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Derelict Houses


Angel
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Does anyone have any idea on the laws etc of derelict houses? Me and my partner have seen a house that we have fallen in love with, it has clearly been empty quite some time and is in need of a lot of repair,renovation and love, it looks like 2 old croft houses which have been joined to make 1. I contacted the SIC to find out if theres anyway of finding out who owns it, all they could say is ask the nearest neighbour.

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Houses may be empty, or appear empty for an endless number of reasons, not all of them welcome, pleasant or that anybody involved is in the slightest happy about. Quite often the state of being is wholly dictated by personal circumstances outwith anyone's control.

 

What I'm saying is, tread carefully in case you're actually poking at a wasp's nest situation, where resentment, anger and animosity abounds aplenty already. As chances are you'll get anything from a very frosty reception to a full broadside if you go anywhere near and that is the case.

 

Asking around neighbours, or at a local shop or P.O. etc who owns it is the best way to go. Asking how/why it is in the condition it is in, at a local shop or P.O. would be wise too, they'd tend to be a bit more impartial in opinions offered, than an neighbour who would be more likely to voice their personal (and probably heavily biased for whatever reason) opinion.

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Question to the OP: And how exactly have you "fallen in love" with a house you've never seen the insides of? Oh, does that mean you've had a good old nosy peak through the windows? Marvellous.

 

Have you given any consideration to the fact that said property may, in fact, be empty due to perhaps a person being ill in hospital for several months or in a nursing home, and that the family do not wish to do anything with it against said person's will whilst they are still alive? Alternatively, sometimes what can appear to be an empty property in a rather dilapidated state may even have the occupier still living there. Another scenario is that said owner would really like to give the property some TLC but funds don't permit due to personal reasons, the recession, etc., or waiting forever to ascertain if the grant they applied for months ago is going to actually result in said required dosh materialising. Some owners may want to apply for a grant but be in a Catch 22 situation whereby the SIC could stick an Order on them forcing them to do the work yet refusing them a grant and the owner might not have the funds to do the property up and then be forced to sell. How would you like to be in that position? If it is miles from anywhere, off the beaten track and not causing a nuisance, this can be rather unfair.

 

Granted, it may well also be the case that the owner may be willing to sell but is just waiting to see if house prices rise. However, if the owner wanted to sell then, no doubt, s/he would have advertised it.

 

Other points to consider are that not all properties are on the Land Registry or listed elsewhere. In addition, if you are seeking a mortgage and a property is deemed unfit for human habitation, many building societies/banks will not grant a mortgage.

 

Rant over. :evil:

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Bit harsh Unlinked Student!! Angel was only asking! I'd say go for it, ask around and see what you find. It may be that the person/people would like it off their hands but haven't got around to doing anything about it. I for one hate seeing houses go to ruin, although I do of course understand there may be good reasons for that to happen on occasion. Good luck!

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Shy bairns get nowt.

 

If you are polite, enthusiastic and honest, you may succeed. Even if they say an immediate no, sometimes thoughts of selling will worm their way in and you may get lucky. Leave them your phone number saying if they hear of anything else, please let you know.

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Bit harsh Unlinked Student!! Angel was only asking! I'd say go for it, ask around and see what you find. It may be that the person/people would like it off their hands but haven't got around to doing anything about it. I for one hate seeing houses go to ruin, although I do of course understand there may be good reasons for that to happen on occasion. Good luck!

 

Not half as harsh as what might happen if Angel was caught peering through the windows if owner caught them - if, indeed, this is what happened.

 

Should, for that matter, it be regarded any differently if said property doesn't have a roof/ the door isn't locked?

 

I personally know of an instance whereby somebody was looking through windows of what looked like a run-down property down sarf and the poor pensioner suffered a heart attack!

 

I am rather curious as to how you can fall in love with a property without stepping inside it/looking through the windows.

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Question to the OP: And how exactly have you "fallen in love" with a house you've never seen the insides of? Oh, does that mean you've had a good old nosy peak through the windows? Marvellous.

 

Have you given any consideration to the fact that said property may, in fact, be empty due to perhaps a person being ill in hospital for several months or in a nursing home, and that the family do not wish to do anything with it against said person's will whilst they are still alive? Alternatively, sometimes what can appear to be an empty property in a rather dilapidated state may even have the occupier still living there.

 

get out the wrong side of the bed did you?

The OP clearly stated 'derelict' and 'clearly been empty quite some time'

The outside and location of a property can be the most redeeming feature

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Hardly a "secret", the public road drives over the doorstep, and been abandoned for a very long time, for I would have thought quite obvious reasons....It becomes affected by rapid rising damp from time to time.....the sea has been part way up the stairs numerous times. :lol:

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get out the wrong side of the bed did you?

The OP clearly stated 'derelict' and 'clearly been empty quite some time'

The outside and location of a property can be the most redeeming feature

 

Which could describe a load of houses in Shetland that aren't derelict and aren't empty!

 

One of my neighbours had his cottage renovated over the last year - I lost COUNT of the amount of people assuming it was derelict and empty when it wasn't.

 

Derelict can mean abandoned by owner or run down. Did you get out of the wrong side of bed and forget to swallow a dictionary? :wink: And no, I didn't get out of bed the wrong side this morning - I blooming well fell off Ghostrider's infamous couch again! :roll: :oops:

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