Does no one want a bungalow?

[Chaletbungalow]

I have my bungalow up for sale.

Every viewer we have had has loved it but as it is on a road with huge 3 storey houses and it has a good sized plot similar to the other houses
Every viewer has wanted to knock it down and build a big house on the plot.

The problem is about 15 years ago I tried to do what other potential buyers want to do and that was to knock it down and rebuild.
The problem was first finding an architect who would actually deal with the local planning department. Once they knew the planning department the architects refused to touch it.

Eventually found an architect out of the area.
I would put in plans of what I thought was a sensible house.
The planning officer would say to change certain things. I would tell my architect what needed changing. The revised plans would be submitted then there would be something else that needed changing etc etc then they would say it needed to change again and what they described was the first plans I showed them. Then the whole thing would start again.

This went on for about 2 year before I gave up. It was like dealing with a group of people who were pathological liars and you couldn’t trust what they said.
No one would believe me when I told them what they did or said.
My architect tried to deal with them at one point to no avail and told me to give up and refused to deal with them again.

Soon after I had given up they met their match with another person who had tried and succeeded on appeal to get planning. I won’t go into details but it culminated in virtually all of the planning department being dismissed.

We did go ahead and put in for planning at one point (unfortunately I couldn’t go to the meeting otherwise I would have spotted the errors and pulled it out of the meeting on the night)
The planning officer we were dealing despite having all the figures and room sizes put down her own version for heights of rooms so it looked like the height of the house would look like a tower block.
I.e ceiling height for the ground floor was 2.4m. Ceiling height that was put before committee was 24m. Then it was drawn so it looked like the house spread up to the boundary on either side.

It was a complete mess.

Don’t get me started on the cubic footage. Even basic maths didn’t add up. Eg living room was put down as eg 24m height x 6 metres width x 10m length=1,159,997 cubic metres

The problem I am having is their refusal is on my planning history and because of this the people who want to buy the place are seeing this and don’t want to proceed.

They don’t see the ridiculous rehashed plans and the made up figures that didn’t add up which led to the refusal.

A development has since gone up down the road on what was green belt land and other people have extended to the side and out the back and our other ndn has had a massive side and back extension so I am thinking that if someone came along now with a hopefully more sensible planning dept they would get their plans through.

Otherwise how do I get someone who actually wants to live in the place as a bungalow without them looking at it and going down the development potential route

Or someone to look at the history of the planning department and realise that the refusal was not because they objected to any house being built on the plot but because of the fictitious height and spread of the plans.

Unfortunately because of new practices you can’t talk to the planning department anymore

You can get outline planning permission can't you? Not the finer detail, I'm under the impression that's cheaper and quicker

2 were developers. And I am only fixating on the planning issues as that is what everyone has come back with their feedback.

We have had 6 viewers in the 10 days we have had it up for sale and they all said the same thing.
Everyone loves it but having seen it they would want to tear it down and build a house.

It is up for nearer the million mark (pre Covid all 3 agents we had round said it would have been valued at over the million.

The other houses on the road on nearer £2million at least and rise to £20million for a huge place up the road which has several acres and I think they see my bungalow and even if there first thoughts were they wanted a 4 bed place and it ticked all the boxes seeing it with the setting of big detached houses people are seeing how much money they could make if they built on the plot and it seems to be blinding them to the fact it is a well priced house on its own.

A couple of viewers even the agent has pointed out to them that if it ticks all the boxes of what they were looking for why would they need to do anything with it.

So frustrated.

Developers. That’s your market. Quick sale, won’t be so fussed as a regular residential purchaser about planning. You need to market your house in different ways. Auction would be better for you

Developers want to develop and they can’t develop anything with what looks like a load of hassle.
I have been following the auctions quite closely and whilst stuff at £2-300,000 gets a fare price the more expensive properties don’t reach the price they should.

We can’t afford to put it in an auction without a reserve and if it doesn’t get the reserve you have to pay and we don’t have thousands lying around in the bank to pay an auctioneer anything.

hedgehogger1 with Covid there are months delays just to answer a question let alone get anything in for actual permission and as I said I can’t afford to.
For what we would need it would cost about £1000 for the council pre application advice and the planning submission and more for the architect. Given how much it cost me last time for the drawings and the never ending alterations and the fact that the initial pre application advice only goes as far as one meeting, a re draw of plans then if it isn’t resolved with the redraw you have to pay again and then again without end.
I did start down this route and like a lot of people I have talked to in the area at the time it did seem like a money maker rather than paying for guidance.

It's been up for sale for 10 days. Be patient! The market for bungalows is quite substantial, the market for bungalows costing £1million isn't, so it might take a little while to find your buyer. But less than two weeks is an unrealistic expectation. If it's still not sold in two months then you may have to think about auction, planning permission, other ways to address the situation. But right now you just need one person to come along who wants to buy it as is, and you haven't given it long enough.

I'm honestly not saying this to be rude but you're clearly very stressed over this and over the long and convoluted planning history. I think it's really important buyers don't pick up on this as they may find it unnecessarily off-putting so, if you're not already, I really think you should make sure you're not there for viewings.

Ok, so your bungalow is the “odd one out” in the area as everyone else has developed.

Have you looked at their planning applications online (all councils now keep them online) to compare what neighbours did more recently than your application with yours? You might see that the drawings you have don’t need much work and that outline permission (albeit slow) is achievable. You say you need a quick sale, how quick are you hoping for?

If you can’t sort the planning out for yours, you could highlight that your near neighbours got planning x months ago, changed the bungalow to a 4 bed house, so sell based on that precedent.

I realise money seems tight so you probably have the following options:

Invest some money in getting some work done towards planning

Drop your price to offset the lack of planning permission

Auction and take the risks attached to that

Wait

It’s a slow market, not everyone wants to go on viewings especially those that may be attracted to a bungalow as it stands if they are vulnerable or shielding. You’ve been on the market for a very short time in this context.

I think you’re going to have to compromise between speed of selling and the price you get/costs of selling somewhere down the line. Sorry, just trying to be realistic about it for you.

I really think you should make sure you're not there for viewings

I am never there for viewings. I leave it to the estate agent.

Not sure how I am supposed to stop the planning history on the local planning authorities website being seen.

Dh has been given a terminal diagnosis of a year and we want to make the most of things and due to Covid neither of us has a job.
I am stressed.

I am sorry about your DH. I can see why you don’t want to have to deal with planning. Do you have to sell? Maybe connect to some of the charities that can offer advice if there are any sources of support/financial support available if money is tight, some offer grants or benefits advice.

I wouldn't go to auction, I did and it was a very expensive experience.

Can we see a Rightmove link please

That was what I was thinking too Salome61

I can’t see anyone going to an auction would pay anything close to what the house is worth even at the reduced price.

I did phone up one of those we buy any house places and they did give me an offer but it is £100,000 less than we would accept and what we will accept is £100,000 less than the agents valued it.

I'm really sorry, OP, that's such a difficult situation and of course you're stressed. I still would give it a bit longer - I know it's hard - but then I wouldn't be afraid to drop the price - you say there's a big gap between the current price and the minimum you'll accept, so hopefully you could get somewhere in the middle and still shift it fast. I know it won't be easy to get less than you feel it's worth but you'll essentially be paying for a quick sale and that sounds like it would be a good use of money - it would be worth a lot of money to have this stress over the house behind you.

I know that you are stressed but really stop going over the planning issue. Times have changed, planning will be easier and a buyer will be found. I am tempted to say have a look at your sale price as that is more likely to be the deal breaker.

When all 6 viewers have left feedback and said the planning application 15 years ago is the issue then as much as I don’t want to think of planning it keeps coming up.

I think the price is ok. The agent knows we are flexible. The offers we have had are all well below what the We Buy Any House people offered which was already a low price.
We couldn’t afford to buy a tiny terraced house in the area for what these viewers were offering.

The agent already thinks we have put it up for an incredibly low price.
Maybe that is why I am attracting a certain type of viewer.
I really can’t go any lower with the price and if I had too then I wouldn’t need to have an agent as I would sell to a company who would take it within 7 days and not have to deal with estate agents or viewers.

It may be you need to price it higher, the low price might be making people think “what’s wrong with it”...

If you are feeling brave, post the link. You'll get constructively brutal honesty about the pricing, decor, etc which may help you to know which way to go.

I am so sorry about your husband and can appreciate why you want to sell quickly and don't want a lot of stress.

@Chaletbungalow if you post the link you can always ask MNHQ to delete it later.

Can you move area? Then you might find that the £200,000 is absorbed by the area move and isn't a problem.

It's really tricky. Pricing lower may make people feel that it's essentially being sold as a plot of land with an inconvenient bungalow on it that they should knock down and replace - and then planning will be a huge issue. But then you're back to waiting for the person who wants to live there as is to come along and knowing that that's a smaller group and so it could mean waiting quite a while longer.

I think Hardbackwriter I think you might have a point.
In our rush to sell and move on we have gone so low that the people we are getting are the ones looking at it as a building plot rather than a perfectly nice home.

6 viewers all wanting to pull the place down and start again seems a little strange.

I really don’t think it is the price especially comparing it to what else is for sale in the neighbourhood.

I really don’t want to post a link. The link with a little research would lead to what we consider private information. Dh and I were the subject of fraud years ago and it was a horrible and frightening experience suddenly finding that you had no control of your bank account and finding loans taken out in our name. We value our privacy because we know where a little careless information given can lead to.

"The problem was the planning officer was the one who got the heights wrong and the committee only went with what was in front of them."

Why didnt you appeal the decison made by committee? You might even have been awarded costs if the decision was based on a mistake by the council officer.

6 viewers all wanting to pull the place down and start again seems a little strange.

This is what your estate agent should be doing for you - finding out why that is and pre-screening viewers better.

It could be that it’s seen as a money making opportunity and in effect you’re selling the plot. If so then you will need to do something about the planning, sorry I know that’s not what you want to hear.

I think you need to get the estate agent working harder!

Apologies if already suggested but I have not read the whole thread. I suggest getting an architect on board again and ask them to apply for an outline application. You are then applying for the potential to construct a two storey house and you dont need to do any fiddly drawings of the house. If you gain permission this will add value to the land and then whoever buys this from you can argue the toss with the council about the finer details .

Dh has been given a terminal diagnosis of a year and we want to make the most of things and due to Covid neither of us has a job.
I am stressed.

You need to reconsider your strategy here. We are no longer in the kind of property market where you can put a house up for sale and immediately have buyers biting your hand off.

It could take you weeks if not months to find a buyer and then you will have to wait for all the conveyancing to be done not only for your house but possibly others in a chain. It could be Christmas or later before this is all done.

Although it's understandable that you don't want to let the house go for a lot less than it's worth, you need to also consider how valuable it will be to you as a couple to be able to move on from this as quickly as possible in order to enjoy what time your DH has left.

Op, I am so sorry about your dh. Have to say that I agree with NotDavidTennant about giving yourselves as easy a life as possible for the time being. Best of luck with whatever you decide.