Anyone on here ever bought a repossessed property ?

Spanish

We are looking at buying a property that is under an eviction order. People had been evicted but are now back in the property under some legal loophole. Any experience out there ? How did you overcome getting a mortgage, we cannot get a surveyor in to look at the place so therefore cannot get a mortgage offer.

paulsturgess

My brother bought one a week ago. There was nobody living in it though.

eaststandmike

My son bought his first house last year from a lady who was being evicted, she had defaulted on her mortgage so the bank kicked her out.
He got a mortgage OK but due to the baliff's having to get her out by force a little damage was caused when they changed all the locks and turned off the water and electric.
My son tried to negotiate the price down due to the damage but it was a case of "take as it is or we auction it" by the bank so he went through with the purchase.

Spanish

Cheers for feedback. I believe all power, water etc., disconected, can't be too nice living there in fact? Did either experience any grief from the previous owners? I imagine they are put on notice banning them from doing so, being in the area??

eaststandmike

Spanish said:

Cheers for feedback. I believe all power, water etc., disconected, can't be too nice living there in fact? Did either experience any grief from the previous owners? I imagine they are put on notice banning them from doing so, being in the area??

Not so much grief from the people that moved out but they left the place in a poor state, the place was filthy which is not what you would expect when moving into a new home.

He is not living in it yet anyway as he has gutted it and re-decorated from top to bottom, hoping to move in this June.

Spanish

Cheers ESM, yeah we'd be doing the same if we're successful, complete renovation, so effectively unless they tamper with the structure then they're welcome to. Did your son have any complications with the purchase ? Completely new territory for me.

eaststandmike

Spanish said:

Cheers ESM, yeah we'd be doing the same if we're successful, complete renovation, so effectively unless they tamper with the structure then they're welcome to. Did your son have any complications with the purchase ? Completely new territory for me.

No complications that I can think of, the house was put up for sale by a Bexleyheath estate agent on behalf of the bank and when my son spotted it he viewed it like any other house, the only thing that was slow was the negotiations because my son put in several offers before they agreed on the final sale price and they all had to be approved by the bank via the estate agent.

As I said he did discover a bit of damage to doors and the flooring in the lounge caused by the bailiff and electric company however when he went back to the estate agent/bank to see if he could knock a bit more money off they both said "no, take it as it is or not at all"

stilladdicted

We bought an empty repo for daughter when her house sale was delayed. Downside, we weren't allowed to check anything out - it was a take it or leave it offer. Place was dirty etc and we offered quite a bit less, offered cash and they took it subject to a very quick completion ( two weeks!) . We got lucky as we actually had some cash at that time and there were no major problems. But we did do a lot of work ourselves especially searches and checking out with quite a few neighbours. Also contacted planning dept personally just to make sure there wasn't a history that hadn't found its way onto the records. We also checked with utility companies for outstanding debts, obtained land registry documents etc.

McBobbin

Are repos significantly cheaper? I expect the bank wants the debt off their books, but how much cheaper are we talking?

MrLargo

McBobbin said:

Are repos significantly cheaper? I expect the bank wants the debt off their books, but how much cheaper are we talking?

They used to be massively cheaper, but I think that the increasing number of property investors knocking around has driven the price up a bit, not just with repossessions, but with any property that needs work doing to it. As well as investors, there seem to be a lot more people around who would rather carry out improvement works themselves than pay a premium for somewhere with a smart new kitchen and bathroom of someone else's choosing.

McBobbin

MrLargo said:

McBobbin said:

Are repos significantly cheaper? I expect the bank wants the debt off their books, but how much cheaper are we talking?

They used to be massively cheaper, but I think that the increasing number of property investors knocking around has driven the price up a bit, not just with repossessions, but with any property that needs work doing to it. As well as investors, there seem to be a lot more people around who would rather carry out improvement works themselves than pay a premium for somewhere with a smart new kitchen and bathroom of someone else's choosing.

cheers. I guess there's such massive demand for housing (assuming you can get a mortgage)

Spanish

This one is definitely cheaper. I estimate we could turn a tidy profit in but needs pretty much everything doing, ie windows, kitchen, doors etc...

eaststandmike

My sons one was a bargain, he should make a nice profit when he decides to move on to his next one.

Off_it

Spanish said:

This one is definitely cheaper. I estimate we could turn a tidy profit in but needs pretty much everything doing, ie windows, kitchen, doors etc...

Are you Sarah Beeny?

Bournemouth Addick

There's no way of finding but but I wish we'd have known the whereabouts of the previous owners on a repossessed flat we purchased. Turned out she was renting the place directly underneath and she was a flipping nightmare from the off. Watched and was supercritical of our every move on the basis that we were living in her flat as she insisted on calling whenever we saw her. Whatever you do change the locks the day you move in!