(Scotland) Thinking of house buying, a local property has been up for auction multiple times,Normal?

RAS

Currently occupied, so definitely check whether it is tenanted. Not easy to remove in Scotland. 

Might be worth checking both the Land Registry and the local electoral rolls. Not quite sure what the Scottish rules are but in England you need to go to the main depositary (main library in many cases) and ask for then volume for that street. You can't photocopy or browse.

_Penny_Dreadful

RAS said:

Currently occupied, so definitely check whether it is tenanted. Not easy to remove in Scotland. 

Might be worth checking both the Land Registry and the local electoral rolls. Not quite sure what the Scottish rules are but in England you need to go to the main depositary (main library in many cases) and ask for then volume for that street. You can't photocopy or browse.

There’s no landlord registered for that address although landlord’s don’t always have to be registered eg when letting to family. 

In Scotland you check the Registers of Scotland to find out who owns the property and checking the electoral register is the same, it can be done at the local library. 

theartfullodger

If interested seriously drive close by Friday & Saturday evening, park up & lurk for 30 mini.  Will tell how "active" neighbours are....

Not all landlords who should do register.  Like most things.

Why not just knock on door and see who's there?  Nothing illegal in knocking,  politely.

dinosaur66

the reason it has not sold in auction is the price/home report/all 2 /condition of the property/ceiling price

price to a landlord / flipper is 75k plus 4k auction house fee / plus 1k solicitor fee/plus 6k stamp duty so £86k

ceiling price for the road is £110k for same property done to a walk in standard inside and out

24k to turn around that property to the 110k ceiling price is not worth it time/money/effort /profit

i know motherwell / not the road in question /have stayed in many similar propertys with the same layout / albeit in other towns not far away

rent for that property would be £600 approx when finished / a landlord could buy 2 flats ready to go and rent them for £800 combined in same area and not have to pay the £6k stamp duty

better of finding a middle of the road property which has 90% 1s on home report for 90k that you can move straight into for the sake of 10k.

Herzlos

Last sold in 2000 for £17,500, which makes me think it was an ex-council house but it seems odd with the kids rooms after 24 years. It's unlikely to be a bank reposession given the mortgage would likely have been paid off. That's not to say it's not been remortgaged at some point or it's grandkids.

It's an alright area, handy for most things though parking is likely to be pretty bad as only half of the houses (not that one) have driveways.

I don't see any obvious reason it wouldn't sell at auction except possibly the reserve price is too high or it's not profitable enough for a landlord/flipper since it looks like it'll need a lot of work at some point. You could move in and do it up over time.

I'd be tempted to go knock on the door and see if you can find out what's going on. If it's the owner occupier they may be able to tell you how much they actually want. If it's hostile tenants, then you've got your answer as to why it's not selling.

dinosaur66

need a friend who is a tradesmen to asses it for you and give you advice on what needs doing and price

i can see next door has had a new roof and the property in question has damp stains on bedroom walls but that might be from the flashing on the chimney stack looking perished .

looks to have artex on ceiling which you can take a sample of and get it tested for asbestos for £60 before deciding what to do with it.

all other propertys have upvc windows while all 7 look wood

front and back garden fences look fine albeit in scotland i find they have about a 15 year lifespan before one of the storms blow them down / the fence on the left as you go to the back garden will be yours /

user1977

Herzlos said:

Last sold in 2000 for £17,500, which makes me think it was an ex-council house but it seems odd with the kids rooms after 24 years. It's unlikely to be a bank reposession given the mortgage would likely have been paid off. That's not to say it's not been remortgaged at some point or it's grandkids. 

Could also be inherited (which doesn’t usually show up on the Land Register).

In any event the photos scream “we couldn’t persuade the tenants to tidy up before the photographer arrived” rather than an owner-occupier.

pinkshoes

You're best off speaking to the auction house.

If it's been up for auction a few times and not sold, then it implies that it could have a high reserve. 

Ask the agent: if it is currently being lived in? By tenants or the owner (or family of the owner)? What the reserve is? Why it is being sold. 

I'd also recommend knocking on the door to see if anyone is there. Just speak politely to them and say you're thinking of buying it. 

The upstairs is odd. A TINY room (the blue one)  that is less than 6ft wide but an almost 6ft wide storage cupboard next to it. Surely this would knock through to make a master bedroom given there is already an additional storage cupboard upstairs?

dekaspace1

Thanks all, a main reason for asking is I wanted a house and with at least 2 rooms and with easy transport links to Motherwell as I don't drive at moment, the houses I have liked and in movable condition and if anything my dream type homes are all in villages with either zero transport links or takes like 1-2 hours to get to Motherwell and thats where I am currently working.

And prices have rose more and more in past 2 years, did see houses in Wishaw for 80k 2 years ago but didn't have as much saved then.

A bit of history is that as I work part time I am worried about getting a mortgage so trying to go for a house on the lower price range but not one that needs done up, I don't care if the property has outdated features in fact I prefer them as long as they are in good condition and won't need replaced at high cost within a few years.

dinosaur66

then motherwell and this house is fine for your needs

hamilton and east kilbride next door are 30k plus more than this one i a like for like

doing the right thing with regards price and affordabilty and ease of access to work / if it suits your needs thats fine

i have a mate in west kilbride in virtually exact same property and layout and condition /solid houses /good room sizes / loads of storage