I am having great problems in finding repossession houses for Berkshire & Buckinghamshire, I hope you can help me to locate any lists I would be very gratefull for the information.

Liam McCullough

-- Liam Julian McCullough (liam@lamport.co.uk), October 30, 2000

Answers

As has been pointed out many times on this Q&A board, people who ask for details of repossessed properties are usually expecting to pick them up for less than the current market value. This however would mean that (a) you are expecting lenders to act unlawfully in failing to achieve best market price for repossessed properties (see Skipton vs Stott); and (b) you are happily participating in a process which causes mortage shortfall and thereby places unbearable stresses on some of the most vulnerable people in society. This web site exsist to help such vulnerable people; it does not aim to help individuals profit at their expense. However, should you find evidence that any lender or estate agent is selling off repossessed properties rather cheaply, then we would of course very much like to hear from you. By the way, cool email address.

-- Eleanor Scott (eleanor.scott@btinternet.com), October 30, 2000.

Very well said.

-- Jo (chrisbrad@zoom.co.uk), October 30, 2000.

I am indeed surprised that you are finding it difficult to locate houses that have been repossessed in Berkshire & Buckinghamshire.

Maybe it's because they are not being marketed in the same manner that the estate agents market their other properties? Maybe they have not had a "For Sale" board put up outside? Or maybe the possible lack of any positive selling points on their sales particulars have made them go unnoticed amongst the better promoted properties

When are the lenders going to wake up and realise public perception actually proves the truth of the matter that lenders ARE underselling these reposssessed properties. Otherwise why would people be so desperate to locate them before they are so quickly sold off at a bargain price?

-- Tony Hayter (Tony@Hayter.com), October 30, 2000.

Liam, if you are looking for a cheap place to live, you are a vulture.

-- Shafted by the Mortgage Corp (duped@yahoo.com), November 04, 2000.

Liam, I don`t see what is wrong with your question personally, I too am looking for any type of lists and am having great trouble, I am a first time buyer with my wife and we simply cannot afford the silly prices that people are asking for their houses nowadays. The only way that we could even think about getting hold of a house is to buy one at a cheap price and that is where repossessions come in, it is not our fault they sell them off cheap but it helps some of us "Unfortunate" people get our first foot on the ladder, the person that answered you first has a very closed mind to things. If you do find something I would be very grateful if you could let me and my wife know also. I will do the same. Good luck.

-- Ben Watts (bwlg05164@blueyonder.co.uk), March 06, 2002.

Ben Watts ..... have just read your puerile and smug posting regarding repossessed properties. I sincerely hope that you don't find a property - the reasons for that being numerous so I won't bother to list them. They would obviously be beyond your capabilty of to understand.

As for Eleanor Scott having a closed mind - I should imagine that Eleanor will celebrate that as it is a great advancement on what you have apparently got.

If you want to buy a property in the same market as a decent person does may I suggest that you and your wife get off your backsides and work harder.

-- Joy Harker (fightingback@harker.go-plus.net), March 06, 2002.

What a pack of whinging idiots you lot are. To say that anybody looking for a reposession list is a vulture is just ignorant beyond comprehension. Joy I think you failed to include a list of reasons why Ben should not get a house as it appears to be well beyond your level of literacy to even compose a gramatically correct response to him. For heaven's sake, it's a simple agreement; when you buy a house....the mortgage company lend you a shed load of money and you agree to pay it back....if you dont they take your house away! very simple and you all bloody well signed a legal document saying as much! (perhaps in Joy's case she was unable to read it). If you think you owe it to anyone to pay extra for a property that can be obtained by means of a reposession list then go ahead and buy one (sorry I forgot that those complaining have probably already screwed up there credit rating). Please dont expect the rest of the population not to try to get something for as little as possible for that is the nature of good business. As for being shafted by the mortgage company, I would have to say "Trash", if you had kept to your side of the agreement you would have had no trouble from them whatsoever! and they would argue that you shafted them. That's all I have to say about that.

-- Forrest Gump (Forrest.Gump@bubbagump.com), December 05, 2002.

Forrest,

Whilst I agree with your argument in essence, I think you fail to realise that nobody actually *chooses* to have their house repossessed and there are other factors involved rather than just not paying the mortgage coz you want your house, but don't want to pay for it. The factors may be illness,losing your job through business cutbacks or your partner leaving.

I would presume from your naive and limited mindset, that you are too young to fully remember the last recession which began in early 1990. Alot of people had been watching house prices rising by thousands of pounds a week, rather like they are now, and in order to get on the property ladder, lenders encouraged people to take out big mortgages that they could barely afford to repay, much like they are still doing these days, even with the gift of hindsight.

Then the bubble burst and redundancies were rife in every working sector, with record numbers of people being laid off each week. Even you, with your channel vision can appreciate that if industries are getting rid of jobs, there are no jobs to be had, and this is how many people ended up having their houses repossessed.

House prices dropped anyway, and I think you will find that what has annoyed most people who have been repossessed is that lenders sell the houses cheaper just to get rid of them quickly. Prices in the past have been anything from five upwards, the average being 30 grand, cheaper than market value.

In the end, lenders loose nothing. They recoup their money from interest. Then they expect repossessees to pay back the money that they undersold their houses for. This is why a lot of people say they got shafted by the building societies and banks. I think everyone would agree, if you borrow money, you pay it back, whatever the circumstances. I don't think many people would agree to paying back money that wouldn't have been due if the other party behaved in a professional and sympathetic manner.

Let's put it another way. Imagine you are old enough to have a mortgage, and a lender allows you to take 100 per cent mortgage, just to get your foot on the property ladder. Then you lose your job and your home is repossessed and sold for 30 grand less than it's market value. Would you feel justified in paying the 30 grand back to the lender, or would you feel they shouldn't have allowed somebody else to profit from your bad luck?

I sincerely hope you never find yourself in the situation.

-- One Angry Mother (madcow678@hotmail.com), December 06, 2002.