Why hasn't it sold?

[TooManyAnimals94]

Been on the market 2 years! Shared ownership available. Had a cash buyer but unfortunately the HA who own the other half made admin so awful and slow she pulled out. That was 8 months ago, no bites since.

On my third estate agent. Viewings are few and far between (a lot of no shows) and often feedback is they like it but there is a large office building opposite in need of new ownership and it puts people off.

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/163116008?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

I am absolutely desperate to sell. The mortgage and service charge have gone up significantly this year and I'm really struggling every month, even claiming what I'm entitled to as a low earner.

Moved in with ex husband 7 years ago. He left 3 years ago and we can't get divorced until it sells because neither of us can afford to buy the other out and I can't afford solicitors fees until it's sold.

Any advice please.

Overpriced? I just searched properties under 250 in my town and most are only one bedroom.

Yes but the lease & the service charge.

Buyers can find better value within London now.

I'm sorry as this is an example of where you were ripped off originally tbh.

Sorry you're in this position OP. The listing is just fine IMO and it looks like a nice home, it's the service charge and lease length which are the problem.

As the lease has dropped below 80 years it will be unmortgageable and expensive to extend the lease which makes it almost unsaleable. So my suggestion to you would be to hold on for another few years until the Leasehold Reform Act is passed and will (hopefully) make it much cheaper to extend the lease.

I hear what you're saying about the regular expenses being unaffordable, but you may need to take some advice on getting your ex to contribute more. You may also have some options to increase income when your child reaches school age.

Also, service charges can be challenged. Why is it so expensive? Has there been any particular expenses recently to push it higher e.g. expenditure on new roof, that sort of thing? I ask because sometimes charges are inflated to recover the sinking fund but then drop back down. If it's just poorly managed, you may be able to get more leaseholders on side and challenge this officially, this is easier if you own a share of the freehold.

Good luck OP

I think you have to accept you are going to lose money whether that is by significantly lowering the price, auction, using something like we buy any house. Just to get rid. By the way I love your bathroom but get rid of the shower curtain and get a shower screen

The service charge is definitely off putting. But I also think the fact people don’t understand that the prior sold price was 45% is probably translating to viewers too. For example if you try to view the other flats & what they’ve sold for - it all looks like the price was also £130k ish which to the untrained eye aooears to show your property is overpriced. It’s only when you expand beyond your postcode to the 1/4 mile you see more realistically what other properties go for.
It seems strange that the full price ad doesn’t mention (I didn’t see) that it’s currently shared ownership & option to buy share exists.

Unfortunatley, based on a relatives experience, these shared ownership properties are a great idea but all the fee’s (buying / selling / remortgaging), short leasehold agreements (100yrs), and leasehold charges make them extremely expensive in the long run, In the end, they had to accept a sale rather than a sale at the price they wanted or knew the property should be worth.

I feel desperately sorry for you and all of the other SO victims.

Are there any EA's who specialise in SO sales? I won't look myself because I don't want to accidentally seem to suggest a worse EA.

I would reach out to your MP and also the BBC who have been running a series on this. It may not help you but could help others.

The big things are the ones others have listed. Generally also though the dog would put me off. Fine for you to keep them, but you have to accept some buyers being put off.

Thank you for the sympathetic and constructive replies.
I am willing to extend the lease myself during the sales process and lower the price to reflect that but if people are getting told by banks it's unmortgagable before they even make an offer then that is a problem.

I'm going to get on to the EA today and ask them to have a separate ad for the Shared Ownership option.

The service charge was racked up by 25% this year with no explanation so I will definitely be querying that.

We also get less for our money now. The gardeners used to come every week like clockwork and now it's whenever they fancy. Can't remember the last time the window cleaner came.

Communal hallways are hoovered regularly but that's about it.

Mixed responses on the photos with some saying it's nice and some pretty harsh critics!

I have to say I didn't realise the shower curtain was weird...that's just how I leave it to dry out 😅 I'm pretty sure the photographer took photos of the hallway so will ask if they can be added.

The storage space is pretty good on the whole. One massive hall cupboard and a decent airing cupboard I keep the ironing board in etc.

Essentially though, there's no silver bullet here is there? I'm stuck.

I've given up on the idea of buying anywhere else. I'm not going to walk away with enough. All I want is to get out and rent somewhere cheaper (outside of Surrey).

This may sound like a stupid question, but are you able to rent it out until some things change to make it easier to extend the lease / give you time to challenge the service charge etc?

The lease. It will cost you thousands and thousands t extend it as it’s below 80 years
it will cost you more than 6k
maybe 15 -20k as your now below what is called the marriage value

and the service charge of almost 4k a year and which will almost certainly go up

Plus your competing with new builds that have 999 year lease and no ground rent

Well I wasn’t expecting to click the link and see the place my son lives! Small world. He rents privately. I know what you mean about that derelict building, the approach isn’t great but the flats are good - quiet and so close to the station. The reason they chose Leatherhead is that it’s reasonable to commute and on two lines so if one has a problem the other should still run. I think you’re right to advertise as shared ownership too - and could they cross-refer in the full-ownership ad to say “shared option available” perhaps so it at least gives a clue to why it “sold” for £130,000? I’m sorry your service charge has gone up so much, the lease is shocking too. I just can’t believe it’s Band D council tax - can you challenge that?
The flat my son rents is a completely white box! I felt it was a bit cold at first but they are so big with good storage and great communal access for moving furniture. They are really happy renting there. I’m only saying this to try to help you feel more positive about your home! I appreciate how difficult it is with a little one and busy life but if you could get some help with decorating neutrally and “staging” I think that’s a help. When you get the sale, use a decent solicitor and try to check that the buyer will too (recent experience of selling - I used a great solicitor but buyers used online conveyancer which was just a call centre basically). Also can you get the ball rolling with the fresh lease? Make sure it’s mentioned in both ads. If I’m allowed, you can message me and I’ll tell you my solicitor (she’s reasonable too, fixed fee and will advise on who to use for lease though didn’t use for shared ownership sale). Good luck, for the right person it’s a great place to live!

Its the lease length. Under 80 years are unmortgageable and so you won't get the majority of people able to purchase. Topped with it being shared ownership and interest rates being higher than recent years you have the perfect storm for not being able to sell it.

And all that definitely makes sense from your perspective. It doesn’t make it any more attractive from a buyer’s perspective though. With all respect, your personal circumstances won’t matter to them at all. They’ll just see a flat that had a short lease and a high service charge.

We had a similar problem with our SO property. Is it still on with the HA?
We ended up asking them to rent it, a hell of a lot of back and forth and they agreed. Literally 3 days later a SO buyer the housing association found came to view and took it and it went through quickly. I’m not saying that’s exactly what will happen but keep all your options open. Our HA were shockingly bad but ultimately they have the best list of people to buy SO.

Even if it was freehold (or shared freehold) with a much lower service charge you would still have bother selling it.
Very very cluttered
Poor storage space
Dog crate in the bedroom?????
Is that a shower curtain in the bathroom?
I wish you luck selling but you will have a heck of a job unfortunately….please keep us informed if there’s any good news.

Make price of lease extension clear and start process so it can be completed day of sale with the sale income.
Or borrow 6k to lease extend

Small for a family and a private playground seems to be one swing set so hardly a playground?

Ok things you can change.

Why is the first image a picture of the car park featuring a large work truck? Retake clear or with domestic cars or just swap it for image 9 which shows the car park is a great size, bike storage and an open sunny aspect
Investigate the high service charge perhaps asking for accounts and insist the back garden is tidied up, cut the path edges etc.

Why no photo of the back of the building from the far extent of the garden?
Pots, seating and mark out your private space before retaking. Perhaps a red line on the photograph too?
Declutter to other rooms and move the dog cage for new photos. Replace kitchen cupboard door, take hanging utensils off the rack, remove stuff showing under the bed and shower curtain to the other end or removed.

Where is your entrance door, hallway?
Can you show storage cupboards?
It actually looks a pretty spacious flat, do you overlook the garden?
I would probably elect to show the external views even if it’s not great, good idea to mention the convenient double rail situation mentioned earlier.

Agree two listings to explain the SO situation.

Change agency perhaps after two years.

I would also personally start a fund to pay for the lease extension even if it was tiny at present and join the reform campaigns which would at least make me feel proactive.

@IleftmybaginNewportPagnellmentions great storage and good communal areas be nice to feature those.

The service charge is ridiculously high. We are currently selling our 2 bedroom apartment in Surrey and our service charge yearly is £1900 which i think is still a con, but that’s the standard service charge for a flat. Yours is almost double. Our lease is 120 years. Your lease is 79 which is very low. I’m
just giving you a comparison of a flat were selling. Sorry if it sounded harsh

Sorry our service charge is £1,720 a year. Even less than i thought

I think it’s nice but a lot of money. But a divorce ends your marriage and it doesn’t cost a lot if you do it yourselves you can sort the money separately

Well often when people talk about house price falls the house price rampers often say "people will hang onto their houses until the market picks up".

Unfortunately those house prices don't make the market. Forced sales, underpinned by death, marriage and divorce are what determine pricing, as illustrated here.

The good news is that probably if you make a loss on this it will only be a relatively small amount of money in housing terms.

I think the service charge is high, the lease is short and the description "playground" is somewhat ambitious.

I have no v helpful advice, I'm afraid @TooManyAnimals94 but just wanted to express my sympathy for your situation.

Can you get the agent to make it extremely clear in the listing that you will pay to extend the lease during the process. The other option would be to borrow £6000 but that might not be a possibility in your difficult situation.

The price is excessive for a lease that short.

I'm going to contact the EA today and say this. Also mention a few of the other good suggestions on here like swapping or adding different photos.