Abandoned House

[EcclesCake]

There is a house close to where I live that was sold over 20years ago and since then has never been lived in.

I've seen some activity there of late and checked local estate agents to see if it had been sold again. I found an advert for the house but it had been withdrawn from sale. It was being offered for £3.9M!

I am intrigued as to why it has been left to rack and ruin, any suggestions?

[AB Editor]

Ghosts.

Some kind of tax dodge?

A serial property auction goer added it to his/her collection, only to forget about it. It has since been inherited.

[black_cat51]

life sometimes just gets in the way i suppose

[2sp_]

Maybe it was subject to a nasty divorce (as in the owners were getting one, not the house divorcing the bungalow next door), or inheritance problems.

Maybe it was bought as an investment or tax dodge?

There is a similar house near my mum. It was built about 20 years ago, but nobody has ever lived in it. Looking a bit tatty now though. Very strange. Local gossip tells us that it was build by a builder as a tax dodge.

[sandyRoe]

The value as an investment might be in the site. If it was bought for a million all those years ago they're seeing a fair return on the investment.

[Baldric]

This article might hold a clue

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2550007/Billionaires-Row-mansions-worth-350MILLION-abandoned-left-rot-quarter-century.html

[tamborine]

The bank has claimed it in lieu of debt.

we have a similar equestrian estate, bought by Spaniards who were refused planning permission for stud farm. They paid £2m but deserted the site 10y & the bank have installed security men.

[sherrardk]

This was in the paper recently - http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jan/31/inside-london-billionaires-row-derelict-mansions-hampstead

Maybe the people who own them have more money than sense?

[EcclesCake]

I've been doing some Googling and have found a proposal to convert it into a care home but that was in 2010.

It was, in its heyday, quite a high profile house, it is sad to see it in such a dilapidated state.

[mikey4444]

I wished I lived in an area where houses close to me where worth £3.9M !

[Bazile]

//I've seen some activity there of late ...//

Have a look through the windows to see if there are plants being grown inside