unlisted building in jeopardy.

[FamilyWiggs]

Broadly anything is mortgageable by someone, providing it provides security for the loan. You may have quite a job finding that lender though if the property isn't entirely straightforward.

There are lenders who specialise in staged "self-build" mortgages (I seem to remember a couple of years ago looking at the ?Ecology building society and maybe the Co-op Bank?). These may well look at your project more favourably than the Halifax for example.

Am really pleased that things seem to have taken a bit of an upswing. That house really deserves someone with your passion to rescue it. As others have said, it is now a real case of caveat emptor with your FIL.

 

[LadyArowana]

if im honest , and i hate to say it , i dont trust him either. we are having a solicitor draw up an agreement tomorrow but in all fairness if he reneges this time around i am unsure if it would be worth the paper its written on , there would need to be consequences put in order to stop him from doing this and i fear breech of contract wont be enough. i shall see what our solicitor says.

It might be worth raising with the solicitor the idea that the agreement should give you a secured and rent protected tenancy in the event that you are unable to buy the house at the end of the term. That would make it a lot less attractive/ valuable to any other buyer. The phrase “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts” springs to mind.

Good luck with everything, how is your beautiful new baby ?

 

[JohnB]

There are lenders who specialise in staged "self-build" mortgages (I seem to remember a couple of years ago looking at the ?Ecology building society and maybe the Co-op Bank?). These may well look at your project more favourably than the Halifax for example.

Triodos is the other "green" bank that might be worth approaching. Along with the Ecology BS and Co-op Bank, they do seem to take a more people based approach to lending, and banking in general.

 

[AMc]

It's certainly possible to mortgage anything with residential potential. The high street banks won't be helpful unless you have a large deposit to cover "their risk" but the specialist self build market will be able to help. A friend of mine used the Ecology building society to fund the renovation of a Hebridian croft house - the house was an unliveable shell and the finance was agreed to purchase the land and allow some money for works. Once an agreed stage of the work was reached they revalued and released money for the next stage. This continued until the house was signed off by building control. One advantage of this is that you only owe the value of the house as it stands so if the work is slow you aren't hamstrung paying interest on building money you aren't using.

There don't seem to be any links in the listings here but Home Building & Renovation have a broker
http://www.homebuilding.co.uk/directory/finance-insurance-mortgages/mortgages
I would pick up one of the self build magazines and check out the small ads.

In your position I would make your best attempt to immediately buy the property and get your name on the deeds - everything else leaves you very exposed.

Good luck!

 

[Flyfisher]

I'm very sorry to read your tale of woe Robgil but, while it's difficult to know the full situation, I really don't think you've been offered a reprieve at all. I also don't think you've borrowed any money from this man as such; he's the one that has bought the property (he's the legal owner and your 'verbal understanding' is worth absolutely nothing), together with all your time and effort in repairing it and significantly increasing its value - to him, not you, because you own nothing of it.

The man has revealed himself to be completely untrustworthy, something you should never forget if you ever do any deals with him again, so be sure that anything further is completely and legally watertight. To treat anyone in this manner is appalling, to treat family this way is unforgivable.

Frankly, I would walk away right now, never deal with him again and lobby all available agencies to get the cottage listed as soon as possible. To support this, I would explain the current owner's intention to 'renovate' it as quickly as possible and point out they probably only have a matter of weeks to protect it before it is gutted of all historical fabric to make way for a 'plastic' makeover and, in all probability, be lost forever.

I also don't believe that you will be given first refusal to buy the property in two years time. At the very best, he will place the property on the open market to seek the highest possible valuation and you will have to at least match it. Forget any valuations you may be working with today - a lot can happen in two years.

If you don't walk away now, you'll have him controlling your life for the foreseeable future. That's a choice only you can make, but I'd be out of there right away.

Good luck.

 

[robgil]

If you don't walk away now, you'll have him controlling your life for the foreseeable future.

that just scared the bejezuz out of me. before i agree to anything i first need to make sure there will be consequences if he pulls out , we are speaking to a solicitor about this at present but im still not sure any agreement would be worth the paper its written on as he lives in a different country.i fear saying 'il f'ing kill you if you do us over this time round' , in this instance wont be enough. :lol:

 

[Flyfisher]

Make sure any agreements explicitly state they are in UK law. Your solicitor should be able to advise, but I believe you could then enforce actions in his absence. Just because he lives abroad does not, I believe, give him immunity, although you may not be able to compel him to attend any court proceedings so ensure any agreements are written in such a way that his attendance doesn't matter.

But let's be honest about all this, any dealings with someone with a track-record of being untrustworthy is asking for anxiety certainly, grief probably, and actual loss quite likely.

Once bitten, twice shy is a very good maxim (and not a bad song either :wink: )

The other thing to consider is that, even if you are legally protected (or think you are) it does not mean things won't go wrong. Having to resort to legal proceedings won't be pleasant and may take over your life and, worse, even your health. You may not even win your case. Or you may win but never be able to collect your award (if any) or your costs.

 

[vicky whitworth]

Oh Robgil, I feel for you. This is a nightmare. Presumably the b*****d in question is your wife's father and, therefore, there are possibly all sorts of emotional issues and ties for your wife. Also, in my view, there is nothing worse than having an unsettled arrangement with your home - and particularly a home you love. I wish you all the best and hope you can find a way through it.

 

[Moo]

(a) basically we borrowed the money to buy this place from a family member ...

(b) the idea that we all agreed on was we borrow the money , spend a couple of years settling into the community and fixing up the cottage then we could start saving for a mortgage to buy the cottage for the same amount that it was bought for.

(c) ... this person then came to stay to see his new grand daughter

We all seem to have assumed that it's Grrrrrrr's name on the deeds, not yours, but (a) and (b) make it a bit unclear. But if, as you say, you "borrowed the money [from Grrrrrr] to buy this place", surely it's yours?

And with regard to (c) - if he ever wants to see his new granddaughter again..........!!

 

[Moo]

It's all gone very quiet on this topic, hasn't it?

Have there been any developments that we should know of?

 

[robgil]

not really moo , we have been waiting for our solicitor to get back to us. apart from a spot of gardening all work on the house has ceased. the problem is that we need to write up an agreement that is set out in such a way that if either party is to renege then there will be consequences more than a simple breach of contract because for someone living abroad breech of contract might just mean zip.