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Munter
23,707 posts
110 months
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Pulse said: It's interesting, if nothing else!
Progress is slow, but I am still hopeful. I'd happily buy the house off him, but I suspect if I did that, he'd need to pay his council tax bill of c.£15,000. He needs to pay that anyway. The sale of the house should help cover it. And if the council have cash in their hand they are unlikely to drag him through courts etc. Win win you'd think. So what else is going on here? 
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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He won't need to pay it if they never find him though. Perhaps he needs the cash flow in his (relatively small) business at the moment, and paying £15,000 up front would be too painful.
I've no idea though, in reality. It's absolutely bizarre. Who would like to see the kitchen?
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Davey S2
8,664 posts
123 months
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Pulse said: Now, the council have presented a few options…
1. They can take the house over, and spend X amount of money on it to take ownership. They can then put their own tenants in.
2. We can apply for a community grant for a few of us in the street to buy it as a community.
3. We can continue down this path. Did the Council tell you that because 1 sounds wrong and 2 certainly is. If he has no mortgage and is the registered proprietor of the house at the Land Registry then its his property full stop. No one else can simply take possession or try to sell it. If the Council are owed council tax then the usual course of action for the Council is to obtain judgement against the owner then get a court order to put a charge on the property. I suspect that the Council could only get entry to clear the garden or undertake repairs if there is an envirionmental risk to neighbouring residents.
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danyeates
4,364 posts
91 months
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Pulse said: I've no idea though, in reality. It's absolutely bizarre. Who would like to see the kitchen? Me! 
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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Davey S2 said: Did the Council tell you that because 1 sounds wrong and 2 certainly is.
If he has no mortgage and is the registered proprietor of the house at the Land Registry then its his property full stop. No one else can simply take possession or try to sell it.
If the Council are owed council tax then the usual course of action for the Council is to obtain judgement against the owner then get a court order to put a charge on the property.
I suspect that the Council could only get entry to clear the garden or undertake repairs if there is an envirionmental risk to neighbouring residents. Yep, the council told me that. Option 1 is something about spending at least 50% of the property's value on the house, to take legal ownership. It has to be sponsored though, and since the house is fine structurally, it's unlikely. He is sending more details on Option 2, so I'll report back, obviously. To be honest, I'd happily buy it if it meant an end to all of this. I've no interest in it personally, though. I will keep trying on Twitter etc... Perhaps even send him a reasonable offer.
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Munter
23,707 posts
110 months
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Davey S2 said: Did the Council tell you that because 1 sounds wrong and 2 certainly is.
If he has no mortgage and is the registered proprietor of the house at the Land Registry then its his property full stop. No one else can simply take possession or try to sell it.
If the Council are owed council tax then the usual course of action for the Council is to obtain judgement against the owner then get a court order to put a charge on the property.
I suspect that the Council could only get entry to clear the garden or undertake repairs if there is an envirionmental risk to neighbouring residents. If it's in the public interest, could the council not put a compulsory purchase order on it? Compensate the owner (-the council tax), and then do what is in the public interest (put tenants in).
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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Here we go. Stunning kitchen. Tastefully decorated with various items, including brass ironmongery.  DSC00232 by IK-Photo, on Flickr
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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Munter said: If it's in the public interest, could the council not put a compulsory purchase order on it? Compensate the owner (-the council tax), and then do what is in the public interest (put tenants in). There we go, that's the one. CPO. I originally refused that, as it'll mean council tenants. He agreed with me, saying he didn't think that'd do my house value much favours either.
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5potTurbo
3,284 posts
37 months
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Interesting thread this one. BTW, not all CHT's are bad. I was brung up proper. 
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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5potTurbo said: Interesting thread this one. BTW, not all CHT's are bad. I was brung up proper. Well the flip side was I figured they'll never use it as a permanent residence, only one for temporary housing. It's a very small 2-bed house, so it'll never house a family either.
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mondeoman
6,791 posts
135 months
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Someones living in there - that food on the plate isn't all mouldy and rotten ...
and the baked beans in the pan look almost fresh...
:yumyum:
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danyeates
4,364 posts
91 months
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mondeoman said: Someones living in there - that food on the plate isn't all mouldy and rotten ...
and the baked beans in the pan look almost fresh...
:yumyum:
Yeah right, those plates have no been there for 10 years!
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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Unfortunately, that is exactly how it was when we moved in 5 years ago. Nothing has changed.
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mondeoman
6,791 posts
135 months
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Sorry, no - there's no dust, no mould, nothing. That house is being lived in,
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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Well, they must be very quiet then...
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mondeoman
6,791 posts
135 months
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Its the rats, must be, straight out of Animal Farm they are.
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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mondeoman said: Its the rats, must be, straight out of Animal Farm they are.  Ok, so if mould were to grow on what is there, how long would that take? I can almost guarantee that is the same it's been for the last 5 years, so I would like to prove the theory.
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fido
9,391 posts
124 months
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Why don't you wash the plates and cutlery and put them back in the cupboard?! The pan of beans will need a damn good scouring.
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squicky
156 posts
49 months
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Now you've got a photo, go back and take another photo in a day/week/months time and look for any changes.
Try and get a look at the bags on the floor at the back, more specifically look at the printing on the bags to see if they show any date hints (ie using new style logos).
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Pulse
Original Poster
8,653 posts
87 months
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squicky said: Now you've got a photo, go back and take another photo in a day/week/months time and look for any changes.
Try and get a look at the bags on the floor at the back, more specifically look at the printing on the bags to see if they show any date hints (ie using new style logos). Well, you can see in the picture quite a lot of old packaging, including the Maxwell House coffee jar near the back. I'll keep updating the photo though, to record the changes (or lack thereof). Now all I need to find is the secret bunker...
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