Abandoned house

[Walkingdead11]

So, there's a house we pass daily on our way to school, a semi in a nice street. It's completely abandoned...all very overgrown with a car covered in plant life.......how does this happen? Someone must own this house, how do you forget a house?? It's a bit creepy tbh.

Maybe they died? That was my only thought

Often owners are in care, relatives who are in dispute. Life is difficult and lonely, even for homes. We tried to buy a home that was falling into disrepair: it was donated to a university and they would not sell it. It just tumbled down.

There's a house in our area like this. Windows all boarded up, garden completely left to its own devices etc. It's crazy how quickly a house degrades when no one is living in it!

We often wonder what happened that it's just been left like this, because it's obviously owned by someone.

Are the windows actually boarded up OP?

There were two houses near me that I used to think nobody could possibly live in. Then I started to work in community care & had to visit both!

Both had a single, elderly, bed bound resident living in one room (the living room in both cases). One house even had broken glass in his upstairs windows, but it was his privately owned home & he had no interest in spending money on repairing glass for rooms he'd never go in!

The damp was horrendous but because he just lived in one room we managed to keep that room fairly nice & warm for him. The rest of the downstairs was an ice box. He told us that nobody had been upstairs for 20 years and, honestly, that was quite believable!

My house got a bit like this, I was in negative equity but had to move to get a job and cover the mortgage and the house wasn't suitable for a btl. Friends of friends rented it mates rates with lots of promises to help decorate etc. They then left it in an awful state - they had altered electrical wiring, lost keys, damaged doors, etc and there was ivy everywhere garden a state etc. It was shocking how quickly they fucked the house up. I'm lucky they left voluntarily tbh.
(I've since sorted it and cleared the mortgage but it is still a btl.)

There is one near us. It's privately owned but the owner has disappeared. Council have now traced family and are in process of taking it to auction I believe. Why the family aren't rushing to do that I don't know!!it may be derelict but it will still go for a lot of money I think.

I believe it's 10 years abandoned before the council can intervene when privately owned.

Exactly, that's what I don't understand, houses are worth a lot of money...plus the homeless situation. I am itching to go inside and check it out........I won't of course but I love a mystery!

If its in England, the local council might have an empty homes register - especially if affordable housing is in short supply.

Sometimes the owners still live inside even if it does look derelict , there are some very sad cases where if you're a private owner your left much more to your own devices than when someone else owns the property.

Sorting out the estate after someone has died, especially if there is no will, takes a long time. When i read about the "executors year" I scoffed until I had to sort my mums estatem and that was a relatively straight forward estate with a clear will. Add into that power of attorney, grief, family conflicts or no surviving relatives -it gets complicated very easily.

My parents have successfully bought houses like this for a great price and renovated them. If you like it, you should get in touch with the land registry to see if you can trace the owner.

greygood on your parents, bring up a derelict property is graft that lots of people underestimate, a quick lick of paint it aint!

@Walkingdead11

I have been inside! Back is unlocked so when neighbours were doing there fence I popped over and had a look. It's full of stuff - literally they just walked away one day! It's a 1870's terrace and hasn't been touched for years and years if not decades so will need gutting. Holes in the roof, nesting birds and bats everything!

Done up it would sell for about £400k (2 beds) so still worth a fair bit even in the state it's in. Although I guess only suitable for experienced renovators!

Okay Toomanycats, I'll send you the address, you do all the legal stuff and renovations and just give me a nominal finders fee.........😉