Keep an eye on the post:
It’s common when moving into a new property to still receive mail addressed to the previous tenants, which can continue for months and sometimes years. Although this usually does not suggest any warning signs, if you have moved into a property which had a quick turnover time or had been repossessed, you should pay attention to where the mail has come from. If a repossession, the old tenant may have turned to other lenders in hope to make mortgage payments and reduce their arrears. If this is the case, the other companies that they owed money to will not always be told the tenant no longer resides there, which results in them sending warning letters to your new property. If there is no response to the warning letters and the previous tenant has not contacted the company, many lenders next actions would be to pay a visit to the property. This may have already happened (before the previous tenant was evicted), in which case they may even send bailiffs round. This can also happen in BMV properties, as sometimes they have to be sold fast so the seller can make quick money. In this case the previous tenant could have turned to other lenders to raise funds before-hand, then not informed them they had moved.
Ensure you keep an eye on the post for the first few weeks after buying the property.
Although this sounds like a fairly daunting situation, there is a way to eliminate the chances of having bailiffs visit your property; simply checking the post. If letters appear to be from a company regarding bills or any lenders, you should contact them immediately to inform them the resident no longer lives there. They will then update their records and you should never hear from them again!
More checks:
Although you would have performed relevant checks on the property prior to making an offer, it’s still important to give further inspection once the property is yours. BMV and repossessed properties may have hidden damage that could get worse over time if not located. Even if it is too late to pull out of buying the property, it’s vital that you still locate any issues there may be in it. This way you can get the problem fixed early on, reducing the chances of the problem getting any worse and more expensive to deal with. Parts of the property to check are dripping faucets, the running toilets, plumbing leaks, the fuse box and the garden area. As well as this, a deep clean always goes a long way. The buyer doesn’t meet the previous tenant for some of these types of property sales, therefore the new owner has no idea what the previous tenant was like. If this occurs when you buy a property, make sure you have a deep clean when you move in, as you have little knowledge of how hygienic or unhygienic the previous occupiers may have been.
Evaluate the security:
Again, this is important whether you are moving into the property yourself or you bought it for an investment opportunity. If a house was repossessed there is a chance bailiffs may had to damage the locks during the process. If this does happen, it may not have been outlined by the seller when you were viewing the property.
It’s also worthwhile checking the windows if not already done so, as well as ensuring there is a working burglar alarm. You will feel more content in a new home with great security measures. As for an investment point of view; it will give future occupiers confidence in the property knowing the security has recently been updated.
Get it valued:
One of the main attractions to BMV and repossessions are the fact they can be great value for money. Many of the sales take place before the seller has much time to get the property accurately valued. Regardless if you are using it for an investment opportunity or you plan to make your new home, it’s useful to get the property valued by a neutral professional, just so you can get more of an idea of the properties genuine value.
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