Help needed on new mortgage rate/house not selling and separation

jagger86

Ok so will try and make this brief. I am at my wits end!

So house went on the market beginning of last October for 325k, we had an offer at 315k, accepted, they pulled out when rates changed. Had a further offer at 310k, they pulled out saw something else, had a further offer at 310k, they pulled out.

So by June we are desperate to sell and ex (still married though) says to auction it to get it gone quick. at this point I was super stressed, I was suddenly made redundant and my Mum is having chemo. We have two kids and I was living at the house trying to pay it on my own, he has since moved back in and I have moved to my Mums (he was renting a flat which was extra cost meaning he wasn't giving me anything) so thought this would save money between us if he moved back in.

At one point we contacted a property release company who offer you 85% for a quick sale. However now the house was put up for auction with a guide price of 245k, obviously these offers are lower. Ex said that people had registered to bid and everyone that viewed loved it. 

Anyway no one has bid on it. Now the companies that do you a quick sale are saying its only worth 245k now so would offer 80% of that.

We owe nearly 230k in debts to be able to walk away debt free between us.

Furthermore the fixed rate ends in September and goes from £1000 a month to £1700 a month. Neither of us can afford this on our own, I could barely afford the £1000. (the mortgage company let me pay interest only for 3 months when we had a memorandum of sale which reduced it to £500 a month)

Then like an idiot most of the debts are in my name because he had a gambling problem and very poor credit. The main mortgage and one loan is joint though.

I feel sick with worry, we owe my Mum 36k of the money as she loaned it to us to help with an extension a couple of years ago. She is now on no pay from work as has been off over a year with cancer. Which she didn't know about at the time.

We are paying the monthly payments back just about but he is getting more and more hostile. Plus there is no way we can afford the new rate. 

Yes, I am fully aware how stupid I am.

Hope this makes sense.

silvercar

Go to a decent local estate agent and get a realistic valuation for a quick sale, in fact go to more than one.

johnhenstock

there's no reason why that house won't sell. you need to forget about auctions and other people getting involved.

go to rightmove.co.uk, type in your postcode and number of bedrooms / property type (keep it generic, houses instead of semi-detached, for example) and look at most ads. see which estate agents are your local specialists, dealing with family homes.

walk into their office, explain the situation and ask them to get you £x after all taxes. offer them .5% more if they achieve a higher price of your initial offer (£310k). tell them the property needs to sell in a month and they'll get it done.

is there anything wrong with the property? missing paperwork (planning permission, building control sign off etc.)? does it have structural issues (foundations, drainage, major cracks etc.)? if not, spend an entire weekend getting it ready for some proper pictures and you're there. I know it's stressful, but it's the right way to do it. don't see it as stress with a house you no longer want, see it as a ticket to moving on with your life.

jimjames

johnhenstock said:

walk into their office, explain the situation and ask them to get you £x after all taxes. offer them .5% more if they achieve a higher price of your initial offer (£310k). tell them the property needs to sell in a month and they'll get it done.

With the market dropping since last October it seems highly unlikely that anyone would offer that sort of price of £310k now so it might be better to set a more realistic incentive for the agent based on the current price they think is viable. 

Sarah1Mitty2

jimjames said:

johnhenstock said:

walk into their office, explain the situation and ask them to get you £x after all taxes. offer them .5% more if they achieve a higher price of your initial offer (£310k). tell them the property needs to sell in a month and they'll get it done.

With the market dropping since last October it seems highly unlikely that anyone would offer that sort of price of £310k now so it might be better to set a more realistic incentive for the agent based on the current price they think is viable. 

Exactly, EA`s don`t have power over the market and borrowing rates! The OP should get PropertyLog and see what other sellers are doing to sell.

johnhenstock

jimjames said:

johnhenstock said:

walk into their office, explain the situation and ask them to get you £x after all taxes. offer them .5% more if they achieve a higher price of your initial offer (£310k). tell them the property needs to sell in a month and they'll get it done.

With the market dropping since last October it seems highly unlikely that anyone would offer that sort of price of £310k now so it might be better to set a more realistic incentive for the agent based on the current price they think is viable. 

first, you have no idea what the property is like or whether £310k is too high of a price. we don't have any facts, other than "it doesn't sell". it might have other issues which are causing it to stick, hence my question about structural defects or other problems.

having said that, I said exactly what you're saying, which is to ask the agent to price the house to sell (£x) and offer a bonus if they can achieve a higher price, such as for example something close to £310k.

smipsy

johnhenstock said:

jimjames said:

johnhenstock said:

walk into their office, explain the situation and ask them to get you £x after all taxes. offer them .5% more if they achieve a higher price of your initial offer (£310k). tell them the property needs to sell in a month and they'll get it done.

With the market dropping since last October it seems highly unlikely that anyone would offer that sort of price of £310k now so it might be better to set a more realistic incentive for the agent based on the current price they think is viable. 

first, you have no idea what the property is like or whether £310k is too high of a price. we don't have any facts, other than "it doesn't sell". it might have other issues which are causing it to stick, hence my question about structural defects or other problems.

having said that, I said exactly what you're saying, which is to ask the agent to price the house to sell (£x) and offer a bonus if they can achieve a higher price, such as for example something close to £310k.

the house failed to sell on a 245k auction, yet you are advising the OP he should aim for 310k?

johnhenstock

No. I’m saying that OP should ask the agent ro price the house so that it sells in a week. If that’s £200k, so be it, £250k, so be it. Should the agent spot something wrong with the previous attempt at selling and managed to get a higher price, closer to the initial asking price, that’s his merit and a bonus would be well placed.

what I AM saying is that a.) we have no idea why the property didn’t sell the first time, be it through traditional agents or auction and b.) that house prices would not have crashed 20% just because rates went up a bit.

unless the previous agent was a 18 year old pimple head with no experience and no knowledge of the local market, the asking price might not have been far from what’s achievable. After all, SEVERAL offers of £310k were made..

jagger86

Hi everyone

Thanks for replies. Yes the house was maybe slightly over priced initially but we had offers in the right region so went with it. Then the market dropped. We delayed putting it on the market as my Mum started chemo but then we realised there was no right time.

One buyer pulled out because of interest rates changing, one because the chimney might need work.

Its a 1900 victorian semi-townhouse, new windows, new kitchen, new bathroom, rear extension, bi folds, damp proofed, off road parking and a double garage. Alas it is an old house though so always going to need something doing. 

My main concern now is having to wait until it sells again whilst the mortgage jumps from 1k to £1700 a month.

The mortgage company only let us pay interest only if we have a memorandum of sale.

johnhenstock

I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound like a house that won't sell. have you spoken to a new agent to come up with a price that will ensure it's sold in days? it sounds to me like you're hesitating or holding things back while also complaining that it doesn't get sold.

jagger86

johnhenstock said:

I'm sorry, but this doesn't sound like a house that won't sell. have you spoken to a new agent to come up with a price that will ensure it's sold in days? it sounds to me like you're hesitating or holding things back while also complaining that it doesn't get sold.

I'm definitely not hesitating, I am currently in a box bedroom at my Mums driving round with clothes in the boot of my car. Trust me I am desperate to get it all settled! I do think we had a really crap estate agent last time then the auction route was not something we should have pursued but ex went ahead with it. I was just at the end of my tether and agreed.

I was having an interview every day, sexond interviews with presentations at the time and just let him take something off my plate so agreed but wish I hadn't now.