The mortgage mystery leaving a Wakefield homeowner thousands of pounds out of pocket
‘I don’t know where to turn anymore’
Every month, Josh Judd pays almost £900 for a house nobody lives in. The 32-year-old bought the three-bedroom property in 2022, believing it would be the perfect first home for his young family.
But after personal circumstances changed a few months later, he and his former partner put the property, on Littlewood Crescent at City Fields in Wakefield, back on the market.
Three years on, he says five buyers have agreed to purchase the house, but every sale has collapsed because lenders would not offer a mortgage. Now he says he feels trapped.
"I've done everything right," he told Property Post. "I've never missed a mortgage payment, but I'm paying for an empty house that I can't sell. I don't know where to turn anymore."
The property sits next to a large electricity pylon. Although Josh was able to secure a mortgage when he bought the house through the Government's Help to Buy scheme, he says every subsequent buyer has been refused finance.
"We knew the pylon was there," he says. "We thought it might knock a bit off the value, but we never imagined people wouldn't even be able to get a mortgage on it."
Josh, who works with disabled children, bought the property for £228,000. It is now on the market through Richard Kendall estate agents using the Modern Method of Auction, with a starting bid of £180,000 for cash buyers only.
He says he and his family have spent the last three years trying to establish why the property, which was mortgageable when he bought it, appears no longer to be. "It feels like everyone just shuts the door," he says.
The family's frustration deepened after Josh spoke to people who worked on the City Fields development. He claims three former workers independently told him they were surprised the house had been built so close to the pylon and that it had initially been used as the site's sales office because it proved difficult to sell.
One former Avant Homes employee told Property Post: "We raised concerns about the property being so close to the pylon when we were building. You could feel the static through the hairs on your arms.”
However, Avant Homes rejects suggestions there had been any issue with the layout of the development. A spokesman said: "Our development's design complied with all relevant planning policies, technical requirements and site constraints applicable at the time, and the final layout was approved through the planning process."
Wakefield Council says the planning application for the housing development took account of the pylons and infrastructure that was present when the application was determined in August 2019.
“We are sorry to hear that Mr Judd is in this position but, if he has not already, this is a matter he will need to take up with Northern Powergrid and whoever advised him when purchasing the property in 2022,” a spokesperson added.
Northern Powergrid says the location of the tower was determined during the planning and design stages of the development. A spokesperson said: “The proximity of planned residential properties and the approved development layout were taken into account before the tower was erected, and the necessary assessments were completed as part of the process.”
There are no legal restrictions governing how close homes can be built to electricity pylons. Official UK policy recommends that properties should generally be located at least 50 metres from overhead power lines, substations and other major electricity infrastructure, but this is guidance rather than a statutory requirement.
Josh accepts the pylon was visible when he bought the property, but says that is not the issue. "I could get a mortgage," he says. "And I didn't mind living there because it's really quiet and the pylon didn't bother me. But if someone had told me nobody else would be able to get a mortgage, I never would have bought it."
He says the uncertainty has taken a heavy financial and emotional toll. "It’s so stressful and I can't keep paying for a house I can't sell. I just want someone to take responsibility."
Emsleys, the conveyancing solicitors who acted in the purchase, declined to comment on Josh's case because of client confidentiality.
A spokesperson added: "Solicitors do not typically visit a property as part of their service; they rely entirely on the client being happy to proceed with what they can see.
"In addition, they would not advise on the valuation of a property nor the suitability of a mortgage or any other financial arrangements."
Kensington Mortgages, which provided Josh's mortgage when he bought the property, could not be reached for comment.