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Shared Ownership Nightmare
AndyRJ
Posts: 4 Newbie
Hi Everyone :wave:
New to the forum and after some advice. As you can see from the title it's another 'Shared Ownership' problem! Apologies in advance for the long winded post!
My wife and I currently own a 50% share in a 3 bed mews style property in the North West. We bought it just over 4 years ago for £60k at 50% as we had a growing family, were renting, and needed a bigger house. At the time we didn't have a big enough deposit to purchase a house at full market value and my wife was returning to university so wouldn't be working going forward...we thought this would be a good way to get on the property ladder and build up some equity. Worst mistake of my life it has to be said.
We had originally intended to keep the property until she qualified,staircase to 100% and then purchase another property. The plan was to either sell our shared ownership at 100% or keep it on a BTL.
Fast forward 4 years and we are now desperate to sell. We are the middle property in a row of three and to one side there is a family similar age to ours who are perfect, the other side however is a different story. We are now on our third set of neighbours and each one has progressively got worse and worse until we now have a young Gypsy/ Traveller family living next door and they are a nightmare! The previous two owners were also young couples who made a load of noise, having parties at all hours, karaoke at 4am...you name it they did it.Our latest neighbours constantly argue and as they don't work they spend all day sleeping and wake up when we’re going to bed. They come and go at all hours and make so much noise we struggle to sleep most nights. When they do go out they leave their dog at home who constantly barks until they return. My wife is at her wits end and it is affecting our two young children as they also invariably wake up.
HA are so unhelpful it’s untrue. They just told us to have a word with them. We did that with our previous two neighbours with little effect and I am not about to start a war with a gypsy family (who are well known in the area) and make things worse.
We put the house up for sale 5 months ago at 50%. Until about two weeks ago we had only had two viewings despite the sale price being comfortably less than other new build shared ownership in the area and it being offered for sale at less than we paid for it over 4 years ago. There’s a glut of SO on the market in the area at the moment which isn’t selling, the HelpToBuy shared equity scheme appears to have killed it off as this is much more attractive. Pity this wasn’t available when we bought our house! Other HA developments which are currently under construction are being offered on a rental basis only as there is obviously no appetite for shared ownership.
We have instructed another EA to market the property at 100% with a view to back-to-back staircasing at point of sale. This has attracted a few more viewings but we are still without an offer and it is clear that our neighbours are contributing to this. It is quite apparent they are gypsy’s from the van(s) permanently parked on the drive and their appearance, we knew they were before we even spoke to them so it’s obvious that any prospective purchaser would be able to determine this and consequently run a mile. Quite how they have been allowed to buy a shared ownership property I don’t know. As I understand it they paid cash for their 50% share so why they are considered ‘to be in need of shared ownership’ is beyond me.
HA do not want to buy it back and are being very difficult about the back-to-back staircasing arrangement. We agreed a minimum sale price with them of £110,000 (£55,000 for 50%) however, if we want to back-to-back staircase they are saying we need to have it valued. I don’t think this is fair as although it is a requirement of the lease, none our neighbours had a valuation and we have already agreed on a minimum sale price so why should this change if we sell 100% rather than 50%? I accept that the requirement for a valuation is there in the lease regardless of the percentage you are selling/ acquiring however, the HA have set a precedent by allowing our neighbours to sell their property without one and for £5k less than they bought their 50% share for.
We are considering all our options at the moment but really don’t know what to do. Do we:
1.Staircase to 100% to make it more ‘attractive’. If we still struggle to sell then obtain consent to let from our lender? Problem I have with this is that we may not obtain consent to let after staircasing to 100% and could still be unable to sell which means we are stuck owning 100% of the property with gypsy’s for neighbours.
2.Continue to market as it is i.e. at both 50% and 100% and pray for the best?
3.Attempt to part-exchange on a new build? I am not sure if this is even viable or not, obviously this would be a back-to-back staircase arrangement with the developer but unsure if they would entertain a shared ownership house as a part-ex. Do we even need to tell them? Obviously we could have the valuation done and say we already own 100%, as far as they are concerned they would still be buying 100% but 50% of the sale would go to the HA. We could also do this in conjunction with Point 1 above, i.e. staircase to 100% and then look to part-ex the property a little bit further down the line. Again though, the problem here would be that we have no idea if the developer would want it as a part-exchange (ex social housing stock) plus we would in all likelihood have to wait at least 6 months or longer before we could apply for another mortgage for a new house. At least with B2B staircasing we would only need to apply for one mortgage.
Option 3 would be our preference. The HA have pretty much said they don’t care what we do with it, they’re only interested in the money after all. Has anyone else been able to successfully part-exchange their shared ownership on a new build via a back-to-back staircasing arrangement?
Thanks in advance.
Andy
New to the forum and after some advice. As you can see from the title it's another 'Shared Ownership' problem! Apologies in advance for the long winded post!
My wife and I currently own a 50% share in a 3 bed mews style property in the North West. We bought it just over 4 years ago for £60k at 50% as we had a growing family, were renting, and needed a bigger house. At the time we didn't have a big enough deposit to purchase a house at full market value and my wife was returning to university so wouldn't be working going forward...we thought this would be a good way to get on the property ladder and build up some equity. Worst mistake of my life it has to be said.
We had originally intended to keep the property until she qualified,staircase to 100% and then purchase another property. The plan was to either sell our shared ownership at 100% or keep it on a BTL.
Fast forward 4 years and we are now desperate to sell. We are the middle property in a row of three and to one side there is a family similar age to ours who are perfect, the other side however is a different story. We are now on our third set of neighbours and each one has progressively got worse and worse until we now have a young Gypsy/ Traveller family living next door and they are a nightmare! The previous two owners were also young couples who made a load of noise, having parties at all hours, karaoke at 4am...you name it they did it.Our latest neighbours constantly argue and as they don't work they spend all day sleeping and wake up when we’re going to bed. They come and go at all hours and make so much noise we struggle to sleep most nights. When they do go out they leave their dog at home who constantly barks until they return. My wife is at her wits end and it is affecting our two young children as they also invariably wake up.
HA are so unhelpful it’s untrue. They just told us to have a word with them. We did that with our previous two neighbours with little effect and I am not about to start a war with a gypsy family (who are well known in the area) and make things worse.
We put the house up for sale 5 months ago at 50%. Until about two weeks ago we had only had two viewings despite the sale price being comfortably less than other new build shared ownership in the area and it being offered for sale at less than we paid for it over 4 years ago. There’s a glut of SO on the market in the area at the moment which isn’t selling, the HelpToBuy shared equity scheme appears to have killed it off as this is much more attractive. Pity this wasn’t available when we bought our house! Other HA developments which are currently under construction are being offered on a rental basis only as there is obviously no appetite for shared ownership.
We have instructed another EA to market the property at 100% with a view to back-to-back staircasing at point of sale. This has attracted a few more viewings but we are still without an offer and it is clear that our neighbours are contributing to this. It is quite apparent they are gypsy’s from the van(s) permanently parked on the drive and their appearance, we knew they were before we even spoke to them so it’s obvious that any prospective purchaser would be able to determine this and consequently run a mile. Quite how they have been allowed to buy a shared ownership property I don’t know. As I understand it they paid cash for their 50% share so why they are considered ‘to be in need of shared ownership’ is beyond me.
HA do not want to buy it back and are being very difficult about the back-to-back staircasing arrangement. We agreed a minimum sale price with them of £110,000 (£55,000 for 50%) however, if we want to back-to-back staircase they are saying we need to have it valued. I don’t think this is fair as although it is a requirement of the lease, none our neighbours had a valuation and we have already agreed on a minimum sale price so why should this change if we sell 100% rather than 50%? I accept that the requirement for a valuation is there in the lease regardless of the percentage you are selling/ acquiring however, the HA have set a precedent by allowing our neighbours to sell their property without one and for £5k less than they bought their 50% share for.
We are considering all our options at the moment but really don’t know what to do. Do we:
1.Staircase to 100% to make it more ‘attractive’. If we still struggle to sell then obtain consent to let from our lender? Problem I have with this is that we may not obtain consent to let after staircasing to 100% and could still be unable to sell which means we are stuck owning 100% of the property with gypsy’s for neighbours.
2.Continue to market as it is i.e. at both 50% and 100% and pray for the best?
3.Attempt to part-exchange on a new build? I am not sure if this is even viable or not, obviously this would be a back-to-back staircase arrangement with the developer but unsure if they would entertain a shared ownership house as a part-ex. Do we even need to tell them? Obviously we could have the valuation done and say we already own 100%, as far as they are concerned they would still be buying 100% but 50% of the sale would go to the HA. We could also do this in conjunction with Point 1 above, i.e. staircase to 100% and then look to part-ex the property a little bit further down the line. Again though, the problem here would be that we have no idea if the developer would want it as a part-exchange (ex social housing stock) plus we would in all likelihood have to wait at least 6 months or longer before we could apply for another mortgage for a new house. At least with B2B staircasing we would only need to apply for one mortgage.
Option 3 would be our preference. The HA have pretty much said they don’t care what we do with it, they’re only interested in the money after all. Has anyone else been able to successfully part-exchange their shared ownership on a new build via a back-to-back staircasing arrangement?
Thanks in advance.
Andy
0
Comments
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I am confused according to channel 4, gypsies are lovely people and just misunderstood.0
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You aren't allowed to part exchange a shared ownership property I am afraid - I looked into it myself. So am afraid option 3 is out.:rotfl:0
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Have you discussed your desire to sell with your next-door neighbours? "Travellers" are often a part of a big community, and they may have friends or relatives who would be interested in buying your house.e cineribus resurgam("From the ashes I shall arise.")0
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Hi Everyone :wave:
New to the forum and after some advice. As you can see from the title it's another 'Shared Ownership' problem! Apologies in advance for the long winded post!
My wife and I currently own a 50% share in a 3 bed mews style property in the North West. We bought it just over 4 years ago for £60k at 50% as we had a growing family, were renting, and needed a bigger house. At the time we didn't have a big enough deposit to purchase a house at full market value and my wife was returning to university so wouldn't be working going forward...we thought this would be a good way to get on the property ladder and build up some equity. Worst mistake of my life it has to be said.
We had originally intended to keep the property until she qualified,staircase to 100% and then purchase another property. The plan was to either sell our shared ownership at 100% or keep it on a BTL.
Fast forward 4 years and we are now desperate to sell. We are the middle property in a row of three and to one side there is a family similar age to ours who are perfect, the other side however is a different story. We are now on our third set of neighbours and each one has progressively got worse and worse until we now have a young Gypsy/ Traveller family living next door and they are a nightmare! The previous two owners were also young couples who made a load of noise, having parties at all hours, karaoke at 4am...you name it they did it.Our latest neighbours constantly argue and as they don't work they spend all day sleeping and wake up when we’re going to bed. They come and go at all hours and make so much noise we struggle to sleep most nights. When they do go out they leave their dog at home who constantly barks until they return. My wife is at her wits end and it is affecting our two young children as they also invariably wake up.
HA are so unhelpful it’s untrue. They just told us to have a word with them. We did that with our previous two neighbours with little effect and I am not about to start a war with a gypsy family (who are well known in the area) and make things worse.
We put the house up for sale 5 months ago at 50%. Until about two weeks ago we had only had two viewings despite the sale price being comfortably less than other new build shared ownership in the area and it being offered for sale at less than we paid for it over 4 years ago. There’s a glut of SO on the market in the area at the moment which isn’t selling, the HelpToBuy shared equity scheme appears to have killed it off as this is much more attractive. Pity this wasn’t available when we bought our house! Other HA developments which are currently under construction are being offered on a rental basis only as there is obviously no appetite for shared ownership.
We have instructed another EA to market the property at 100% with a view to back-to-back staircasing at point of sale. This has attracted a few more viewings but we are still without an offer and it is clear that our neighbours are contributing to this. It is quite apparent they are gypsy’s from the van(s) permanently parked on the drive and their appearance, we knew they were before we even spoke to them so it’s obvious that any prospective purchaser would be able to determine this and consequently run a mile. Quite how they have been allowed to buy a shared ownership property I don’t know. As I understand it they paid cash for their 50% share so why they are considered ‘to be in need of shared ownership’ is beyond me.
HA do not want to buy it back and are being very difficult about the back-to-back staircasing arrangement. We agreed a minimum sale price with them of £110,000 (£55,000 for 50%) however, if we want to back-to-back staircase they are saying we need to have it valued. I don’t think this is fair as although it is a requirement of the lease, none our neighbours had a valuation and we have already agreed on a minimum sale price so why should this change if we sell 100% rather than 50%? I accept that the requirement for a valuation is there in the lease regardless of the percentage you are selling/ acquiring however, the HA have set a precedent by allowing our neighbours to sell their property without one and for £5k less than they bought their 50% share for.
We are considering all our options at the moment but really don’t know what to do. Do we:
1.Staircase to 100% to make it more ‘attractive’. If we still struggle to sell then obtain consent to let from our lender? Problem I have with this is that we may not obtain consent to let after staircasing to 100% and could still be unable to sell which means we are stuck owning 100% of the property with gypsy’s for neighbours.
2.Continue to market as it is i.e. at both 50% and 100% and pray for the best?
3.Attempt to part-exchange on a new build? I am not sure if this is even viable or not, obviously this would be a back-to-back staircase arrangement with the developer but unsure if they would entertain a shared ownership house as a part-ex. Do we even need to tell them? Obviously we could have the valuation done and say we already own 100%, as far as they are concerned they would still be buying 100% but 50% of the sale would go to the HA. We could also do this in conjunction with Point 1 above, i.e. staircase to 100% and then look to part-ex the property a little bit further down the line. Again though, the problem here would be that we have no idea if the developer would want it as a part-exchange (ex social housing stock) plus we would in all likelihood have to wait at least 6 months or longer before we could apply for another mortgage for a new house. At least with B2B staircasing we would only need to apply for one mortgage.
Option 3 would be our preference. The HA have pretty much said they don’t care what we do with it, they’re only interested in the money after all. Has anyone else been able to successfully part-exchange their shared ownership on a new build via a back-to-back staircasing arrangement?
Thanks in advance.
Andy
Contact your local council, they have law enforcement officers who will assess the noise and barking dog. It's illegal to have a barking dog next door as you're entitled to peaceful enjoyment in your home. Also, if the neighbours are making your life hell, especially late at night, the council can do something about that too.
Meanwhile, you could either give them a taste of their own medicine by playing a loop of the most horrific music all day long while you're out at work. Play it just below the illegal level. Really irritating music. I know that sounds like you'll make things worse, but you'd be surprised how that can do the trick.
Personally, I'd tell the HA that unless they sort the neighbours out,mwhich they're obliged to do as they're joint landlords, you will take them to court for damages as it's causing you ill health. You have to be forceful and constant. Niceness doesn't get through to anti social people.0 -
I am confused according to channel 4, gypsies are lovely people and just misunderstood.
Funny you should say that as I was saying the same thing to my wife a few days ago! :rotfl:ellesbellesxxx wrote: »You aren't allowed to part exchange a shared ownership property I am afraid - I looked into it myself. So am afraid option 3 is out.
Can you advise in what sense you aren't allowed to do it? The HA won't allow it or a developer wouldn't accept it? I have asked our HA about the 'criteria' for any potential purchaser following staircasing to 100% and they have admitted that there is nothing they can, or will do, to stop us from selling to whoever we want to. So, on that basis we could quite easily part-exchange on another property but I am not sure if any developer would touch it as a part-ex with it being ex-social housing stock.Winter_Phoenix wrote: »Have you discussed your desire to sell with your next-door neighbours? "Travellers" are often a part of a big community, and they may have friends or relatives who would be interested in buying your house.
They're well aware of our desire to sell. We told them that we are selling up in a brief conversation before it went on the market plus we've had a sign up in the front garden for the last five months. I'd happily sell to one of their relatives if they we're interested...in fact that's what we were hoping would happen. Either that or they would buy it themselves and knock through making one big 'Gypsy Mansion'! :rotfl:Contact your local council, they have law enforcement officers who will assess the noise and barking dog. It's illegal to have a barking dog next door as you're entitled to peaceful enjoyment in your home. Also, if the neighbours are making your life hell, especially late at night, the council can do something about that too.
Meanwhile, you could either give them a taste of their own medicine by playing a loop of the most horrific music all day long while you're out at work. Play it just below the illegal level. Really irritating music. I know that sounds like you'll make things worse, but you'd be surprised how that can do the trick.
Personally, I'd tell the HA that unless they sort the neighbours out,mwhich they're obliged to do as they're joint landlords, you will take them to court for damages as it's causing you ill health. You have to be forceful and constant. Niceness doesn't get through to anti social people.
The problem is that because of who they are we don't want to make things worse. There are a lot of 'Travellers' in the area either living in council houses or on various small camp sites. I'm certainly not scared of them but I have a young family and they are my first priority. The HA do have a specific person who deals with this sort of thing, and who we have liaised with before for previous noisy neighbours, but any complaint would quite clearly have come from ourselves. We've had enough now and just want out but desperately struggling to sell and wonder if we ever will do.
If we can't part-ex on a new build elsewhere then we may well be stuck with it permanently
0 -
The developers won't touch it...I asked about it and they double checked.:rotfl:0
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ellesbellesxxx wrote: »The developers won't touch it...I asked about it and they double checked.
Is that back-to-back staircasing? What if we staircased to 100% then tried to part-exchange, how would they know it was ex shared ownership?
Can I ask what housing developer this was with?0
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