I sunk £50k into an unsellable flat.

biberal

My flat is a 3 bed maisonette in Aldershot, with a weird/quirky layout, which is putting off buyers. It has been on the market for 2 months and though there have been viewings, no one has made on offer. It is priced for what I paid for it 7 months ago.  I am selling it after having moved back with my mother after my life broke down irretrievably and did not want to live there due to the horrible memories associated with it. I am 23 years old.

I have no idea what to do. I am trying to start over from scratch and start saving up for a new deposit, but even then I will pay a hefty stamp duty tax bill, which will slow down my ability to save even more. I feel completely discouraged and hopeless. I will be living with my mother for AT LEAST 2 years before I can save for another deposit! I think I overpaid. The taxes and wages in this country are outrageous so I am looking to move to Dubai/USA to work so that I can save faster. I am devastated and feel like I've lost my life savings which took me 5 years to accumulate. 

dannya1978

Hi,

Not sure i understand what you are saying. How have you lost 50K? Why will you have to save again for 2 years for a deposit? If you are desperate to sell (probably at a loss) then take it to auction.

DullGreyGuy

Ultimately you bought it so you will find someone else thats willing to.  The fact you have put it back on the market after 7 months though is going to be a red flag for many, even more so as you say its been on the market for 2 months already which would mean you'd owned it 5 months at that point. Others will correct me but think most lenders wont offer mortgages on properites where the last owner had it for under 6 months so from the off you were limiting yourself to an investment buyer. 

Market has generally headed in the wrong direction since you purchased it.

If it is awkward shape have you compared how you and the previous owners are using the space?  Not everyone is good at visualising things and so showing a 3 seater sofa fits comfortably in a nook etc is often better than having an oversized one infront of it leaving dead space behind etc.

You are however only 23, most of your age will have 40+ years of working ahead of them, almost double your whole life, and so plenty of times to recover your life savings. 

RelievedSheff

Nothing is unsaleable. Everything will sell at the right price.

You bought the flat. It is unlikely you are the only person who would do so.

You have not been in the flat long which will put some buyers off.

Try to look on the bright side of things and not dwell on things that you can not change like taxes. They are what they are. At least you bought a home. 

JReacher1

Can you rent it out?

_Penny_Dreadful

Do you feel brave enough to post a link to the listing for the property?  The fact you only purchased it 7 months ago and are trying to offload it already will be putting some people off.

I live in Aberdeen where the property market has been really bad since 2015.  Even here things will sell.  My friend had a 2-bedroom flat on the market from April 2022 and didn't get her first viewing until October 2022.  Luckily the first viewer bought it and the sale went through in November.  Yes, she took a bit of a hit on the price but if property is still shifting, albeit slowly here, your place in Aldershot will sell.

user1977

Are you looking for advice? Or just a vent?

We can't tell whether you overpaid, but there's no rule that you have to sell for at least what you paid for it, so isn't lowering the asking price an option?

TadleyBaggie

That is a "quirky" layout, not sure why a toilet was plonked in the living room, would have made sense to have it the other side of the wall in the lobby. Bathroom downstairs too, which has no toilet. So anyone in the middle of the night needing a pee has to go via the living room!

RedFraggle

Is there a way of fixing the layout so there's a bathroom with a toilet somewhere (even if you lose bed 3) and also addressing the current EPC of E.
Or go below market value and put it down to experience 

Martico

Basement level: knock out toilet by lounge completely, turn bathroom into shower room with toilet. You lose a bath for a shower, but it'd be a lot more attractive 

Sarah1Mitty2

RelievedSheff said:

Nothing is unsaleable. Everything will sell at the right price.

You bought the flat. It is unlikely you are the only person who would do so.

You have not been in the flat long which will put some buyers off.

Try to look on the bright side of things and not dwell on things that you can not change like taxes. They are what they are. At least you bought a home. 

They didn`t buy a home, they don`t want to live there!