HELP! I can't sell my house

pearlygatesuk

Zerforax said:

Has all interest dried up? The fact you had 2 people offer on the property means it must be desirable.

Lower the price if you need. Re-list with a new estate agent (so it shows up on the online portals as a new property rather than looking like it's been sat there a long time). Be upfront with interested parties and feedback re the type of lender that may/may not lend on the property or only look for cash buyers. Also tell vendors to use bigger brokers? Plenty will use high street banks (eg will suggest NatWest/Halifax etc).

Very useful info, thankyou.  Yes we are thinking of listing with a different estate agent.  It seems that the Halifax/Natwests of this world do seem more likely to cover the risk (although to my mind its zero risk since subsidence as a result of mining work is covered in full by the coal authority!)

In answer to your question there's little problem selling the property, we sold it a total of 5 times, every time within a week of it going on the market, some just didn't pass the nescessary checks.

housebuyer143

pearlygatesuk said:

Zerforax said:

Has all interest dried up? The fact you had 2 people offer on the property means it must be desirable.

Lower the price if you need. Re-list with a new estate agent (so it shows up on the online portals as a new property rather than looking like it's been sat there a long time). Be upfront with interested parties and feedback re the type of lender that may/may not lend on the property or only look for cash buyers. Also tell vendors to use bigger brokers? Plenty will use high street banks (eg will suggest NatWest/Halifax etc).

Very useful info, thankyou.  Yes we are thinking of listing with a different estate agent.  It seems that the Halifax/Natwests of this world do seem more likely to cover the risk (although to my mind its zero risk since subsidence as a result of mining work is covered in full by the coal authority!)

In answer to your question there's little problem selling the property, we sold it a total of 5 times, every time within a week of it going on the market, some just didn't pass the nescessary checks.

In your shoes I would keep trying but just ensure any buyer is advised before hand about the old mine shaft and to be sure to tell their broker in advance so an appropriate lender can be used. 
Loads of people use the high street lenders so it shouldn't really limit the pool too much.

The lender I used didn't even ask for a mining search and I live a few miles from a quarry! Your next buyer could have the exact same thing happen and it not be a problem.

pearlygatesuk

theoretica said:

The first port of call seems to be for the current buyer, if they are still interested, to try to find a new mortgage lender. Have they given up or are they still trying?

Oh I so wish she would have.  She seems to have given up.  I think the presence of the mine has given her the heebegeebies and I guess mum and dad were wary because of any potential issues re-selling it

MEM62

Brie said:

pearlygatesuk said:

Hi All,
And before anybody suggests it WE DO NOT want to be landlords and rent the property out.  That defeats the whole objective that we set out with.

Ok you don't want to be landlords but is there an option to place the bungalow with a letting agency so they can do all the work and you just collect on that?  

That does not stop you from being a landlord - or from having all the obligations that go with it.  

t1redmonkey

From someone who auctioned their house earlier this year, don't be afraid about exploring that option.  I personally had a great experience - I sold for £30k more than regular estate agents were saying I'd likely achieve, and the only fees I ended up paying was a 1% commission fee.  And it was all wrapped up from initial acceptance of the offer (it was a pre auction offer I accepted) to completion in a month.  

Mrs_Z

Just a thought, is there no indemnity insurance that could cover this type of issue? There usually is for all sorts of things!

london21

Can maybe try traditional auction and if an area of high demand, the prices sometimes end similar to EA prices. 

user1977

Mrs_Z said:

Just a thought, is there no indemnity insurance that could cover this type of issue? There usually is for all sorts of things!

Not really. After all, the actual risk (of the house suffering damage from old coal mining) is in effect covered by the government, as the Coal Authority would pay out - it's really the hassle/worry factor that puts off buyers (and lenders).

MalMonroe

Hello, I just wanted to say I'm so sorry to hear of all the troubles you've been experiencing. It seem so true, that old saying about troubles coming in threes, or altogether or something. Just when you don't need them.

I was also going to suggest selling the house at auction. Don't laugh but I'm a big fan of Homes Under the Hammer. I have been watching it for about 6 years now and I have never seen a property sell at a silly price. Obviously they all have reserves and sometimes the auctioneer has to start bidding at below the reserve but houses have always sold. Some houses in terrible states with rubbish and old furniture still in them. Damp walls and on one programme, no roof (fire damage). I was sure that nobody would buy that one but they did. And they paid over the odds for it, too. Buyers normally have to take on all the problems, if there are any. 

Just a thought but it'd get the property off your hands and you can then get on with living your lives without worry. 

Good luck, with whatever you decide to do. 

Woolsery

Times are very different from 2007, so any property with some sort of stigma attached sells for less than equivalent properties without one. It may be quite undeserved, such as where a cause for subsidence has been found and rectified correctly, but the downvaluing will continue for around 20 years.

If historic mining is an issue to some lenders, then your market is restricted and the logical thing to do is reflect that in the marketing and the price.There is a point at which the unencumbered cash buyer or one savvy with mortgages will bite. Personally, I'd get rid PDQ, as winter and a  more pessimistic sentiment is just around the next corner. If you are free to change agents swiftly, all well and good.