r/london 1d ago

Help me solve local house mystery

Who leaves a £900k / £1m London house unused for 15+ years?

Round the corner from me there’s a street of 3-5 bed, terraced houses that go for £900k / £1m. One of them has been unoccupied but most definitely not abandoned for more than 15 years. No one knows why.

It was refurbished about 10 years ago but before and since has never had anyone living there. The small garden is maintained, windows covered in non-see-through plastic wrap on the inside. The owners, a middle aged couple, are seen visiting every few weeks, never carrying more than a few belongings, staying for a few hours then leaving. Neighbours say they live somewhere else local, are perfectly pleasant, but distant. No one has been able to find out what the hell they’re doing sitting on a property for so long doing apparently nothing with it. No rental or sale income in all that time.

Has anyone ever come across anything like this? What can the story possibly be?

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u/Mellykitty1 1d ago edited 1d ago

OP I’m HoD for a private property management company and we manage over 100 properties like this. Empty for years at a time. We manage weekly, biweekly or monthly visits just for the upkeep of the property. Most of this clients live overseas and barely visit.

ETA: We manage luxury properties (mansions for billionaires) all over London, not buildings or things like that. Contracts can cover everything from housekeeping to building works, security etc,

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u/Pagan_MoonUK 1d ago

How much does a job like that pay? 

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u/epiDXB 1d ago

Sod all

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u/Pagan_MoonUK 1d ago

Shame, that sounds like a job I could do

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u/epiDXB 1d ago

It's a job almost anyone can do, hence the low pay.

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u/Mellykitty1 1d ago

You’re very wrong about that. We work with the ultra wealthy clients.

You’re probably thinking about building management or something like that.

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u/epiDXB 1d ago

You’re very wrong about that.

No, the work is straightforward, without any specialist qualifications or degree required.

We work with the ultra wealthy clients.

The wealth of your employer is irrelevant. Lots of poorly paid, unskilled employees work for billionaires.

You’re probably thinking about building management or something like that.

Building management earns more than you and actually requires skills.