Developers are knocking down my flat: what do I do

Riam

Hi, I bought my flat 6 years ago with the the help of government loan, I own more than half of the property and my lease on the flat is 70 years. My mortgage is less than £500 a month and only I have £59,000 on my mortgage left to pay. developer who own the land want to demolish the flat to refurbish the area and build luxury flats and shops. I've heard it's not compulsory purchase but I'm not sure and I don't know how to find this information out.
My worry is that if I agree to sell I won't be able to afford a house or flat in London again and I will be pushed further out.
Im panicking because if this goes ahead i will lose my cheap mortgage and I won't be able to afford to buy. My plan was to keep buying my share back and eventually own my home.
My flat is a two flat. I have my own front door and it feel like a house. I know I won't be able to afford another flat/house and I don't want to go through a part buy part rent scheme and buy into a new built. The developers have submitted their plans to the council and waiting to hear back. I heard the developers should be contacting own owner by the end of 2015. People I have spoken to said I'm in a good position. My biggest dilema is I don't want to lose out after paying back my government loan. Please help!
Riam

Southend1

In your situation I would be calculating how much they would need to offer for me to sell and be able to afford to move to an equivalent property without being out of pocket. Then adding a little more.

eddddy

If it's not a compulsory purchase, they cannot force you to sell.

Normally, the developers would try to persuade you to sell by paying you a good price.

Different developers use different tactics. They may start by offering you a price of £x, or they may ask you the price you want - and then negotiations begin.

Often property owners are pleased when this happens, because they get a 'higher than usual' price for their property - and can then buy something better. But your circumstances are unusual.


But the bottom line is... if the deal doesn't suit you, don't sell.

(The freeholders and other leaseholders may put enormous pressure on you - if they all want the deal, but you don't. So be prepared to stand firm!)

moneyistooshorttomention

I would have thought it might be worth asking your local Councillor what the position is as to whether the Council is planning on trying to compulsory purchase property in your area.

If the answer is that the Council ISNT involved - then I'm not aware of any other way someone can be forced to sell their home in these circumstances.

So - start with googling to see who your local Councillors are and ask their advice on this.

EDIT: Agree that, if indeed there is no way you can be forced to sell, then you might well experience pressure from others living there to sell up. So think up your tactics as to how you will deal with any such pressure in advance.

G_M

Do some research.

1) will the council order compulsory purchase (unlikley), and if so how will they calculate the value?

2) will the sale be your choice - so what will it cost you to buy and live in a comparable property elsewhere? Ask for more than that.

patman99

At the risk of hacking-off the other owners in your block I would hold on until mine was the last property to be purchased.
At that point, you have the upper-hand. If they want your property, then they will pay way over the odds for it.

If they don't, they will carry-on with the developement and exclude your block. The effect of the improvement to the local area would be to push up the value of your property by a nice amount as the area suddenly becomes more desireable.

London50

This could be the outcome....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236746/Road-built-building-couple-refuse-China.html

[Deleted User]

If planning has yet to be approved by the council, you could object.

Its difficult to give advice that means anything without a crystal ball or an idea what approach will be taken if the planning permission goes through. This will depend on the development company to a large degree.

As already suggested, you could contact your local councillor to see if he believes there are plans to develop where you live.

lincroft1710

patman99 wrote: »

At the risk of hacking-off the other owners in your block I would hold on until mine was the last property to be purchased.

There is a downside to this,.

All the other flats are empty and the developer starts work. Windows are smashed, pipes are "accidentally" cut through, external security door is removed, lights in communal parts cease working etc, etc

dacouch

Are you in Southwark?

Chanes

You might get a really good deal out of it! But I read someone advising you to get in touch with a local councillor and I seriously recommend that you do - check their profiles and see how active they are (the more the better) it is amazing how underestimated a councillor's insight and input is; getting a good councillor involved in a problem I had saved me a huge amount of time and grief with a property I was dealing with.