Should I have suspicions about buying this home?

somerandomusername

There's a 2 bedroom detached house for sale, it's not a traditional house, it's more like a building that was converted into a house, it's about 3/4 the height of a regular house, has sloped ceilings in the bedrooms which severely limit the head space but that's ok. 

Anyway it was listed in June for £200,000 but has since been reduced twice, now down to £180,000. It's had a new kitchen installed, new flooring and a general cosmetic redo. However I found an older advert for the same property where it was listed for auction in 2020 with a starting price of £140,000 and history shows it did not sell, either the minimum price was not met or nobody wanted it I'm not sure. In fact the only sale history is the original from 2007 where it sold for £92,000.

Then I found another older previous listing with another agent, I called them to enquire about it and they said it was listed over 1 year ago and isn't with them anymore, the seller withdrew it. I asked how much it was listed for and they said £225,000... 

I just went to view it today with the current agent and he told me it's a repossessed property and the bank is the seller. But why would a bank spend money doing up a repossessed house that's in perfectly fine condition as it is? Sure it wasn't incredible, but it was perfectly fine in my opinion. 

I asked the agent this and he said maybe the previous owner did it up and then it was repossessed. I checked google maps history and in 2022 you can see empty Howdens boxes outside the property which means the kitchen was installed sometime around that period. Which is after the 2020 auction attempt but likely before the repossession?

I guess it's possible the owner paid to have it done up and then fell on hard times and got it repossessed but something just feels off. 

As far as the property itself, it is pretty undesirable to most people I think due to no drive way, no garden, and very sloped ceilings upstairs. It's more like a 2 story flat than a 2 story house. That aside I actually think it's pretty cosy as I'm a single person only 5ft 5 I can handle the low ceilings. 

If this is true that a bank is selling it, is there anyway to verify that claim? And if a bank does want to just get rid of it, am I in a good position to offer way less than £180,000? Or are banks quite stubborn with their pricings?

Thanks for taking the time to read.

 

user1977

Why would the agents falsely claim that it's a repossession? It's hardly likely to help them sell the property. It would be obvious from very early in any transaction whether that was true or not anyway.

Banks will want to sell as quickly as reasonably possible, so in theory you can offer low but others may have similar ideas.

somerandomusername

user1977 said:

Why would the agents falsely claim that it's a repossession? It's hardly likely to help them sell the property. It would be obvious from very early in any transaction whether that was true or not anyway.

Banks will want to sell as quickly as reasonably possible, so in theory you can offer low but others may have similar ideas.

I dunno I've always been sceptical of people who making a living through sales. 

Anyway I did a land register check and shows the owners as being 2 individuals, so maybe the repossession hasn't finalised yet or the register hasn't been updated yet?

The only thing that's giving me weird vibes is why someone would spend money on a new kitchen and a facelift of the property while on the brink of repossession? Google maps shows Howdens boxes outside the property in October 2022, and the property has been listed since July 2025. That's only 2 years and 9 months. 

So they went from having excess cash to fit a new kitchen and flooring, to being evicted in under 3 years. That's some really really bad luck.

gwynlas

It might have been sold following auction as some properties that fail to make their reserve price are, you could check on Land Registry.

if you are seriously interested and intend to make it your forever home offer what you like.

Be aware however than should you wish to sell the restricted headroom might put buyers off

somerandomusername

gwynlas said:

It might have been sold following auction as some properties that fail to make their reserve price are, you could check on Land Registry.

if you are seriously interested and intend to make it your forever home offer what you like.

Be aware however than should you wish to sell the restricted headroom might put buyers off

I can't see the previous sales data, not sure where to find it. I only paid for the £7 title register. Although on the last tab where it says "charges register" it shows as Natwest Bank. 

Is that likely the bank that owns the home now, or the owners mortgage provider or something?

somerandomusername

gwynlas said:

It might have been sold following auction as some properties that fail to make their reserve price are, you could check on Land Registry.

if you are seriously interested and intend to make it your forever home offer what you like.

Be aware however than should you wish to sell the restricted headroom might put buyers off

I can't see the previous sales data, not sure where to find it. I only paid for the £7 title register. Although on the last tab where it says "charges register" it shows as Proprietor Natwest Bank. 

Is that likely the bank that owns the home now, or the owners mortgage provider or something?

user1977

somerandomusername said:

gwynlas said:

It might have been sold following auction as some properties that fail to make their reserve price are, you could check on Land Registry.

if you are seriously interested and intend to make it your forever home offer what you like.

Be aware however than should you wish to sell the restricted headroom might put buyers off

I can't see the previous sales data, not sure where to find it. I only paid for the £7 title register. Although on the last tab where it says "charges register" it shows as Proprietor Natwest Bank. 

Is that likely the bank that owns the home now, or the owners mortgage provider or something?

No, the bank doesn't become the owner, they just have the right to sell under their charge. Nothing usually changes on the register. 

jonnydeppiwish!

Auction prices normally start very low to entice bidding, but then most have a reservation them. If not met, it doesn’t sell.

looks like you’ve done your research - if you like the house (I have sloping ceilings in a chalet bungalow and they’re fine!), then go for it but I’d go in with an offer of around £163k and begrudgingly go up to £168-£169.
youre not going to lose anything with an offer like that.
if you’re feeling really cheeky, £155k

somerandomusername

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Auction prices normally start very low to entice bidding, but then most have a reservation them. If not met, it doesn’t sell.

looks like you’ve done your research - if you like the house (I have sloping ceilings in a chalet bungalow and they’re fine!), then go for it but I’d go in with an offer of around £163k and begrudgingly go up to £168-£169.
youre not going to lose anything with an offer like that.
if you’re feeling really cheeky, £155k

Yeah I'm a short person anyway and I'll just buy a low profile bed and chest of drawers for clothes it's fine. 

I think I'll take your advice and see what they say. I definitely would not want to pay more than £170k for it just because it really would be tough to sell this property to anyone over 5ft 8 really haha.

Yorkie1

Bear in mind that if it is a repossession, then you may not get much information from the seller about the property etc., as the bank won't have that knowledge.

ReadySteadyPop

jonnydeppiwish! said:

Auction prices normally start very low to entice bidding, but then most have a reservation them. If not met, it doesn’t sell.

looks like you’ve done your research - if you like the house (I have sloping ceilings in a chalet bungalow and they’re fine!), then go for it but I’d go in with an offer of around £163k and begrudgingly go up to £168-£169.
youre not going to lose anything with an offer like that.
if you’re feeling really cheeky, £155k

What are you basing your numbers on? It has already failed to sell at 140k.