Auction - can this work? How?

[LoonyIdea]

Here’s the bare bones:

I’ve seen a house I love, and it’s up for auction on July 21st with an auction house.

It’s a G2 listed house with some land.

It was previously on with A normal agent and an offer was accepted at £500k but it didn’t complete as the buyer’s solicitor wasn’t happy with a building certificate related to the underpinning. The old agent revealed that they believe the reserve to be £500k.

It is owned by MAG (Manchester Airport Group) who bought it as a compulsory purchase as a part of the A development, which never happened. They sold a lot of their portfolio but kept some with land, and this has been rented since.

My position:

I bought my husband out of my house as a part of our divorce and I now have a mortgage of £195k. My house is very saleable, on a popular estate and worth about £700 on a good day, £670 on a bad one. (Based on 3 local agents)

It was recently valued at £631 for the purposes of the remortgage as that was the figure I’d agreed with my husband some time ago.

I can put my hand on about £20k cash and everything else is in pension and in this house.

I earn £40k, PAYE.

And I really want to buy this house! How can I make it happen?

I had thought I might ask the seller to accept an offer prior to auction but if it’s ordinary auction terms then that doesn’t help me - I need more time, as it’s a cash flow issue.

I’m willing to pay a bit more for it and would go to £520 which I don’t think they’ll get at auction. The guide price is £475.

The house is uniquely unattractive to other buyers - it’s hard up against the motorway the plot is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, and the majority of the land at the back has no vehicular access at all. You can get a mower or a horse in and that’s it. And the house is a (properly underpinned) wreck. I however, love it and it would suit me perfectly.

im talking to some “we buy any house” sites and they’re talking about 75-90% of market value and could complete within a few weeks.

How should I proceed? Is this even possible?

Entire auction was delayed so it hasn’t happened yet

Oh no, the wait goes on. Fingers crossed for you Loopy.

This has really intrigued me and I've spent far too much time trying to find it. I thought I'd tracked it down and was looking forward to seeing if I was right!

I am Soooo tired. I had the photos done of my own house today for when it goes on the market. I have cleaned and chucked out and moved stuff around all week, in this awful heat. But finally the place looks presentable. Admittedly the garden is hideous, all dried out, but it’s done. I signed the estate agent paperwork earlier in the week.

As I’ve said before, this might not come off. But I will have given it EVERYTHING.

Well done on all that hard work getting your own house ready.

I've been following your adventure from your first post and feel your passion for this house. We are lucky enough to live in an over 500-year old house (was once a row of early Tudor and part-Medieval cottages, converted to one house in the late 70s). We may own the house now, but very much see ourselves as custodians, preserving it for (hopefully) many generations to come.

Despite my best efforts, I've not been able to track down your house, so am looking forward to links in the future, and hopefully photos as you progress through a gradual renovation in the future once it is yours.

Whether it works out or not, at least you can say you gave it your absolute all and could do no more. Fingers, toes and everything crossed for you.

Thankyou! I’ve been for another driveby this morning and was up until stupid o’clock researching its history and looking at LIDAR.

Im about to share something freaky.

The house I live in now, I bought with my ex husband and it was meant to be a temporary place to be until we found our forever house. Except he point blank refused to move. I grew to hate it, our marriage was miserable and this became a representation of everything I wanted gone out of my life.
I keep a journal and I’m having a big tidy out in advance of viewings and found my old journals. And here is my ideal house.

This is from years ago, but it’s all there!
wooooooooo

Okay, I'm officially on Team Loony. You have to have this house. Your list clinches in it. How are the rest of us ever to believe that the universe moves in mysterious ways and everything happens for a reason if this very obviously right thing doesn't happen? I'm settling in for the auction countdown now and sending you good vibes.

Thankyou so much!!!

I'm another one who's so obsessed with this thread that I've been trying to find the house....and I found it!

@LoonyIdea I totally get it. It has charm and character in abundance, and will be totally stunning once brought back to life. And looking at your wish list it must be destiny!

When I first read your thread, I thought you were mad to even consider it.
I then spent far too long scouring the internet…and I think I found it. It wasn’t what I imagined.
If it is the one I think it is- wow, those grounds! So evocative. Like something out of a storybook.
I’m now desperately hoping you can clinch it- and do the necessary repairs and renovations to bring the house back to glory. I would love to read your restoration diary!

I’d love to post a link but obviously I can’t!

mine is properly on the market and I just need to get it when it comes up! I’m so glad you get it - it is absolutely where I and my children and my gentleman caller need to be.

Really hoping you get it now and waiting impatiently for the time when you can share a link or photo.

I'm in awe of all your sleuthing. I've tried so hard and failed so hard.

I've read more bloody pdfs about Manchester naffing Airport and its expansion plans and ecological sodding impact than could ever have thought existed. Combed through lists of every scheduled ancient monument from Cheshire to the lake District via the Midlands. Dykes, mounds, tombs, castles, barrows - you name it and I've considered it. All those cottages practically in the duty free shops next to the blushers and perfume samples, the ruins loved by geocachers...

Come across a moated house that looked a great bet until realising it was a living museum and apparently in great health.

Bah humbug as a historical character would say.

@friskybivalves when the thread first started I spent ages looking for it and gave up. Told my DP about it and he found it in about 3 minutes flat 🙄.

OP what is 'LIDAR'?

I have to say that I love your old list with 'moat' on it.. That's quite a big wish & you found it..

It's so galling!! I'm quite proud of my internet savvy and now feel like my ancient DM when confronted with more than one TV remote.

I've been following this and I am keeping everything crossed for you OP. You deserve this house and it needs you! Good luck 🤞

Ah - this I do know 😁

Lidar is a laser mapping technique to help you accurately survey height of terrain and so on. The government (DEFRA) is doing a big programme to map the whole of England - it's being done by the Environment Agency at the moment.

www.data.gov.uk/dataset/f0db0249-f17b-4036-9e65-309148c97ce4/national-lidar-programme

Please, please post the link after all this is over...I, like probably a lot of posters, are invested for you....and have spent far to much time googling to try and find it to no avail

I absolutely promise I will.

Today’s activities include:

• checked date and time of auction. I have form for “knowing roughly” when something is happening. It is now firmed up.
• emailed (on Friday) the requested terms of the sale - ie lower deposit and longer completion time. Auctioneer wanted some of the wording altered slightly, so done that.
• Moved finances about so deposit is all in one place
• webt over the figures AGAIN about what I need to make it all work, ie how much out of current house and top price for new one
• Went to stay at gentlemen callers for the weekend so can’t make a mess at home
• dropped a key off with estate agent so they can sort viewings day or night
• decide am I going to go to their office to bid
• auctioneer said to get on a landline and have someone on the phone in the office so that my internet can’t freeze etc

Think that’s it. Anything else?

Oh yes, strategy

Not going to bid first. Ideal is that it doesn’t sell and I make a low offer afterwards. But am ready for if that doesn’t happen. Got a v clear top price. Will stick to it.

100% attend in person (if it is being filmed for HOTH, sit outside the filming view) . I once had the bidder that had run me up at an auction and won start crying (literally) as he got carried away and hadn’t even visited the property so had no idea how shit it was until I approached him as I’d also bought the one next door at the same auction and wanted to be sure he was going to start renovation immediately otherwise there was no point in me starting mine…,The auction house sold it to me post auction at the price before the other bidder had got involved. Said bidder was also told never to attend again without wearing big boy pants…. He also had to pay the buyers fee and only got the deposit less the buyers fee returned as a condition of nullifying the sale. So that was a win. 100% sit on your hands until someone else bids. the auctioneer can take ‘bids off the wall’ to run up to the buyers reserve so don’t mistake that for someone actually bidding.

Good luck!

And don’t forget insurance. The vendor is no longer required to insure the property once the contract is exchanged on the day (assuming they accept your circumstances)

As another 50 something woman I have been following this and cheering you on, though a bit frustrated that my usually good internet search skills had let me down.

Have finally found it and can see why you love it. It is lovely and could be stunning. I think it will look very different when lived in. Yes you are going to have your work cut out with all the structural stuff if you can get it and you are going to be skint for many years but you will be skint and living somewhere special to you. I think you will be able to get it generating money to help in time. Good luck !