Can I sell shabby flat with damp?

[Dingdong99]

I bought a flat in London in 2016 and it's massively gone down in value in that area and i paid too much for it perhaps. It's rented out but i find the whole thing quite stressful, and am actually losing money on it as the rent (after tax) doesnt cover the mortgage any more

The flat is very tired and has some damp. I'd like to sell it but i'm worried that it won't sell in it's current state, and i might lose my tenant (she's lovely so i wouldnt want her to leave unless it sells) as she'll get nervous, and i could then be left with an empty flat

Should I spend money sorting the issues like damp and the knackered kitchen and bathroom, in order to sell it? Will anyone buy a flat with damp? I cant decide what to do. Any advice or similar experiences would be appreciated

Is the damp solvable easily?

Why are you not sorting out the damp for your existing tenant?

Plenty of people want a fixer upper, imo it’s pointless when people do cheap work like a bargain basement kitchen just to sell a home when it will need ripped out in a few years.

It will need to be priced accordingly and marketed as ‘in need of modernisation’ so the buyers don’t try to renegotiate on the price post surgery.

Many Victorian homes in London have damp, it’s not that big of a deal for a buyer to address.

Agree that finished biggest issue.

Knackered kitchen, bathroom and damp.. letch

Disgraceful that you won't sort out the damp for your existing tenant! Poor woman

Obviously a wind up.

Why aren't you answering the question asked!

@Dingdong99 anything will sell at the right price, you might just not like that price.

You can arrange viewings while the tenant is there, but you will need her to be onside. It's a big imposition, and why should she be helpful in making herself homeless?

You won't be able to exchange contracts though without having "vacant possession". Which might make out viewers off because it may take at least two months from you giving notice to the tenant to be at that stage. (And if that buyer pulls out before exchange you're left with an untenanted unsold flat.)

Sell it for what you can get, OP. Then all the virtue signallers telling you how horrid you are will have achieved their goal of making another person homeless.

Sort out the damp. Make it look nicer. You'll be able to put the rent up and it will all be far less stressful.
Or sell it and price it accordingly.
To be honest either way your tenant with either have to pay more or leave.

Confused as to how to think your tenant is so lovely but are quite happy to rent her a shitehole with damp which is actually dangerous to her health, at a price that is soo low your losing money because you're so generous. I'd love to see you sleep there for a night. Can't stand a slum landlord

The damp is a new thing. The tenant hadnt told me about it but I visited yesterday and saw it

The self righteousness in your comment @Allthegoodnamesarechosen
I think I will rather be homeless than put my health at risk living in damp & mould.
You don’t realise how detrimental it is to one’s health.

It doesn’t sound like you have the finances to sort out the issue @Dingdong99
I think you should just price accordingly and sell. Give your tenant enough notice to find a better place to live

If it’s damp as a result of the way the tenant is living I’d give her notice, get some dehumidifiers in and then sell. If not, I.e a leak, you’ll need to fix the issue realistically if you want to sell it at a decent price.

"Damp" isn't really a thing a flat has - it's a symptom. As a PP has said, it could be to do with the lifestyle of the tenant, it could be to do with lack of maintenance, it can be a much bigger design flaw with the building, but it's most likely that it's a temporary issue that just needs sorting. There's really no point knowingly selling a flat with an issue that will scare buyers and reduce the value if you just fixing it first will get you a better price and an easier sale.

The decorative things though - kitchen etc - someone will always be in the market for a doer-upper.