trying to sell some of our London portfolio but they are not shifting, its the slow winter market right?

[sPJPPp]

We have several btl in London bought around 2008-2009. We want to sell some to reduce our risk as two of them have expensive building works coming up and if the interest rate rises we won't make much, so want to release the money earnt in the last few years.

Every estate agent says how booming the market is but the flats we have in new cross have been on the market for 2 months now and no movement.

Its just the winter market right?

You have overpriced them. Simple as that.

From what the OP states, they have been marketed as investments with tenants in place. The tenants have now given notice.

OP they were probably overpriced and the particulars now need an overhaul of the situation has changed. We don't know how things with the tenants were handled, but I can fully understand why they have given notice as the uncertainty will not have given much comfort.

If, not of

I think you ought to market them as vacant and not mention the tenants at all if they've since given notice anyway.

Lots of people cannot get a mortgage on a property that already has a tenant in situ, even if they fully intend to let it out anyway. They have to buy it first and find the tenant afterwards.

Thread title is a massive Roneik klaxon.

At least they aren't garages.

Not many BTL investors want to buy with tenants already in place.
There is only a very small market for that sort of thing.

You'd widen the appeal considerably if you sell with vacant possession and after the tenants have gone.

That way the flats would appeal to anyone whether they wanted to occupy, refurbish or refurbish and let out.

I think your problem is selling as an investment. The auction rooms are very busy at the mo with a lot of good vacant stock coming out. Ie flats for refurb and then suitable for btl.

And wait until tenants have vacated so you can clear the flats so they don't look so ex rental. That can put buyers off.

Another option is to sell at auction if you're under pressure. Worth looking into if you really need a defined deadline for getting your money out.

Are they,in fact, garages?

Not sure we will have the funds to keep them going without a tenant. I don't want to loose any of the money in them, but maybe forced to do so if no one buys soon

It might be with the election looming people are waiting to see what the outcome is. Before buying. Two months is no time at all in a lot of the country. This just shows how reliant people are on an ever booming London market with property being snapped up in a day and every rising prices. If salaries aren't going up I can't see how huge rises in property prices can be sustained.

With it being a student area, have you been told the potential buyer will prob be a landlord? If so what would the rental yield be if you sold at asking price?

I've been selling a flat in south London - the market has been much quieter than I expected it to be (although it is now under offer). The various agencies I have spoken to have blamed uncertainty due to the election - I'm not entirely convinced by that. My feeling is that property is a lot more price sensitive than it was a year ago and you have to price keenly. A lot of properties on the market are very clearly ex-BTLs and, if yours looks like that - slightly tired, impersonal - then it (a) won't stand out (b) may put some people off. If your tenants are leaving, I'd use it as an opportunity to (a) sack the agency - one viewing a fortnight in London is ludicrous (b) sort out an overdraft and spend a few hundred repainting etc if need be.

I'm in London as well and in this area things are moving which suggests you may need to reconsider your pricing and/or change agents. The only properties that seem to "hang around" here are overpriced. Even if they're not in great condition but are priced realistically, then properties are selling.

Would you be losing money (I.e. getting less than you paid for them) if you reduced the price? Or would you just be making less than you previously thought you could when you sold? I'd be amazed if they're actually worth less than you paid for them.

Daisy OP said that they were bought in 2008/9. If it was summer 2008 then they could well have bought at the top of the market and be very disappointed by the return.