Help.. stuck with a 80% of a house but have to move.. & renting difficult...

Bexm

Hello

I have been on here before looking for advice.. but now I need more..
We own 80% of a property though a first time buyer scheme which we put up for sale about 4months ago.

Only certain people can buy our house and have to fill out a lengthy questionnaire to see if they fit the criteria.. and not many people do.. and obviously this is putting people off and we are having very few viewings and even less feedback.. (good or bad)

I have got a job at the opposite end of the country and have already moved there and am staying with family.. my husband is following at the end of the month.

At first the agency who owns the other 20% of our house said we wouldn't be allowed to rent it, but have now decided we are allowed but the people who rent must also fit the criteria, we aren't allowed to make a profit and we must pay the agency for the privilage.. and we are only allowed to rent for a year.., but has to be a min of 6months!!

This is leaving us in a really crap position.. and we are not sure what to do!
We can't really take the house off the market, but who's going to want to buy a house that has tenants who are going to be there 6months to a year (and the tenants can't still be there when the next person buys it).. and who's going to want to rent a house when they know they are going to be kicked out in 6months to a year.. and there's the worry they won't keep it tidy for viewings..! And god knows what happens after the year if it still isn't sold!!

Also if we rent it we need our furniture out of it, and again 6months unfurnished isn't appealing...

We can't stay with parent's indefinitely, but we can't afford to get a rental whilst still paying the mortgage..

Can anyone offer any advice as we are completely stumped and starting to panic!


Thanks so much for anything..

Bex

poppysarah

What feedback are you getting?

Is it the scheme putting people off?

Bexm

The people who we have had feedback from have said they really liked our house but the scheme is putting people off.. especially as only first time buyers who earn a certain amount are the only people who can buy.. and the majority can't get their hands on a deposit.. only a limited number of banks will mortgage our house too so they don#t have many options..

Another major problem is there are 3 other houses for sale on our close.. 2 that have been for 2 yrs (cos they are clusters with no gardens.. and noone wants them) and then another house has just come on that's as nice as ours... so everyone's going to see both..

Bexm

anyone got any advice for me today?

ILW

Drop the price until it sells?

Bexm

We're not allowed to drop the price.. it has to sell at "market value" which we had to get quoted by a chartered surveyor.. who we had to pay!! grrr

poppysarah

Did you get told all of these conditions when you bought it?

I'm against shared ownership because of this sort of problem (and others)

Bexm

We kind of got told of the things that were needed, but we didn't see them as problems at the time as we were young and naive.. and obviously the people would have told us how horribly awkward they were else we wouldn't have bought it.
We bought at the height of the market and when we viewed there were queue's of people viewing too.. literally.. and we only just got it!
Its a nice house in a really nice area..! just this stupid agency..!!!:mad:

missile

What a dreadful situation. Have you seen a solicitor?

My son has a 50% part owner scheme and his housing assosciation have a guarantee to buy back at market value. These homes are very popular, there is high demand and they sell very quickly.

WhiteHorse

The terms do seem to be unreasonable. See a solicitor perhaps (look for a free initial consultation), or try the CAB. Is there a professional body that regulates these schemes?

PasturesNew

You bought into a scheme, which you were desperate/grateful for at the time.
It's not the agency's fault that the rules, which haven't changed, are putting people off.

One way to drop the price without dropping the price would be to stump up cash of your own for things like:
- cashback
- paying buyer's solicitor fees
- paying any stamp duty

It might be that the advert for the house doesn't explain the rules so people who would qualify don't know about it. e.g. I often read adverts on RM that say something like "Section 106 applies", now, I KNOW this is something to do with affordable housing, but I've no idea how/what or if I'd qualify or not .... and I googled it once and got no replies. It might be worthwhile the criteria being included in the advert - in FULL, so that casual readers will see the criteria and realise they DO qualify.