Buying a repossessed house, any pitfalls to check.

[JasonM]

I’m in the process of purchasing a repossessed house and seeing if anyone knows of any pitfalls to check for. These are the only things I’m aware of.

1) Make sure there is no charges still attached to the property when it’s purchased, the solicitor has assured this will checked before completion.

2) Apparently the previous owners had a lot of debt, because of this it’s possible there could be letters arriving in previous owner’s name, or even debt collectors arriving at the door.

The only other thing is the property has been empty for around 3 years, all services have been disconnected. I’ve not phoned any of the utilities but presuming they should be all ok to switch back again. The property is on a nice residential estate.

Could anyone with experience of buying repossession add anything else to check for?

Many thanks
Jason

 

[Doohickey]

Personally I wouldn't buy a reprocessed house.

 

[Scougar]

Personally I wouldn't buy a reprocessed house.

Aye.. you never know what's really in it. (Personally, I'd start by checking the spelling.... )

 

[ince]

Not much difference to buying any other house

 

[Mynight]

Get a surveyor in to check it over. If its been empty for so long you might have issues with damp/pests. Just never know. Better to pay someone x amount of money to at least give you the peace of mind.

I brought one last year to rent out. I ended up spending more than I wanted to as there were damp issues

 

[FARGO]

When did the ghosts move back in?

 

[iviv]

2) Apparently the previous owners had a lot of debt

Really?

 

[Biohazard]

I’m in the process of purchasing a reprocessed house and seeing if anyone knows of any pitfalls to check for. These are the only things I’m aware of.

1) Make sure there is no charges still attached to the property when it’s purchased, the solicitor has assured this will checked before completion.

2) Apparently the previous owners had a lot of debt, because of this it’s possible there could be letters arriving in previous owner’s name, or even debt collectors arriving at the door.

The only other thing is the property has been empty for around 3 years, all services have been disconnected. I’ve not phoned any of the utilities but presuming they should be all ok to switch back again. The property is on a nice residential estate.

Could anyone with experience of buying repossession add anything else to check for?

Many thanks
Jason

If it's been three years, debt enforcement in the conventional sense to that address will have stopped. They will clearly realise the futility in sending correspondence to an address where their debtor doesn't live.

Even if there is a levy on the house it doesn't always prevent a sale, as ultimately the creditor will receive payment. It's there to stop the debtor from selling his estate personally to shield himself from diligence.

Even if you did buy and people still show up, all you need do is explain and evidence and they will not come back to you again. Same with the post.

 

[Nightglow]

You might have hassle with getting the utilitys reconnected.

Had a place about 10 years ago, took 3 or 4 months to get electric, gas reconnected, then the cheeky ******** tried to recover the previous tenants debt through my quarterly bill.

 

[The_Abyss]

My first ever house was a repo, back in the 90s. They had ripped the boiler off the wall, removed the radiators, pulled down the plaster boards on some ceilings and taken some carpets. Some damage looked like frustration, other looked like cost recovery. I bought it as viewed, with a very nervous surveyor and lender (National & Provincial, that soon became Abbey National IIRC).

I appreciate that none of that is much help, but just as a guide, look carefully for things that have been hidden, such as what will happen when the utilities are restored - are things going to go bang or spring a leak or two.

 

[James]

You might have hassle with getting the utilitys reconnected.

Had a place about 10 years ago, took 3 or 4 months to get electric, gas reconnected, then the cheeky ******** tried to recover the previous tenants debt through my quarterly bill.

What Nightglow said.

Also be aware that when buying a repossessed property the lender has to be seen to get the best possible price for the property.
What this means is that generally they will not take the property off of the open market and the house isn't 'yours' until you've exchanged contracts.

From professional experience the days of buying a 'cheap repo' aren't as attainable as they were as everyone wants to buy and sell houses for a profit!

However if it's a home you're after and the price is right then go for it!

Professional advice would be:

Get a GOOD mortgage advisor & Conveyancer.
If you go for a cheap/bad solicitor you may find yourself waiting a while and may be pipped to the post by another buyer.

If there's any other advice you'd like I'm happy to help

 

[DTWD]

...look carefully for things that have been hidden, such as what will happen when the utilities are restored - are things going to go bang or spring a leak or two.

Yeah just what I was thinking. As this house has sat empty for several years it's worth remembering we have had some very cold, and wet, weather over the last few years. 2 years ago it barely stopped freezing for several weeks.

 

[arknor]

debt collectors will leave as soon as you show them ID and will never come back.
getting services on won't be a problem as slong as your previous addresses were fine whilst you lived in them

 

[McMuffin]

If it has been empty for longer than two years you could be entitled to 15% VAT reduction on any building/renovation works.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

In-laws bought a repo a few years ago which was empty over the winter so I have a few tips for you.

If you can help it don't move in on day one.

Get a plumber on retainer for the following:

Turn on water at the meter may be difficult depending on location.

Water pipes, check every physical pipe, tap and toilet you can see for disconnection or tampering and turn the water back on at the inlet in the house slowly at first. Go round the house and check for leaking/burst pipes. Once you have checked it all open the water valve to full pressure and get all the air out.

We had a cold water pipe burst in a wall going to a shower which resulted in a mad rush to get all the water back out again, repair it and start again.

Central heating: again check each radiator and pipes for tampering, also its likely when the system was drained all of the bleed valves were opened fully, make sure they are shut. The boiler will probably need a good service if it works or may need an engineer to get it going.

As far as electric and gas are concerned should be straight forward, you need to find out if they have a PAYG meter installed, if you do you'll need to be sent a new key out for you to top-up. Then get them replaced if they are with normal ones.

As for damp etc, shouldn't worry if it has not shown up on your survey. Its unlikely anyone has cleaned or decorated the place and it should be as the tenants left it.

 

[JasonM]

Sorry for not replying for so long, but thanks for everyone that posted.

I got the house and everything is fine, only major headache is electric cables running in the garden as previous owners took outside electrics with them. They have been made safe by electrician however.

I'm just in process of getting utilities connected, also got a gas guy here this week to check gas boiler.

If it has been empty for longer than two years you could be entitled to 15% VAT reduction on any building/renovation works.

Only just read this, house has been empty for 3 years, any links you can post related to this.