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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask what to do when you just can't sell a house?

92 replies

lavenderlily · 16/10/2017 09:03

I bought my house in 2009 for £110,000.

(Please don't all start marvelling at how cheaply northerners live Hmm)

It is a three bed terrace. I have now relocated and we are CRAMMED into a flat. I want to sell the terrace. But it will not sell.

Reasons - well, no off road parking, which didn't bother me when I bought it but appears to bother everybody else Sad There are also wooden steps leading up to the garden which I love but everyone else seems to hate! The bathroom is ridiculously small and there is only one.

Since 2014 it's been let out and brings £500 a month. Should I just accept that it's mine for life and brings in £500 a month?

EAs have all valued it at £120,000 but I haven't ever got any offers at all, even so called 'cheeky' ones.

OP posts:
Fionnbharr · 16/10/2017 11:00

I think the property market in the north has been stagnant for a while. Prices went up too much. Owners believe their house is “worth” x and will not sell for below that price. Lots of houses sit on the market for month. The uncertainty around Brexit means alot of buyers think prices will drop so they are waiting it out.

The only thing you can do is drop the price substantially.

Or you can try renting. But that can be a nightmare if you are not an experienced landlord.

Dowser · 16/10/2017 11:01

Can you use your rental income ( keeping some back for tax and repairs of course) to rent a bigger flat.

BarbaraofSevillle · 16/10/2017 11:06

I'm not sure I agree Fionn. It's only the last couple of years that prices in the north have got back up to peak 2007 levels. Between about 2010 and 2015 prices were below that level when they were racing ahead in the south.

Therefore there is much less of a bubble to burst and houses are still affordable even when people aren't earning much above NMW - a couple on £15-20k each could get a mortgage for a property around £100-120k or so, probably for about the same as what is costs to rent.

You're probably right about Brexit related uncertainty though.

5rivers7hills · 16/10/2017 11:07

Give us a link OP!

hellsbells77 · 16/10/2017 11:08

Am I right in thinking you had been renting the house out but didn't have tenants at the time you put it on the market so were selling it empty? Did you refresh the house after the tenants left and before you put it on the market to sell? Does it feel like a rental property or a home?

The rental market is different to the sales market. Rental are more likely to put up without something that is a bit of a compromise because they know they are unlikely to be there long whereas someone buying the property is less likely to want to make a compromise. Some people can see passed things and know they can easily be changed, like a lick of paint or new carpets, others aren't prepared to give the time or the money towards that, which is why I asked the question as to whether it feels like a home. People buying want to feel like they're walking into a home not just a house.

I actually don't think £500 a month for rent is that bad, probably not for your area anyway, and I'm guessing the reason you want to sell the house is to release some equity to buy a new place rather than the flat you're currently living in? As you don't currently have a mortgage on the house, it may be worth looking into a buy to let mortgage to be able to release some capital. They are usually interest only mortgages and there is some tax relief, although there are some changes to the buy to let market with this regards. As you are currently liable for tax on most of the rental income you are currently getting (less certain upkeep expenses) it may be a better option for you but get some tax and financial advice first.

SockEatingMonster · 16/10/2017 11:08

I know it shouldn't matter BarbaraofSevillle, that's why I was surprised when friends who have recently bought/sold/are selling were told to drop prices to tie in with it. I wonder if it's a hangover from the old way? These are all friends who have bought/sold within the last couple of years.

DrunkOnEther · 16/10/2017 11:08

As others have said, the main factor for houses selling or not is price. Have you had a look around at recent sold prices in the area?
If you've relocated, are you still familiar with the area - has anything been built/developed nearby recently that's putting people off; or has permission been granted for anything? Or even new developments nearby that people are buying new houses in instead of older houses?

Parking is much more a thing these days than it used to be. My sister's currently buying a house & her top requirement was off-road parking, as atm, where she's renting, she sometimes has to park streets away due to so many cars about these days.

Oddly, houses here (north Staffs) are largely being snapped up in the £90-110k price bracket. Lots on the market for only 1-2 weeks before selling. Step up to £120k and they're hanging around much longer.

One thing re:price might be to have a think/look at average salaries in the area, and see how it correlates to mortgage possibilities, and in turn the rental price. For example, sister is on a fairly average salary, has a small-ish deposit, and determined she could not pay more than about £105k. Her mortgage payments will be a c.£100 pcm saving over her rent.

I guess I'm just musing that under £110k, is still first-time buyer with standard-income territory; while over this is not.

My general rule of thumb is if you're not getting viewings, it's the price; if you're getting viewings but no offers, it's the house.

Tbh, if you want it sold, I'd make sure it looks good, then in the spring put it back on for £110k. Otherwise at least you're getting an income from it, and could continue to do so.

SockEatingMonster · 16/10/2017 11:10

Mind you we are in a very rural area and we do always joke that we operate at least a decade behind the rest of the UK Grin

PurpleCrazyHorse · 16/10/2017 11:10

Have you searched for similar properties in the area on RightMove or similar? What houses come up with the same number of bedrooms, what does the listing look like, the photos etc, the price (obviously). What are you competing with? We also sold our house for £164,999 rather than £165k so it came up in the searches upto £165k (as it was only a two bed but a bit more expensive due to parking for two cars and a bigger garden than the others on our estate).

When we sold our house, we did so with a super cheap online estate agent. They provided a decent floor plan but totally rubbish photos and description. DH redid the photos (we knew the best angles to show our house off, how the garden looked in the sun etc), we decluttered and then immediately took the photos (and retook them until they were right) and I rewrote the description based on the ones I found most useful on RightMove.

We also did the viewings and as someone else said, we were able to say what work we've done and why, what needed doing, the fact our old boiler had passed it's annual inspection every year and was so basic it was likely to last for ages. We sold our house for the asking price in 6hrs to tenants down the road.

Price is key, but so is advertising. Your advert has to stand out amongst the rest by looking great and having all the info a buyer wants to know.

karriecreamer · 16/10/2017 11:13

I'm in the North too, and prices really havn't gone up in the last 10 years, in fact they're generally stagnant and you tend to need to reduce to sell. If you paid £110 in 2009, then, sorry, but you'll probably not get more than £100 for it now. The house next to my office was sold for £210 in around 2014 and is currently down to £180 and still no interest!

5rivers7hills · 16/10/2017 11:18

I think that price bracket especially got hit by the bubble - the 100% sub-prime mortgages enabled lots of people to buy around the £100k price bracket who really can't afford to do so now (no deposit, less than ideal credit).

Bluntness100 · 16/10/2017 11:19

Everything sells for the right price. If it’s not selling it’s becayse it’s priced incorrectly. I’m sorry.

OnionShite · 16/10/2017 11:28

Where in the north are you?

There are some areas where the market is pretty buoyant and some where it's really not. Estate agents have been known to overvalue! There are plenty of places where you're not going to get any more now than you did in 2009. If the estate agent is saying 120k now when you bought it for 110k in 2009, I think your area is likely to be one of the non-buoyant ones. Also the tenants and the lack of drive/garage parking are two things that will automatically put some people off, for better or for worse.

But yes, if a property really won't sell, it's too expensive. There will be a price at which someone will take it off your hands. If you don't believe me, put it on for offers above 90k and see what happens. If you don't want to do that, you have your answer to the question about whether you should just accept it'll be yours forever.

mothertruck3r · 16/10/2017 11:35

It's probably overpriced. A house is only worth what someone will pay for it.

mothertruck3r · 16/10/2017 11:36

By the way, you do know that if you sell you'll have to pay Capital Gains tax as you have been renting it out?

BarbaraofSevillle · 16/10/2017 11:39

But it doesn't sound like there has been a 'capital gain' so there wouldn't be any tax would there?

5rivers7hills · 16/10/2017 11:42

By the way, you do know that if you sell you'll have to pay Capital Gains tax as you have been renting it out?

She won't have a capital gain liability if she sells for £10k more given indexation allowance and annual allowance

HolgerDanske · 16/10/2017 11:44

Put the price down.

A house is only worth what people are willing to pay for it given its particular set of circumstances.

MoosicalDaisy · 16/10/2017 11:46

Raffling off houses is becoming more popular. People are selling tickets, which if all sold, will total twice the value of the house!

Wdigin2this · 16/10/2017 11:46

If you're not getting viewings, the price is too high for the area.
If you are getting viewings, but no offers, people are not liking your house for whatever reason!
I suggest you as please your estate agent to be brutally honest with you about what viewers are saying, plus if it's tenanted, are you sure the house is empty, clean and tidy when it's viewed?

burninghigh · 16/10/2017 11:51

If you don't have a mortgage on it I would remortgage it and use that money as a deposit for your next property. Not sure how the tax works on rentals anymore have a feeling you can't deduct mortgage interest so you will need to look into that.

You may well be able to keep it and be in
Practically the same situation financially as if you had sold it.

Original poster
lavenderlily · 16/10/2017 11:55

Thanks for your thoughts!

OP posts:
GrumpyOldBag · 16/10/2017 11:55

You are getting £6,000 a year income from a house valued at £120,000.

That's a yield of 5%.

That's not bad actually in the current interest rate climate.

I would take it off the market, rent it for another 6 months, and then re-evaluate as the market may have picked up by next spring.

AngryBurds · 16/10/2017 11:58

OP, where are you? Im IN NW, and houses arent shifting, blaming brexit. am hoping we will benefit from HS2 though...

LostMyMojoSomewhere · 16/10/2017 12:05

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