The journey out of shared ownership

TheKeymeister

Thought I should probably add this, as it's a little bit of a success story...

I decided to sell my shared ownership last year (October) with Orbit housing. So far they have been unbelievably incompetent and seem to demand something, wait until you've handed it in, then demand something else. Nothing is clear from the start.

My advice is to get everything done before approaching them, valuation, EPC, etc. Then they have no excuses. I had to market through them for a month (the lease says 3 months but they let me off for a month) and after a fortnight of having no interest whatsoever I asked if I could instruct an estate agent and they agreed.

Instructed an estate agent on the Thursday, property went up for sale on the Friday, and I had two offers for full asking price on the Sunday. The asking price was more than the valuation though so I had to settle on the valuation price plus £1k for fixtures and fittings. No worries to me though as the valuation price was what I paid for it in 2008.

It would appear that the housing associations have nothing to gain by selling these second hand properties, they want people to buy their new builds, so they make no real effort to sell them. There's something in it for an estate agent though, even though it costs more it's surely better than being stuck in a house that isn't selling.

Hopefully the end is in sight, I (hopefully) exchange today and complete on Thursday as my valuation expires soon (they're only valid for three months!)

Good luck!