Orbit Homes anyone? Let's hear some nice SO stories?

sallymay

To Quote you Brit1234..this is insane:

As shared ownership is often classed as the affordable housing in a developement the properties are often combined with housing association renting tenants. This is the random element who you get next door. Below are examples of problem neighbours you may get.

1. Hounslow a group of heroine addicts constantly shooting up in the stairways. Being let in by HA tenants and then security doors broken and never being repaired.
2. Nottinghill shared ownership tenants being broken into by HA neighbours and having cars vandalised.
3. Fulham gangs of HA tenant next to shared ownership flat intimidating occupants, breaking communal doors and smoking drugs outside SO front door.
4. Hammersmith extremely violent criminals living next door intimidating shared ownership tenants. Flats were actually on a episode of Location Location but this never came up in the show.

Sorry but this is a bit much...
Firstly..im not from any of these places...Far from it.
Secondly it isn't a flat.

I think you are looking too deeply into your own experiences and perhaps own areas and not reading where i am actually coming from?

So most SO buyers are drug addicts and vandals? Not a great open mind to have if I may say so myself.

Can you PLEASE read the thread title before putting scare stuff like this around?

brit1234

If it is a house do you strangely have a service charge and what do the costs cover?

I have seen shared ownership houses with service charges before and just seems an extra con.

sallymay

brit1234 wrote: »

If it is a house do you strangely have a service charge and what do the costs cover?

I have seen shared ownership houses with service charges before and just seems an extra con.

Yes i have! I have all service charges, the lot! And i am happy with the result! I do know that some costs like..rent and some service charges do increase and decrease from time to time too but...im comfortable..i know what i can afford (now anyway).

None of us know what is around the corner, whether you're a property owner, if you rent, whatever, you could still lose you job at the end of the day or have noisey neighbours..but yet people do have to take those risks!

Telling people they are likely to have drug addicts moving in next door just because of their own area knowledge dosn't make it fair to tell others that that is what will happen to them.

Again, read my topic please.

brit1234

I'm just giving real examples of 4 shared ownership blocks I am familiar with. There are 2 I know in Brentford and Wandsworth where there haven't had the problems in the block. In the brentford one my friends wife got shot with an airgun from the neighbouring housing association block.

All I am saying is when purchasing a property make sure the breakdown of the blocks, housing. Quality of life is important. Many people are becoming unstuck as the HA can't sell their shared ownership properties and changes their use to HA rent instead.


Back to the service charge, what justification do they have for charging you when you have a house? It seems deeply wrong.

££sc££

Bekah12 wrote: »

If I buy 100% I have to offer it back for up to 25 years after purchasing the final amount. Again this could cause difficulties when selling.

I hope it doesn't cause you difficulties. This is in quite a few leases, now leasehold but used to be s/o as staircased to 100%.

In reality what happens, leaseholder rings HA and asks if they want to buy it back, they say 'no'. Vendor sticks on open market.

Or as happened to me this week, a leasehold sale was about to exchange when we (HA) received call from a panicked solicitor who found the clause in the lease about offering it to us to buy back (admittedly pretty late in the day), I advised him we didn't want it. Panic over. HA produces quick certificate for solicitor to give to Land Reg to advise this term of the lease had been complied with, to enable registration of new leaseholder.

££sc££

brit1234 wrote: »

If it is a house do you strangely have a service charge and what do the costs cover?

I have seen shared ownership houses with service charges before and just seems an extra con.

We charge shared owners in some houses a service charge. It's not a con. It'll cover maintenance of communal, unadopted areas, e.g. lawns/greens, flowerbeds, bin stores, car parks, unadopted roads, pumping stations, sewerage tanks.

Why should this be subsidised by the HA, e.g. other tenant's rents, when some HA tenants are amongst the poorest and most vulnerable in society?

In the same way it's likely that if you went and bought a new build house on the open market on a new estate, you'd have to pay service charges for these same items, if the estate wasn't being adopted.

sallymay

Thanks for that ££sc££

The service charge for me is very low to begin with and it does say that it is for the horticultural upkeep (as you say, trees and so on) of the estate. It's a "Gardens" estate plus my house to be is situated under street lights..apparantly this is a small portion of a charge too..but when i say small, its about as small as the buildings insurence at £4 a month.



Im still really appalled at how brit1234 is outright suggesting that all SO areas are places of gun violence and drug abuse..im just wondering why on earth you even looked into these places in the first place if you're a key worker with key worker friends.

brit1234

sallymay wrote: »

Im still really appalled at how brit1234 is outright suggesting that all SO areas are places of gun violence and drug abuse..im just wondering why on earth you even looked into these places in the first place if you're a key worker with key worker friends.

I looked into it early on and decided against it. I even went to open days but was smart enough to see through their so called independent mortgage advisor. The sums simply didn't work out.

As for the crime element that is just a London thing, I found out after over the years. You can be appalled all you like however you are ignoring the realities of new developments which have mixed residents.

Instead I have saved a bigger deposit to buy a house in a good low crime wealthy area. No service charge, no rent and a cheaper mortgage with the added benefit that I own the place and not a percentage of a lease.

sallymay

brit1234 wrote: »

Instead I have saved a bigger deposit to buy a house in a good low crime wealthy area. No service charge, no rent and a cheaper mortgage with the added benefit that I own the place and not a percentage of a lease.

Congratulations to you, however if it's meant to make me envious in any way then it really dosn't. Im not even saying it is at all a problem for me here..but you're taking it that way.

Once again with the "low crime area" thing...why on earth are you pushing it that Im in a "high crime area"?? That's the opinion I'm getting here!! Ive lived here for 26 years, and my parents for 50+! I think we know when we're safe in our beds at night, unlike yourself with your knowledge of shootings and goodness knows what that you're assuming I must be coming from. You're awfully rude in my opinion.

The idea of the thread was to show a bit of compassion and perhaps make people, well ME i guess.. who have to maybe choose this option because they can't do what you have apparantly done and have heard nothing but scare stories everywhere.

If you were so well off and wealthy and amazing then why did it even cross your mind or your amazing sparkley friends mind to even look into it?

But anyway you came on spreading the fear and only your side of the deal which wasn't at all asked for.

Even if no one replied then at least the people with bad experiences read the title of the thread and didn't bother to comment. Makes sense.

charleyroo

Hi OP

I have posted just now about my own experiences with shared equity (slightly different I know) on the shared equity is a scam thread.

I have 95% good things to say about the scheme I am on.... I'm trying to think of a bad thing.... nope, none really with the one I'm on. All I will say is to treat each scheme individually, seek independent advice, and use your own broker and solicitor, don't go with the ones the scheme suggests unless they are independent If you want to know anything feel free to PM me.