Be wary of depositing large amounts of money on property.
As I was driving home through Leeds last week, I went past a building that has come to mean a lot to those living in the area. The building represents the property nightmare that is happening in the North of England.
A grand, grade A office block sits completely empty despite being fully sold up off plan. Every buyer deposited roughly £40,000 to secure this office space. However, in the time between sale and completion, the property was revalued by a buyer and then publicised in the local media causing widespread discontent.
The revaluation was £100,000 below the selling price PER block. This forced the hands of the buyers to renege on the deal and lose the £40K equity they put down.
This is representative of the state of the property market and casts a warning out to buyers. This is also one of the reasons why Equity Release is a big deal at the moment. Homeowners wanting to lock into the equity in thier home before the equity drops completely.