Approaching the Owner of a 'Fallow' House

RHemmings

This is a tricky one. As a FTB, I'm trying to avoid anything unusual. My partner and I went for a walk to see a PurpleBricks house. We got talking to one of the neighbours. He told us about a house opposite that has remained empty since the owner passed away, four years ago. 

The neighbour seemed quite keen to tell us about the house, and said that the previous owner's son lives in the area. (But, I don't know exactly where.)

I'm wondering if it is worth finding out who the owner is, and contacting them. I'm aware that there may be emotional attachments involved, and hence I would have to be careful and polite. 

The neighbour said that he wondered if the house hadn't been put on sale because there's something wrong with it. But, he said that work had been done on the house (e.g. the kitchen) and that it looks quite nice inside.

I believe that I can get the title register for £3 online, which will tell me who owns it. (But, might not give me their address or contact details.) I could of course put a hand-written letter through the door of the property, but I don't know if that is being checked of course. 

Advice about this would be greatly appreciated. 

The property ticks all of our boxes except for being energy inefficient. Which unlike location or size of rooms is possible to change. 

MultiFuelBurner

Oooh another interesting poser of a possible house purchase.

Note through the door is best and maybe tapping up neighbours for the details/names/numbers

FreeBear

RHemmings said: I believe that I can get the title register for £3 online, which will tell me who owns it. (But, might not give me their address or contact details.) I could of course put a hand-written letter through the door of the property, but I don't know if that is being checked of course.

It could very well be that the LR entry only lists the deceased as the owner. For a number of reasons, ownership may not have been transferred (problems with probate, profound case CBA by the family/executor, etc).

A visit to the local council may elicit more information by looking at the electoral register, but don't get your hopes up.

Section62

RHemmings said:

We got talking to one of the neighbours. He told us about a house opposite that has remained empty since the owner passed away, four years ago. 

If it has been empty four years without being marketed or occupied then there's almost certainly a reason why.  There's no law that prevents you from attempting to make contact with possible owners (restraining orders aside) but you probably won't be the first and you should prepare yourself for a less than positive response, potentially one which may consist of only two words.

If there is some kind of issue then the property may eventually be more appropriate for a cash buyer who isn't in a hurry to complete.

RHemmings

Thanks all. I'm thinking about this one. I am a cash buyer, but don't want things to progress too slowly. 

Herzlos

You can always ask the neighbour if they know the address or ask around to find it with a view to ask about buying the place.

RHemmings

I was a bit surprised at the conversation about the house happening, and wasn't prepared. The neighbour is often out working on his motorbike, so it won't be hard to talk to him again. I don't want to cross the line into stalking, particularly since (as mentioned above) it's possible that such an approach will not be welcome. 

Schwarzwald

RHemmings said:

I don't want to cross the line into stalking, particularly since (as mentioned above) it's possible that such an approach will not be welcome. 

approaching them once to explore interest to sell is not stalking.
if they are annoyed by people doing this regularly, their problem, not yours.
if they tell you to eff off, reflects more on them than on you.
give it a shot, but expect little.

RHemmings

The title register for the house appears to show only the name of the deceased former owner, and gives the address of the property as their address. 

Given that the former owner bought the house in the 60s, I was surprised to see a charge on the property by a major bank's mortgage services in 2010.

The properties around that area (I've seen it on a nearby property as well) have a covenant on them that it's not allowed to open an off-licence, or convert a current property to be an off-licence. As an agreement with a brewery. Even as an FTB, that wouldn't scare me should it be found in property searches. 

If I want to take this further, it's a letter through the door, hopefully remaining visible after being posted, and if I don't get a reply see if it's still there a week later. 

EDIT: The surname of the owner of the house rang a slight bell, and with a bit of research I confirmed it. I know who the son of the owner of the house is. I used to live in the next street, next door to the son. This makes things ... complicated. Actually, I suppose I could be wrong because it's a common name, but I suspect I'm right.

RAS

It may be worth getting the deceased's death certificate and will? Combined cost about £4. That could give you the name(s) of the executor(s), the addresses of some beneficiaries and the name and address of the informant.

RHemmings

RAS said:

It may be worth getting the deceased's death certificate and will? Combined cost about £4. That could give you the name(s) of the executor(s), the addresses of some beneficiaries and the name and address of the informant.

I can see that would work well in a situation like this. But, now that I believe I know who the son is and he is someone I know 'in real life', I'm not sure about all of this.