abandoned house in a good area for us to buy and renovate. Eventually he found the perfect house, a large Victorian mid-terrace on a very sought after street. From the outside it seemed to be abandoned and enquiries of neighbours indicated it hadn't been lived in for at least 15 years.  Land Registry searches gave the name of the last registered owner so we sent a speculative, very polite letter, to the named owner at the house. We received, in about ten days, a 'cease and desist' letter from a local firm of solicitors so wrote that property off as a prospective home! I drive past the house occasionally, and it's still gently rotting. I confess I did report it as abandoned to the relevant Council team but nothing has apparently come of that. This all happened about 16 years ago, so that house has stood empty for at least 30 years.

Conversely, back in the mid-80's, my friend and her husband were living with his parents when first married and were desperate to find their own place. They were very keen on one particular road, lovely 1930's semi's, although the mortgage they'd require would be at the very top of what they could afford. They put hand-written letters through every door on the street, setting out their situation and asking to be considered if anyone wanted to sell. They got one reply, from a man whose mother had just died and he wanted to sell his childhood home to nice people, not a developer. A couple of meetings later, they'd agreed terms and the sale went through despite a large retention for various works. They worked their socks off to renovate and ended up wearing th a terrific house in which they raised their children, only downsizing 5 years ago to something more manageable.

It's worth a speculative letter but don't expect the owners to want to sell, even if it would seem to be the sensible thing to do.