Why did my flat take 17 years to sell?
Textured, tasselled, fruity — exotic designs from overseas are resplendent in our homes
MY FLAT has taken me more than 17 years to sell — is this a record? It’s certainly a sad and sorry tale. In 1999, I bought three investment properties in Worthing, West Sussex, with my then partner, John Sandilands. We decorated and furnished them and rented them out. the idea was that they would help to provide our pensions in retirement.
However, John died suddenly in 2004 and my carefully laid plans were thrown up in the air. I decided to sell our jointly held flats and combine the proceeds to buy one larger property. I managed to sell two of the apartments but the other one stuck. and stuck and stuck.
I first put it on the market in 2005, and in 2022, it remains there, although it has now gone under offer for at least the tenth time. Every potential sale has fallen through, for one reason or another and often, frustratingly, at the point of exchange.
the flat is a large seafront studio. It has a sea view and is housed in a beautiful midVictorian listed building, formerly a hotel.
In front of the building is a wonderful communal garden which is well kept by the local council.
Both the building and its location have a lot of aesthetic appeal, and one might have thought it would make an ideal purchase for a first-time buyer, an investor, or as a holiday home. It is also mortgageable, unlike some studios which are so small they can be bought only for cash.
Not long after the flat first went on the market, I had an offer which I accepted.
Solicitors were instructed, and all the mounds of paperwork that go with selling a leasehold apartment, were gathered together. and then, just as I thought that contracts were about to be exchanged, the selling agents called to say that the buyers had lowered their offer; gazundering me, in fact. the nasty but not illegal practice of gazundering, reducing the offer at the last minute, was at its height in the mid2000s, although you don’t hear so much about it now.
I was not prepared to accept the insulting lower offer and though the gazundering wheeze was not repeated, the pattern of the property going under offer and the buyer pulling out, often after contracts had been signed, became a never-ending scenario. the situation was not helped by my move to Oxford, which meant I was not on hand to oversee the potential sales or meet prospective buyers.
In a way I was lucky in that every time it failed to sell I put it back on the rental market and it rented out instantly, usually to a young professional but occasionally to a couple. I had no problem with the tenants, even though I was living so far away, and they all paid rent and kept the place reasonably neat and tidy.
Between tenancies, I would travel to Worthing to replace carpets, have the place redecorated or install new white goods or a shower unit.
I made sure I kept it in good nick and that was probably the main reason why it rented out so readily. But even that had its downsides. One tenant refused to move, even after I’d given her notice, and contacted Citizens advice who advised her that she could not be made homeless, and so yet another sale fell through.
Getting rid of tenants can be a problem and was often a reason for sales not completing as buyers, understandably, require vacant possession.
and every time a sale fell through I was landed with a solicitors’ bill for the ‘abortive’ sale. the flat has now gone under offer for the fifth time in a year, and finally, I am hopeful that it will change hands.
My buyer this time is a seasoned investor rather than a flaky first-timer struggling to secure a mortgage.
So why have so many buyers pulled out after making an acceptable offer? Some fell by the wayside because they lost their jobs or could not find suitable ones in Worthing; and in one situation, a buyer was supposed to be coming into an inheritance that never materialised.
THE property in some cases was valued by mortgage lenders at a price far lower than I was prepared to accept. Others discovered that because it was a listed building, they could not make the alterations they had planned to do.
I don’t believe Covid adversely affected the sales, as they had been falling through for many years before the pandemic. there may have been some slight effect with so many offers not completing in a single year, but it’s hard to say.
at the best of times, studios are possibly the most difficult properties of all to shift as although they are always at the bottom of the market, price-wise, they have several disadvantages. One is they are basically glorified bedsits and cannot always be turned into a one-bedroom flat, which is what most people prefer. and in handsome old buildings, maintenance is expensive and always ongoing, which means high service charges relative to the square footage.
Plus, because of the large number of documents required with leasehold properties, solicitors’ fees can be high as well. So, while seemingly cheap to buy, they may not be the bargains they appear.
and yet there are pluses. Because my flat was priced at £125,000, it did not attract stamp duty and as a listed building, it is exempt from requiring an energy proficiency certificate.
the listed status means that it is not possible to make it more energy-efficient, although estate agents tell me that few buyers even glance at the certificate when deciding whether to make an offer.
Now, though, at last, commutavimus! We have exchanged! (It sounds better in latin.) finally, the champagne is on ice.
AS ADVENTURES overseas became all but a distant memory last year, many of us introduced lush palm prints, tropical fruit, handmade woven baskets and berber rugs to our homes. Wanderlust interiors.
And that trend shows no sign of abating — the latest exotic collections in High Street homeware stores are bursting with designs inspired by cultures from around the world.
This ‘global trend’, as it’s been coined, is a way for us to remember trips to beloved countries, or can act as inspiration for places we may hope to explore.
Centuries ago it was a case of travellers bringing home their goodies on ships laden with treasures. Today, it’s possible to source pieces from makers around the world from your sofa.
‘The restrictions we saw during the pandemic prevented many of us from indulging our love of travel and consequently, we saw an increased appetite from customers for bringing countries and cultures into the home so they could continue to enjoy their love of far-flung places,’ said Rona Olds, head of product at Habitat, which has launched a new ‘global trend’ collection featuring cheetah print cushions and curtains, leaf bedding sets and mango wood serving bowls (from £8, habitat.co.uk).
The turn of spring is the perfect time to play with the trend, as the sun begins to shine and we look to refresh our homes. There are no hard and fast rules. Don’t be afraid to mix cultures, countries and patterns, but if you do, make sure you keep your walls and larger furniture simple.
A SLICE OF PINEAPPLE
WE SEEM to be going bananas for pineapples, with the tropical fruit appearing in the form of cocktail glasses, lampshades, jugs and crockery galore and printed on cushions and posters.
Oliver Bonas has a wide-range of pineapple inspired pieces. Its yellow and green pineapple ceramic pitcher has a textile finish and will brighten up any table (£75).
If you’re wanting something more subtle, go for the rattan storage basket which is woven in the shape of a pineapple with a spiky lid; understated, but fun (pictured, £75, oliverbonas.com).
Oranges and lemons were big news last year — as citrus shades and bright prints proved the perfect antidote to the doom and gloom of the pandemic. Lemon prints remain particularly popular.
Spicer and Wood have a beaded lemon patterned cushion handcrafted in India, perfect for an armchair which needs cheering up (£55, spicerandwood.co.uk).
For a cheaper option, go for Dunelm’s Lemon Tapestry cushion cover (£7, dunelm. com). Wanting to brighten up your walls? Postery’s vintage Sorrento lemon tree print will transport you to sunny days in Italy (from £13, postery.com).
HANDCRAFTED APPEAL
‘NATURAL materials such as rattan, raffia and jute are a big trend story this season.’ says Rona Olds. ‘We’re also seeing a demand for pieces made using handcrafted techniques such as punch-needle weaving techniques, ceramics featuring pad print patterns, handblown glassware, and wooden handcarved home accessories and furniture.’
H&M Home has a ‘straw, rattan and jute’ collection. Its seagrass candle holder would look charming on a rustic wooden table (£12.99), while the bamboo pendant would add texture to a scheme (£69.99, hm.com).
Handwoven baskets, often used for storage or laundry, are proving particularly popular.
TOAST’s Hogla storage basket comes in three sizes and is handwoven by Bangladeshi female artisans using seagrass (known as hogla, from £25, toa.st).
MAD FOR PALMS
THERE seems to be a universal lust for lush jungly foliage which transports us to sunnier climes and happier days.
AMARA has a wide selection of palm tree-inspired pieces, including a lime green ceramic candlestick in the shape of a palm tree (£157), a mustard velvet cushion handstitched with a detailed palm tree print (£46) and turquoise palm tree bed linen set (from £64.50, amara.com). Graham & Green has a set of two vintagestyle palm tree prints displayed in fir wood frames (£89, grahamandgreen.co.uk).
HIT THE FLOOR
MANY cultures tell stories through pattern. The Otomi people of Mexico depict tales about their local region through colourful embroideries made up of the flora and fauna found in the Tenango de Doria area. The Portuguese have told stories of their culture with decorative blue and white azulejo tiles for hundreds of years and Moroccans use the simple language of Berber patterns in their rugs. When looking to our floors, Morocco is a great source of colour and inspiration. Porcelain Superstore has a wide range of Moroccan tiles. The Tapestry Blue collection is a particular favourite (£30.60 per sqm, porcelainsuperstore.co.uk). Runners and rugs are a quick and easy way to add interest — and we can look to Morocco for those, too. Boucherouite rugs, woven in the Atlas Mountains, make excellent bath mats. Online store Moussem, meanwhile, sells beautifully tasselled runners, cushions and pouffes crafted by the Berber communities of women artisans across Morocco (from £25, moussem.co.uk).