landlord offered to sell house to us

kymmie_2

Hello, I'm looking for a bit of advice

Bit of a back story, I've lived in my bungalow now for 6 years, I only expected to live here for 6 months until something more permanent was found but it never happened. Last December the landlord sent me a message stating he was looking into selling the property as he has moved out of the area and he simply cannot afford to keep up with the maintenance it requires.
He offered to do a transfer of deed with an agreement to pay him a certain amount each month until the price agreed is paid. At the time I was scared to agree to anything as I was just about to be discharged from my bankruptcy.
Then in April I received a letter with an eviction order and I went through the process of going to the council with it and being told they cannot help me until its all been taken to court (which is normal protocol in my area for eviction). Unfortunately my landlord cannot afford to go through all of the court proceedings and sent me another text in September stating he doesn't have a choice but to drop the eviction and he will need to sign a new agreement.
However I've decided to start looking into buying again as I'm nearly a year since my discharge and things are going smoothly.

Basically the property I'm in is shared ownership and the landlord only owns 10% of the property (with the rest being owned by the local council). It does need a lot of work doing to it as there is damp, and its in desperate need of double glazing. I am thinking if I go ahead with it, I would be able to give the house the tlc it deserves without bumping up the value of the bungalow for the landlords benefit if he did indeed sell in the future.
Realistically my question is; If I buy his share would I be able to use the share to put a deposit or move to another home in the future?

My thinking is to buy his share, install double glazing, clear the damp and sell the share to move to a bigger home.

Another thing which has got me dreadfully worried is obviously this needs to all be agreed via solicitors to draw up a contract to transfer the deed and he's agreed the payments wont be any more than my rent is currently. Does anyone know what range the solicitor would charge to draw up these contracts?

It's a serious decision to make and I want to make sure I'm going in with both eyes open!

Comms69

All sorts wrong with this I fear. I mean You'll be paying him back and presumably paying the rent to the council too?


Is it even worth it when you account for all the work to be done?

AnotherJoe

I wonder if it’s allowed let out one of these shared ownership properties

Anyway it makes no sense to me to be paying 100% maintenance costs when you own 10%. Take the money you’d spend and lose 90% of and spend it on 100% of your property instead.

teddysmum

I believe that in the case of shared ownership, the resident has full responsibility for all repairs and maintenance, so you would be spending money to increase the value of the council's majority share,which they could then sell at a profit. The council could tell you what needs doing and councils have a reputation for being 'generous' when spending other people's money.


This sounds too involved and very expensive, but ,if the landlord can't afford to take you to court, you can sty put until he makes a move, giving you chance to find a better option.


I think you would have problems selling a share as small as just 10%,too.

Norman_Castle

With only 10% ownership of either you or your landlord if you spend 5k on windows you will only own £500 of them. Regardless of affordability 100% of maintenance costs on a property which needs expensive repairs and is only 10% owned is a poor investment.

HampshireH

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ANOTHERJOEView public profileSend private messageFind more postsView all thanked postsAdd to contacts

I wonder if it’s allowed let out one of these shared ownership properties

/QUOTE]

Not normallly.... It's usually a condition of the agreement not to sublet.

Pixie5740

I don’t think the private mortgage arrangement your landlord suggested is entirely kosher. In fact I’m surprise the council or HA allowed him to let out the property in the first place.

There will be less hassle properties in better condition to buy than this one. Go and see a mortgage broker to discuss your options.

kymmie_2

Thank you for all of your responses.
Basically I have no savings whatsoever and I get help with my rent via housing benefit.
The council are fully aware that he is letting the bungalow out to me and he is under strict rules so he cant actually make any profit from it so I'm paying way below any other private rented properties in the area.
I'm more or less thinking it will be my only chance to step into the housing market and I could use the percentage that I would have as a deposit on a better house in the future.
I have taken your advice on board when it comes to double glazing and improving the condition, as a couple of you have said, it would mean paying out for more than what I would end up owning of the property.

I would think speaking to a mortgage broker to speak about my options, though with no deposit wouldn't this be a waste of their time?

Pixie5740

If you have no savings and rely on housing benefit how would you afford the costs of owenership such as fitting new windows, insurance, maintenance, etc?

fairy_lights

It sounds like a terrible idea.
You'd be taking on responsibility for a property you won't be able to afford the maintenance on, for very little (if any) return.
10% shared ownership seems ludicrous and I can't imagine there would be a massive queue of people wanting to buy it when you decide to sell.

kymmie_2

When it comes to housing benefit I'm not relying on it to pay the full amount of my rent. The percentage which is paid to the council currently via the landlord, the rest of the rent is paid for via my earnings.
It doesn't sound like the most ideal way to jump onto the ladder, other properties in my area with shared ownership seem to get jumped on pretty quick.

When it comes to cost of being able to do maintenance, my partner has been offered a higher position in his line of work and would mean we will no longer need housing benefit and will have a money to put into the house.