After his home was repossessed, Kit complained his lender had sold the repossessed property too quickly, leaving him with a shortfall.
What happened
After his home was repossessed, Kit felt the quick sale had led to a loss. He believed his home had been sold too quickly and cheaply.
Kit believed this wouldn’t have happened if the lender had waited for an upturn in the housing market. Kit showed us that a couple of years later, other houses on the same street were being advertised for a much bigger price.
What we said
We looked into how long the house was on the market and how conditions might have affected the sale price. The lender obtained more than one valuation for the house, including at least one independent valuation.
Kit’s mortgage lender had accepted an offer below the average valuation. So, we looked at what the estate agent said about the offer to see if it seemed fair in the circumstances.
Kit’s property needed a lot of work compared to others. And, while the local market had since picked up, it had been fairly flat at the time of the sale. Although there had been several viewings, in six months of advertising the property the lender had only received one offer.
We explained to Kit that the lender couldn’t delay selling the property to reach a particular price. And, as Kit was having to pay interest and any running costs while the house was being sold, any delay would have increased his debt.
We felt the lender got the right balance of waiting for a fair offer, without keeping the house on the market for a long time at a cost to Kit. We didn’t uphold Kit’s complaint.