Help me solve this mystery

[gettingtothebottomofit]

There's a flat near me that's been for sale but not sold in forever and I have no idea why. I'm not related to it, no idea who the owner is, but I look at property in my area regularly and it's been up for ages and often with multiple agents. Every time I look at it I'm tempted to buy it as a rental, but I figure there must be something wrong with it that I don't know about.

First sold in 2004 for £215k. Now, over 20 years later, they can't shift it at £200k.

Service charges seem reasonable enough.
Nearly 1000 years left on the lease.
On the edge of a highly regarded historical private estate.
Private gated parking spot.
Lots of amenities within a short walk, plus a short walk into the city centre.
Not many neighbours - I think there are 5 other flats in each building.
Cheaper than other flats in the nearby area - there are ones further down the same road at over £100k more.

It's on a road but not a huge one and it's a road that's a lot quieter than it used to be as a few years ago they introduced a bus-only thing a lot further down near the city and turned a chunk of it into a cycle-only lane so people avoid it more. Enough to make it less congested but not enough to make it annoying for residents.

I have a friend who owned a flat in one of the other blocks a few years ago and he didn't know of any problems.

Looking at the other flats in the same blocks, they've all struggled to sell and haven't increased in value - they've decreased a bit in the last 20 years - but literally no idea why. It's just those ones, there have been other new build flats in the area and they sell easily.

There are even some studios elsewhere on the road that are rented out for £1k/month for one tiny room but landlords are clearly avoiding these specific flat blocks and have been for 20 years and I have no idea why.

I bought my current property, the same size but a house rather than a flat, in the same area, at £180k in 2008 and now it's worth nearly £100k more than this flat even though it should be worth a bit less.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/157294160#/?channel=RESBUY

Help me solve the mystery? Why wouldn't you buy it at £200k, or what am I missing?

Every time I look at it I'm tempted to buy it as a rental, but I figure there must be something wrong with it that I don't know about.

There's your answer. If it's been on the market for a long time, people will be put off because they will assume there is a good reason nobody else has bought it.

I wonder if the owner is refusing to accept offers around £200k because they think it should be worth more?

Have you been round to look at it / spoken to the agent?

Bars on the windows. Security concerns.

I'm just that kind of person, I need to know why. If you think this is bad you really don't want to hear about the time I contacted an author about their book 😂

I don't think it would answer my question unless I get a particularly honest estate agent, which I think has only ever happened once🤔

I wonder if it's subject to a trust and they are testing if it's in the interests of the benefactors to sell or continue renting out. It would seem unnecessary to actively market it but could be a possibility.

I feel like owner is the most likely reason, although at the same time I think they're desperate to sell - they had it listed with 5 different agents at one point. Although all at exactly the same price. So maybe they are demanding it be put on higher than the estate agents are happy with, although still a mystery as to why it's so low in the first place.

Oh that's interesting, hadn't thought of that.

Could it just be that it was overpriced when it was new?

There was some flats like that near where I used to live. Ridiculously expensive when brand new so price change over time is much less than houses in the same area.

I've just looked at the sale data - the flats were built in 2002 and were sold for around £90-100k. One of those flats sold a year ago for £59k and another one for around £100k. At best they've maintained their price in 22 years.

At the time I lived in a 2 bed terrace round the corner that was valued for remortgage at £50k. I sold it in 2006 for £105k and now it's probably worth about £150k.

So it makes sense that a stone built, quite spacious 2 bed terrace is worth £150k and a 2 bed leasehold newbuild small flat in the same area is worth £100k.

What doesn't make sense is that same flat is worth £100k when the house was worth £50k. There's a small premium for new build but not that much.

If other flats in the same block are struggling to sell then is it something to do with building regs - cladding (there is new regulation post grenfell that is making things difficult for lots of flat owners)? Asbestos? Is there problem with the managing agents? Or a large, expensive issue that leaseholders will need to pay for soon eg new heating or new lifts?

Either that, or it’s haunted

Castle Boulevard gets very congested.
The traffic is awful at times.
Unless you access it without going onto CB.
It is on the edge of a lovely area though.

I think that they are vertical blinds not bars.

I'm just that kind of person, I need to know why. If you think this is bad you really don't want to hear about the time I contacted an author about their book 😂

I do! That sounds a good story and I need cheering up. Was it a "can you explain to me why the butler in Chapter 5 left the lights on but didn't at the beginning of chapter 20" sort of question to the author.

Maybe if you go and view it you will find the answer or maybe it is to do with the market, the price and the area demographic.
So maybe the property would suit a first time buyer but the area is not first time buyer friendly and a more family /older demographic.
Or for similar reasons its not very rentable

Possibly although the service charges are reasonable, the lease makes provision for racheting ground rents that have potential to go skyward.

Maybe if lots of the other properties are empty, it has a sad empty vibe putting people off living there alone.

Yes I want to hear about the author too!

Really awful floor plan. Bars on the window and poorly proportioned windows.
it’s rather repulsive really, I can only imagine how stuffy it is in the winter.

That’s true about the traffic - but it wouldn’t explain why that flat in particular isn’t selling.

I think the poster who suggested some kind of trust might be on to something. Or maybe a probate sale where one interested party just wants to get it sold, but another is battling for a higher price.

Estimated service charge of £2000 per year is quite a lot given the price. That may well increase and there is also the potential cladding issue which might exist.

Yes it it quite high for the area. Might be because there are some caves on the land maybe.

Not sure there's cladding?

There aren't any lifts which could be an issue maybe, but it's one flight up and I can't imagine the typical market being older people, because there are other areas more popular with them.

Think it's too new for asbestos but could be wrong.

No idea on heating but good shout because doesn't necessarily look like standard radiators?

Hmm, interesting theory re the ground rents thing.

Re the story, Basically it was a local author who wrote a fiction novel about an estate agent murdering people. At the end of the book it says in the notes that it was fictional but inspired by a friend's property hunting story. I went to view a property in that area soon after because it was a place we'd looked at a few properties in before. Making conversation because it was a weird coincidence I'd picked it up off my pile recently, I mentioned it to the estate agent showing us round, who not batting an eyelid said, "Yes, it's based on me. I've not read it but I've heard about it."

So I contacted the author to find out if this guy was really dodgy - obviously I didn't think he was actually a murderer but I also didn't want to give a massive commission to someone who was so annoying/stressful/shady someone had made them into a fictional murderer for their book.

You're right that they aren't radiators. They are electric heaters.

And the EPC is poor.