How can I sell this f*cking house

Instawars · 2023-07-07T10:43:30+00:00

due to a relationship breakdown I need to sell my house. I am still living with ex and it’s absolutely hellish. The house has been on the market for 6 months and nothing in our area is moving. ive spoke to the estate agent and they’ve said it’s not the price “the market is just slow”. We own as tenants in common so because the estate agent keeps saying it’s not the price I can’t get my ex to sell it at well below market rate to entice a buyer that way. I am at the end of my tether and don’t know what to do. If I look on right move there are 25 properties listed in our area and only one is under offer- some have been on the market 9 months or more.

Sunnydaysarentagiveneveninjuly · 07/07/2023 11:52

Ime of mners posting a link lots of advice available to make your home more appealing!

Dotjones · 07/07/2023 11:58

Ignore what the estate agent says, it very much is the price. It is always the price. Other factors like the size, appearance, state of repair all boil down to one thing - what price is the house worth.

You say the other person won't agree to a reduced price. Well, if they are coming from the point of view of wanting the most money (as opposed to their reluctance to lower the price being a method of control/abuse), you can always reduce your share of the profit.

For example if the house is worth 200,000 and after fees and mortgage repayments your shared equity is 140,000 or 70,000 each, you could reduce the price by 30,000 and your share by the same amount, i.e. it sells for 170,000, the equity is 110,000, you take 40,000 and he takes 70,000. That way he's not affected by the drop in price.

You might say you shouldn't have to, and to an extent I agree, but it's you that seems to want a faster sale.

Thoughtful2355 · 07/07/2023 12:16

Why don't you make an agreement to lower he price but give your ex he amount you drop by

Original poster

Instawars · 07/07/2023 12:41

I’m not posting the link on here. The situation is very unpleasant and I don’t want friends and family to know.
he is financially abusive and controlling, and I don’t want friends getting involved.
i don’t think I could afford to subsidise his share- a meaningful drop would wipe out my contribution entirely and effectively put my portion into negative equity, it would mean I would need to find cash to then buy him out.
I can’t just walk away as he couldn’t take over the mortgage.
I guess I was hoping for some blue sky thinking- beyond just drop the price.

OP posts:

Testina · 07/07/2023 12:44

Not terribly blue sky, but - rent it out instead and both take equal income from the rent. Leaving you renting too though.

CrustyWingshield · 07/07/2023 12:45

A lot of homes are reducing their prices - they are still pricing at last years/2021 prices, which nobody can afford since interest rates increased.

On a mortgage calculator for what I could borrow, before interest rates went up it was 330k, now it is about 260k, which doesn't buy much round here considering what people are asking. Prices need to come down for the average person to afford them. Landlords are struggling too unless they are cash buyers. That estimate was with 10% deposit. We have a fairly good household income too. Would I buy now if I could afford to? Probably not due to risk of negative equity. I think you need to bear buyer sentiment in mind - they are weighing up the risk of negative equity at the moment with prices falling. It is not a safe investment, at least for now.

I think price is key here if you need to get it sold quickly.

Appleofmyeye2023 · 07/07/2023 12:50

Testina · 07/07/2023 12:44

Not terribly blue sky, but - rent it out instead and both take equal income from the rent. Leaving you renting too though.

Be careful about this advice

law is changing/has changed around the ease which you can terminate rental contracts at Pom you do want to sell
if either of them then purchases another property, they’ll be capital gains to pay potentially.
The income produced from renting is taxable, and could push one of them over into higher band. Even if it doesn’t do this, the rent produced will be taxed and not equate to an equivalent mortgage or even rental payment they make on their new homes.

Im99912 · 07/07/2023 13:01

As above
houses are still being priced at 20 -21 prices
a lots happened since then
unless the house is unique in some way then you need to drop the price

buyers ability to borrow has been greatly reduced so they can’t afford to borrow what they could last year and unless they have a substantial deposit they won’t be able to make up the difference

Testina · 07/07/2023 13:04

@Appleofmyeye2023 I’m not sure I’d say it was my advice 😉 Just throwing out ideas, OP would still need to do her research. In fact, that wouldn’t be my advice at all - not for the good reasons you’ve stayed, but because a co-landlord relationship with a difficult ex would be a nightmare I’m sure!

TheLifeofMe · 07/07/2023 13:07

Price is everything! If you aren’t getting offers then you need to do something drastic and the only thing you can do is a price reduction with perhaps an open day.

BasiliskStare · 07/07/2023 13:08

Personally - and is just me I would not rent it as you are then locked with Ex DP . If he won't countenance a drop in price then that is very very hard. A friend of mine many years ago had this & the moved into a spare bedroom and put a Yale lock on the door - not ideal. I had a similar situation and borrowed the money just to get out. This was in the early 90s where negative equity was rife. But I did it and I have never looked back . It's. a horrible situation @Instawars but sometimes a short term ledd than good solution can get you on track for longer term good things.

RandomMess · 07/07/2023 13:10

Go speak to other estate agents and ask them to put in writing at what price it would sell for.

Then if need be that's evidence to prove to court he is blocking sale, if need be the courts sign to sell.

noglow · 07/07/2023 13:14

Get another estate agent to value the house
Clean it
Empty it out as much as possible

LosingMyPancakes · 07/07/2023 13:15

I'd never listen to estate agents re price - haven't found one yet that knew what they were talking about. And it absolutely is the price, the market is slow right now but reasonably priced houses are selling here and fast.

Cakesandbabes · 07/07/2023 13:17

What price tag are you on approximately?
If you compare the one under offer with yours and others on market, is there some difference like decorated freshly, price?

Yy to getting another agent to look and value. Market value, agent's value ans bank's value may differ quite a lot

Cakesandbabes · 07/07/2023 13:18

Also you can NC and ask on MN property section with link for advice on selling. No back story needed

Livinghappy · 07/07/2023 13:20

How long have you had the property?

It will just give an indication on pricing.

Margaritawithlime · 07/07/2023 13:24

We are the other side of you. Have found a house we LOVE which is being sold by someone in the exact same situation. (Except for the financially controlling bit - I just know they’re splitting) we saw it loved it and put our house straight one with the same agent. Nada. Our house isn’t shifting, theirs has been on for 6 months and we are the only interested party. Our estate agent has said the same - houses just aren’t shifting.
I hope you can find a buyer

BasiliskStare · 07/07/2023 13:24

It sounds sounds horrid but I like @RandomMess idea if possible to say he is deliberately blocking the sale. But I am not a lawyer - I wish you all luck , it is a horrid situation , but there will be an answer in time. 💐

Countdowntowinter · 07/07/2023 13:25

Price is VERY important. Estate Agent sounds dumb.

It's slowed here but properties where the price is reasonable have fallen. People who have been on the market for months and not dropped probably won't sell.

Countdowntowinter · 07/07/2023 13:28

The thing is, if you hang on for that price and the market continues to fall and interest rates continue to rise then you will wipe your equity anyway and still be living with him.. Better to take control and get rid of the property, rent for a bit and see what happens to the market.

Isheabastard · 07/07/2023 13:28

Do you WFH? if you do and don’t have children, then my only solution when I was going through this was to take advantage of any offers of staying a few days with friends. But I also joined a pet sitting website (you do it for free), I had one sit for 10 days in a beautiful big house with beautiful gardens during a hot spell and just a dog and a few chickens for company. It was bliss to be out of the house for a bit. Or offer to house sit friends and family who are going on holiday.

Im retired, so I was able to do it. The website spareroom often has really cheap accommodation that’s on a fairly informal basis.

Locutus2000 · 07/07/2023 13:33

Dotjones · 07/07/2023 11:58

Ignore what the estate agent says, it very much is the price. It is always the price. Other factors like the size, appearance, state of repair all boil down to one thing - what price is the house worth.

You say the other person won't agree to a reduced price. Well, if they are coming from the point of view of wanting the most money (as opposed to their reluctance to lower the price being a method of control/abuse), you can always reduce your share of the profit.

For example if the house is worth 200,000 and after fees and mortgage repayments your shared equity is 140,000 or 70,000 each, you could reduce the price by 30,000 and your share by the same amount, i.e. it sells for 170,000, the equity is 110,000, you take 40,000 and he takes 70,000. That way he's not affected by the drop in price.

You might say you shouldn't have to, and to an extent I agree, but it's you that seems to want a faster sale.

House prices are only going in one direction right now - and the 'mortgage timebomb' is yet to go off for most people.

It may be better to take a modest loss now than face a greater one in a couple of years post-correction.

CouldIHaveThatInEnglishPlease · 07/07/2023 13:34

Nothing is moving round my way. However there was a 5 bed property that reduced its price so it was less than a 3 bed similar (Victorian terraced house - just one that had been converted etc), and it sold within 24hours.
it is ALWAYS the price. No one wants to buy a house today for £400k when next year it will only be worth £350k. People are holding out until interest rates stabilise. Even our mortgage broker (first time buyer) told us to wait at least a year if we can.
so your options are either reducing price, or you move out and rent somewhere in the meantime. Whether you ex can afford it, really isn’t your problem when he’s the one refusing to drop the asking price. I image he will when suddenly has to pay it all himself

Bromptotoo · 07/07/2023 13:35

We've sold twice in a falling or static market. In the end we rented for a bit and then bought somewhere that was being marketed at £85k in mid 1989 for £60k in 1991. The seller bit our hand off at £60 and I often wished we'd started ridiculous and gone up auction style until they agreed.

Both were in the twentieth century but I don't think the law of market economics has changed. Anything will sell if the price is right.

Are you getting viewings? If so what feedback is the agent giving? If not then what reason do people looking at that location/size/price give for rejecting it?

Both times we've sold we changed agents and on the second went for a multi-agent approach after the sole agent pissed prospective purchasers around over viewings. Make sure the agent's photos are good; do any of them inadvertently bring out bad points?

Would a lick of paint help? Somebody else said decluttering.

If you and your ex are at daggers it might be best to get accompanied viewings and make yourselves absent when people are coming.

Above all though if it's a few £k cheaper than the identical one in the road behind that'll tickle up a few potential punters. And don't be afraid to ask other agents.