Six-bedroom seaside home goes on the market for £600,000 – but it’s so close to an eroding cliff

A seaside home that sits just a few feet away from a cliff edge that has suffered a series of landslides has gone on the market for £600,000 – but buyers have to pay cash because banks will not offer mortgages for it.

Sitting just a stone’s throw away from Trimingham Beach, the six-bedroom property in North Nortfolk, boasts a heated swimming pool and a pool house, along with two driveways, five bathrooms, a large entrance hall and a modern fitted kitchen with a separate dining room.

But to snap up the property, which offers stunning sea views, potential buyers will need to have cash at the ready – because banks will not offer mortgages due to its proximity to the cliff edge.

The period home sits on a plot of approximately 1.75 acres and is within walking distance of the sea and the North Norfolk coastal path.

But in an advert for the spacious Trimingham property, which at £600,000 looks ‘too good to be true’, an agent note asks for ‘cash buyers only due to the cliff erosion’.

The historical village has suffered from coastal erosion and recent cliff slips – including an incident back in 2020 which saw an area the size of two football pitches plummet to the beach below.

Sitting just a stone’s throw away from Trimingham Beach, the six-bedroom property in Trimingham, North Nortfolk, boasts a heated swimming pool and a pool house, along with two driveways, five bathrooms, a large entrance hall and a modern fitted kitchen with a separate dining room

But to snap up the property, which offers stunning sea views, potential buyers will need to have cash at the ready – because banks will not offer mortgages due to its proximity to the cliff edge

The period home sits on a plot of approximately 1.75 acres and is within walking distance of the sea and the North Norfolk coastal path

The historical village has suffered from coastal erosion and recent cliff slips – where an incident back in 2020 saw an area the size of two football pitches plummet to the beach below

Director of Coast and Country Estate Agents, Samantha Withers, said the sum that ‘looks too good to be true’ has seen house hunters flock to the listing hoping to scoop a bargain.

The director of the family-run estate agency said the Victorian home would offer its buyer ‘the taste of the good life’.

But she said potential buyers need to be ‘fully aware’ of the coastal erosion in the area.

Ms Withers said: ‘Cliff House is a truly beautiful property, full of period features, sitting on a two-acre plot, and boasts the most amazing sea views.

‘All of which are appealing to buyers searching for a property on the North Norfolk Coast.

‘The photos of the property show how idyllic the home and the location is, flaunting its coastal position, but it is also the price of the property which is what is making this Victorian House so popular on websites like Rightmove and Zoopla.

‘The attractive price of £600,000 looks too good to be true, which is why this stunning property is gaining a lot of attention.

‘We have many buyers calling our offices and asking ‘why is beautiful home so cheap?’

‘The answer, unfortunately, is that it is priced accordingly given the fact that potential buyers are unable to obtain a mortgage on the property, due to its proximity to the cliff edge.

‘Trimingham has suffered from coastal erosion in the past and has had cliff slips recently, so banks are unwilling to lend against it. This alters the price of a property.’

Ms Withers said the house would be suitable as a full-time home or as a holiday let investment.

She also said the current owners purchased the property as a holiday let which was generating a good income but a change of circumstances has meant the vendors are now looking to sell.

She continued: ‘The fact is, if this property was situated on a more protected coastal area, or slightly further inland, it would be marketed a lot higher than its current asking price.

‘The pandemic has caused lots of buyers to leave the larger cities and bolt to more coastal and rural areas, so all our properties situated near the beach have proven to be very popular.

‘The pandemic caused many buyers to rethink how and where they live.

‘We’ve had buyers coming from doing two-three-hour daily commutes to work, to now working from home, closing their laptop off at 5pm and are down the beach walking the dog by 10 minutes past – they can’t believe their new work/life balance.

‘Cliff House would certainly offer the taste of the good life for someone relocating to North Norfolk – with the breath-taking views, the surrounding land and it even has a heated swimming pool.

Director of Coast and Country Estate Agents, Samantha Withers, said the sum that ‘looks too good to be true’ has seen house hunters flock to the listing hoping to scoop a bargain (pictured: The dining area) 

The director of the family-run estate agency said the Victorian home would offer its buyer ‘the taste of the good life’ (pictured: One of the bedrooms) 

But she said potential buyers need to be ‘fully aware’ of the coastal erosion in the area (pictured: The kitchen area) 

Ms Withers said: ‘Cliff House is a truly beautiful property, full of period features, sitting on a two-acre plot, and boasts the most amazing sea views’ (pictured: The property’s pool)

Ms Withers said the house would be suitable as a full-time home or as a holiday let investment (pictured: The dining area)

Ms Withers also said the current owners purchased the property as a holiday let which was generating a good income but a change of circumstances has meant the vendors are now looking to sell (pictured: One of the bedrooms) 

‘However, any buyer needs to be fully aware of the coastal erosion in the area.

Upon discovering the property on Zoopla house hunter Heather Cullen, from Newark, Essex, tweeted: ‘Thanks Zoopla but I can’t help noticing what appears to be a series of land slips’

She later said: ‘I’m attempting to buy a house.

‘I was just astounded that they thought it would be a good idea to publicise it. I mean obviously they get a financial reward, but really?

‘A house that’s precariously close to an eroding coastline? I surely wasn’t the only person to notice it within half a second.’

The property description reads: ‘This six-bedroom Norfolk Flint house is spacious and versatile and is full of original Victorian features.

‘Ground floor accommodation is comprised of a large entrance hall, a sitting room, snug, modern fitted kitchen with separate dining room, conservatory, shower room and a utility room.

‘There is also a third reception room which is currently being used as a ground floor bedroom which boasts beautiful views of the sea and the gardens.

‘A grand staircase leads up to the first floor landing that serves the family bathroom and five bedrooms, two with en-suites and all five of which benefit from stunning sea views.

‘The whole plot extends to 1.75acres. From the road there is a five-bar gate to a large gravel, tree-lined driveway leading to the front of the property where there is a bountiful orchard with plenty of fruit trees on the left-hand side.

‘To the right – a brick-built pool room that houses the heated swimming pool.

‘There is a large storage unit housing the biomass heating unit and lawned gardens wrap around the house where there are an abundance of mature trees, shrubs, and decorative borders.

‘The large in and out gravel driveway offers parking for many vehicles.’

Lower down the advert, an agent note reads: *Cash Buyers Only Due To The Cliff Erosion* 

Last year homeowners in Mundesley, Norfolk, said they would not flee their homes now just 20ft from the cliff edge despite a huge landslide that left their seafront properties perilously close to the water.   

Campaigners warned that the section of cliff that collapsed was at ‘least the width of a football pitch’, although the Coast Guard are understood to have reassured local residents that they are not in immediate danger. 

But residents of flats left teetering just 20ft from the edge of a cliff after the huge landslide in a seaside village insisted they wanted to stay in their homes.  

They went on to say they were hopeful that a £7million scheme to shore up sea defences on Norfolk’s North Sea coast, including Mundesley and Cromer, would help prevent further erosion.   

On the advert, an agent note reads: ‘Cash buyers only due to the cliff erosion.’ Pictured: The garden at the property

The property description reads: ‘This six-bedroom Norfolk Flint house is spacious and versatile and is full of original Victorian features. ‘Ground floor accommodation is comprised of a large entrance hall, a sitting room, snug, modern fitted kitchen with separate dining room, conservatory, shower room and a utility room.’ Pictured: The garden