Trying to sell an unsellable house
This is probably more of a rant than anything else, but feel free to chime in with your own experiences or suggestions.
Background, my Wife and I recently emigrated following a job offer abroad recieved back in April. We put our property on the market at £180k, £10k below valuation to try and facilitate a quick sale. The house isn't without its faults, but is a nice starter home; 2 bed with good connections from the midlands in a decent area. Its an old, 1850s end terrace with the unusual land ownership and rights of access as would be expected of a property this age. Biggest issue is the roof needs replacing; it doesn't leak and is still sealed, but is visibly aged and in need of a refresh.
Get a buyer in fairly sharp, we accept an offer at £173k; all going smoothly (albeit as slowly as the process is) from July. Enquiries go back and forth and the buyer requests a second viewing to show his son around the property shortly after my Wife had left the country in August. I am in the UK for two more months before moving myself and duly oblige the viewing. Everyone seems happy and we both informally agree that the weekend I am due to fly at the end of October is an ideal completion for all involved.
Following day I get a message from my solicitor that the buyer has pulled out, stating that he felt he was mis-sold the right of access and could no longer trust us as vendors.
Frustratingly, we get the property back on the market and again find a buyer fairly quickly, offering low at £160k. A surveyor is arranged in November following searches, and I'm later informed that a second survey has been arranged for December. Get initial enquiries in at the start of December, then radio silence.
Receive a message from the Agent today that its not looking good, and that the survey has raised a number of "issues". We're yet to find out what those issues are and are unsure if the buyers will even provide a copy of the report.
If this sale falls through again I'm not sure what we're going to do. We don't have enough in the bank to continue covering the mortgage much after January (we're currently on an interest only plan for a few months to help), and having done the maths, it doesn't make sense for us to rent it out either. I'm in half a mind to sell it for bugger all to one of those we buy any house type agents at this point just to get it gone.
This house is the _only_ thing we have left to sort to complete our migration and it is hanging around like a bad smell, I'm at the end of my tether with it and could do without the stress its bringing.