Compulsory purchase any advice?

hj2

Hi. Just starting compulsory purchase and I'm trying to get my head around it and what to ask for re negotiation.
I'm planning to get a chartered surveyor but have no idea what to ask before choosing one. Any help gratefully received

V_Chic_Chick

Do you mean that your house is being compulsory purchased? More details please!

hj2

Yes the council are buying my house, I don't have much choice in the matter, they are compensating me though.

phill99

You need to appoint a chartered surveyor who specialises in compulsory purchase valuations.

Here is the RICS website. http://www.rics.org/uk/knowledge/

They can provide you with a list of members specialising in CP.

You will also need a solicitor.

All professional fees associated with the CP will be paid by the acquiring authority.

Guest101

hj2 wrote: »

Yes the council are buying my house, I don't have much choice in the matter, they are compensating me though.

Under what circumstances? I always wonder about compulsory purchases. The value of property is what the owner believes it to be, but reality does not work like this

moneyistooshorttomention

Poor you! My sympathies.

I've watched someone be on the receiving end of this for their home and they had to fight hard and long not to lose money because of it.

As far as I could see (ie as an outsider) the Council did their damndest to make life a misery for those home-owners in the area they had targeted for CP. Some home-owners took the initial "peanuts" on offer and ran. Others sat tight and waited for a fairer pay-off. At that point the Council decided to unleash Holy Hell on them and moved in "renters" on a temporary basis and seemed to have deliberately chosen the worst people they could. At that point...all sorts of mayhem ensued and there was graffiti and noise and general troublemaking from those Deliberately Imposed Troublemakers and some home-owners gave way to the pressure and went.

There WERE only a VERY few that held out and fought and held out and fought some more to get a fair payoff. The "holdouts" did eventually get a fair payoff, but it took some time and a lot of fighting to do so.

Personally, if a Council did that to me ever....then I would decide at the outset to be a "holdout" and then proceed to work out what I needed to:
- buy an equivalent place
- then get it up to an equivalent standard
- cover my moving costs and other miscellaneous costs
- make a profit from having been put through all this

I'd then tape this list up on the wall right by the front door and remind myself of it every time the Council unleashed another "hammer to fall on my head" (be it in the form of another temporary Troublemaker Neighbour or whatever other method the Council chose to put pressure on me to go) and fight and fight until I got my fair payout.

Where do you stand on that?
- will you take the first offer?
- get pushed into taking the next offer (ie after the Troublemaker Brigade have started to be unleashed on you)
- hold out to the end and gawdhelptheCouncil for trying to push you around?

What is your viewpoint on this?

hj2

We've known it's been coming for a few years, they have promised market value + 10%. We've had a taste of what it's like with empty houses around as there was a voluntary purchase a couple of years back, they employed security guards then, it wasn't brilliant but it wasn't great. We have two young kids so I don't really want to be overly stubborn and be the last one on the street but I do want a fair deal.
One concern is we spoke to someone last year in a nearby street who were going through it at the time and they refused the first offer and then got offered a lower one so a bit apprehensive about that.

At the moment the council appear to be helpful rather than hindering so they aren't causing bother at the moment so we'll see how it goes!

We are trying to find a chartered surveyor, very difficult to choose when you're not entirely sure what you are looking for!

45002

hj2

Can I ask why they are doing a compulsory purchase on your home !

moneyistooshorttomention

1. Who assesses what price constitutes "market value"? Do the Council use similar methods to the householder for that (ie take the average of 3 EA valuations) or do they choose one EA and that's it (and you've noticed that that EA is known as the "Discount one" locally?

I would certainly want to check that "market value" really WAS "market value" in your position. That is...market value without taking account of the blighting effect that has been cast over the area, but the exact price it would be if the area hadn't been blighted.

2. The other point is how much money 10% of that is? 10% on a £50,000 house is only £5,000. Whereas 10% on a £500,000 house is £50,000. Big difference...= £45,000.

The exact details are a bit lost in my memory now of what I watched these people go through when their area got targeted for compulsory purchase. I have a vague recollection that the Council tried to say that "market value" was based on the price their homes would fetch on the open market AFTER taking account of the area being known to be blighted and that EA's would therefore recommend lower prices than previously for those homes there. I think (from that vague memory) that remaining home-owners were being told their homes were worth a lot less than before the Council came up with their redevelopment plans for the area (ie knocking off more than half the value) because of that blighting.

Make sure you compare your home with an equivalent home in equivalent condition in an area that is equivalent (but NOT blighted).

My house in that area had a genuine "market value" of £170,000-£175,000. If the Council had decided to compulsory purchase my (then) area then my suspicion was that the area would then get blighted the second the Council announced their plans for the area and I might only land up getting told "market value" had sunk to £60,000-£80,000. I would intend to have my £175,000 the house had previously been AND removal costs etc AND at least £20,000 to get the next house up to equivalent standard AND at least £10,000 for having been put through that hassle. That would mean the Council would have had to pay me at least £205,000 for that house or I would have been a "holdout" and fought them. That was with that house being a "starter house" to me.

This house that I have just moved to is a Forever Home house. I therefore expect to spend around £50,000 on work on it and would need a "bribe" of at least £20,000 to move and the Council would have to hand me at least £70,000 more than "market value prior to blighting" if they wanted me not to fight them.

Is your house a "starter house" to you or did you expect to stay there and regard it as your Forever Home? I would say that needs to be taken into account too when you decide how much money you will accept to get forced out.

EDIT: Do check the position though...as my memory is very vague on the details...as it was something happening to someone else (ie not myself). I've just done a quick google and found a Daily Telegraph article which includes the statement that the law states that the "market value" must be based on what the house was worth before redevelopment plans for the area were made (ie prior to the blighting effect).

moneyistooshorttomention

LESSONLEARNED

...are you reading this thread? Wondered if you have any useful input on this?

lincroft1710

Here's a link to the guide for CPO, it's definitely worth reading.

https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/11487/147639.pdf

Most local Chartered Surveyors will be familiar with CPOs, but try to pick a well established one.