Shared Ownerhip-it’s a mind field please HELP!!

brit1234

Ask yourself which group benefits the most out of shared ownership, the buyer, the builder, the housing association?

If shared ownership is classed as affordable housing then why does the total costs cost more than the equivalent?

As said before I am a key worker, i initially had meetings about these schemes on various developments. I have sat down with their sellers, their on site mortgage advisers. Now my knowledge prior to going was enough to see there angles and give probing question to the parties.

A continuing theme is why are the mortgage advisors each recommending you buy more shares rather than paying more off the existing mortgage instead? Could it be that these mortgage advisor's on the side of the housing association rather than the buyer?

Anyway each time I took the figures home and tried every combination and they simply don't make economic sense compared to other options.

Then I have the experience of my keyworker friends, many of them. Everyone over the last 5 years has had problems without exception. That fact reinforces my position not to mention the large amount of threads on MSE with people with similar problems.

Now with the end of 100%+ mortgages and the near demise of 95% mortgages which have been clearly framed irresponsible you have to ask yourself if shared ownership has replaced them with people who can't be bothered to save a deposit?

Ask yourself is shared ownership isn't a scam then why are they becoming deeply unpopular with lenders and buyers? Why are they not selling, why are housing groups increasingly pestering me with unselling shared ownership properties with repeated emails and texts?

'Our shared ownership scheme is a scam'

A couple who got on the property ladder through a shared ownership scheme have dismissed the concept as a disaster.

Special needs teacher Andrew Howard, 29, and his partner purchased a 40% share of a new flat in Leytonstone from Newlon Housing Trust less than two years ago.

When he was offered a new job in Norfolk he thought it would be a straightforward process to sell the property and relocate.
But their experience of ownership and trying to sell has left the couple, who have a two-year-old daughter, in despair.
Mr Howard paid £79,000 for his share of the £195,000 two-bedroom flat, which carried a monthly rent and service charge of £347 until it shot up to £433 in April.

The couple's problems began shortly after they moved in. They included:

• Rubbish not collected for five weeks because of poor access to the bin sheds.
• A lift out of service for 11 days.
• A broken front door which had no handle and remained unsecured for nearly two weeks.

Mr Howard said: 'We could not do any repairs ourselves because we were mostly tenants. When we complained, Newlon were invariably rude and unhelpful and treated us as though we were the problem.'
Things became much worse when they asked about selling their share of the flat, thinking the trust would buy it.

'When we suggested this, Newlon refused point blank, claiming they had no money to do so,' said Mr Howard.

He made a formal application to sell in April but discovered that under the terms of the lease he had to give the trust first option and up to eight weeks to resell the property, for which it would claim an agent's fee of 0.75%.

Mr Howard had the flat cleaned and painted ready for viewings but heard nothing from Newlon for two weeks.

The couple were then contacted by valuers, to whom they were asked to pay £300 in addition to paying Newlon's £400 legal costs and for a home information pack.

By early June the trust had still not put the flat on the market and told Mr Howard the eight-week period when it had sole agency rights would only begin when it appeared on a website marketing shared ownership homes.

Newlon also said it had a list of interested buyers but these never materialised, claimed Mr Howard. He added: 'In July, after many fraught phone conversations, Newlon finally allowed us to use our own estate agents, who at least tried to market the flat properly. 'But by then the market had gone flat and the holiday season had started.'

The final blow came this week, when Newlon assistant director Sunita Parbhaka told Mr Howard she wanted to contact their mortgage lenders, Nationwide, to 'find a way to help you'.
According to Mr Howard, she said she wanted to discuss repossession of the flat even though the couple had never been in arrears. Mr Howard said: 'I am appalled a charity which is meant to help people like us would want to force us into repossession and extract money from us at every turn.'

He now considers shared ownership, the flagship of Labour and Tory affordable housing policies, a 'scam'. He said: 'With shared ownership you have 100% liability and 0% rights.'

A Newlon spokesman said it had tried to help the couple. He added: 'We have not failed in our obligations to the owners of the flat, nor have we threatened them with repossession. We sympathise with people finding it hard to sell their homes in the current housing market.'

Read more: http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/mortgageshome/article-1639139/Our-shared-ownership-scheme-is-a-scam.html#ixzz1gFVSge1M

HARSA

Fair points you have made here Brit and I agree with many of them but....

I never experienced any of them certainly not sitting down with the sellers and their pushy mortgage advisers but then my was over 8 years ago.

I was showed the house, paid 250 reservation fee, instructed my solicitor and applied the mortgage directly to the bank. Please bear in mind that for every success story there are also horror ones. Now if i wanted to sell just like my former neighbour (mate) did --- thimgs are pretty straightforward. For eight weeks the HA advertises the property on their website and inform people on their waiting list. After which you go down the high street EA route to sell your half.

I think you should simply give people the facts and let them decide for themselves - it is absolutely unfair for you to be putting them off these schemes with your one liners such SCAM, RUBBISH, HORROR etc.

I think it all depends on the scheme, the area, type of bullt (esp flats). I am sure how these schemes work in bigger cities but mine is in a well sort out area. In a very nice village in Lichfield - staffordshire with very easy access to the motorway and big cities such as Birmingham, Derby, Nottingham etc