Bridging loan - house not selling

Just a thought - if the second house is in "a better area" could your son rent out the new house and move back to the original? Would rent in the new house cover the interest payments on the bridging loan?
By moving back to the old house within a year he wouldn't have to worry about CGT or about having to pay stamp duty on the original house (if he rented it out). I presume he paid stamp duty on the new house when he bought it as he was a second time buyer.
The furniture issue could be sorted out relatively cheaply so don't let that put him off renting.
I agree with the other poster who said that it's unacceptable that the lender won't arrange a meeting until the person who arranged the loan is back from leave. What if that person had left the bank in the meantime then they would have to arrange the meeting with someone else. The bank is profiting from the bridging loan at the moment so my cynical head isn't surprised that they are slow to change the situation. Go back and badger them until they agree to set up the meeting. Make a nuisance of yourself until they do it.
Don't discount going to another lender althogether and remortgaging both properties. Of course that means your son becoming a landlord and maybe he is totally against that idea.
Does he have much equity in the original property? How much realistically can he reduce the original property by in order to get a sale? I don't think it is the case that nothing is shifting in the current market. Houses are certainly selling in my own estate, although it is taking a lot longer than it used to. If something is a bargain then it will sell. That house is a big weight on his shoulders and I think I would do anything I could to offload it.
I wish him the best of luck. I have a feeling that he is not alone, although that is no consolation. And good luck to you - I'm sure it worrying for you too.

It's a very difficult situation to be in. Being realistic you have to drop the house to a level at which it will sell as stated by previous posters even if this means it will not cover the mortgage/bridging loan. You have not hit this level yet. Also it seems both houses are in negative equity, it might be a good idea to sell both houses however unpalatable this may seem, take the hit, and rent for a while. Nobody knows if things will get worse or better. The bank cannot help you in these circumstances even if they lent irresponsibly. If your son had a regular mortgage on the property and rented it out would the rent cover the mortgage, this is the only other solution. What is the interest rate on the bridging finance?

Regarding the restructuring of your son's finances, he sounds like an ideal candidate to go talk to MABS and get them to represent/assist him with the lending institutions he needs to speak to.

The lender could be unwilling to talk to him because they would much rather that he continues to pay interest and repayments at the rate he has been. To restructure or to make an arrangement could see them lose out.

I got some good advice in the past about contacting MABS to help me deal with a situation where I was paying huge amounts in rent and mortgage and they are in a position to drive for the best arrangement - plus they know their way around what's possible and what's not, so your son will get good advice on his next moves,.

Good luck with it
PS: I agree with the other posters about the business of having to drop the price of the house.