Shared Ownership "Market Prices"

MrJangles89

Hi everyone, I'm in the market for a property here in London and one of the avenues I've briefly considered is Shared Ownership. Avoiding the question of whether or not SO is a good idea or not (I can certainly see flaws in the scheme) I was wondering what you can do when a property is vastly overpriced?
Consider this property: JUDD APARTMENTS, GREAT AMWELL LANE, LONDON N8 7NP
urbanmoves . com
/property-details/4746848/
"Full market value" of £350,000
Compare this to the private market. Almost identical property just a few doors down, built at the same time, to the same spec, as part of the same development:
rightmove.co .uk
/properties/97001444
Actual private market value of £300,000
How on earth do shared ownership companies arrive at their valuations? I had to email and ask: Apparently the RICS do it for them. So how could the RICS arrive at such a valuation? Is there any way to get them to revise these things? It seems another reason why SO could be considered a scam.

moneysavinghero

The two links you have posted are for £350,00 and £345,000. Both shared ownership,

AdrianC

https://www.urbanmoves.com/property-details/4746848/
£140k 40%, £350k market

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/97001444
£172.5k 50%, £345k market. Where are you getting £300k from?

Sorry, what was your point?

Here's some £300k flats nearby.
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/90877093#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/101577425#/
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/105598040#/
If you think they offer better value, buy one. If you can raise the £300k, why buy 40-50% for £140-£170k?

2016housebuyer

I bought a shared ownership house which was 'valued' at 300k, it's a semi-detatched and the IDENTICAL (mirror image) attached house sold within 2 months of mine for 255k (it was on Rightmove for 280k) - there was no great movement of prices in those two months.

Next doors house has a re-fitted bathroom, modern kitchen and a new-ish boiler. My house had a 25 year old kitchen/ 25 year old bathroom/ ancient boiler that didn't work. Given how quickly shared ownership properties where I live sell (South East), and that many of them have a mythical 'premium' added where you have to pay 10k+ cash that can't be added to the mortgage to the vendor for supposed improvements, my house was still a bargain even if over-priced.

I have a lovely 3 bed house with garage in a great area for combined mortgage/rent of £625 a month compared to around £950 a month for a 2 bed house without garage in the same area. I was worried about the mortgage valuation coming in under as there was nothing similar sold for 300k in recent times when I bought but it came back at 300k.

I know people criticise shared ownerships but for me I could NEVER afford a normal mortgage on a single wage in my area, I have no desire to move to a cheaper area so my option was renting forever or shared ownership. As above, in my case this meant an upgrade in house for less money that I was paying renting.

MrJangles89

Unfortunately MSE won't let me post links or edit my own posts... damned annoying when you make a mistake.
This is the correct link: 
rightmove.co.uk
/properties/101577425#/
As I say: Same spec, same development, same developer, same build year. It really is comparable. 
My point is that the people who run Shared Ownership schemes are supposed to be CHARITIES. The schemes are supposed to help people who couldn't otherwise afford to buy. However if the property is overvalued, then you're actually getting ripped off from the beginning, before you've even started paying for it.

MrJangles89

2016housebuyer said:

I bought a shared ownership house which was 'valued' at 300k, it's a semi-detatched and the IDENTICAL (mirror image) attached house sold within 2 months of mine for 255k (it was on Rightmove for 280k) - there was no great movement of prices in those two months.

Next doors house has a re-fitted bathroom, modern kitchen and a new-ish boiler. My house had a 25 year old kitchen/ 25 year old bathroom/ ancient boiler that didn't work. Given how quickly shared ownership properties where I live sell (South East), and that many of them have a mythical 'premium' added where you have to pay 10k+ cash that can't be added to the mortgage to the vendor for supposed improvements, my house was still a bargain even if over-priced.

I have a lovely 3 bed house with garage in a great area for combined mortgage/rent of £625 a month compared to around £950 a month for a 2 bed house without garage in the same area. I was worried about the mortgage valuation coming in under as there was nothing similar sold for 300k in recent times when I bought but it came back at 300k.

I know people criticise shared ownerships but for me I could NEVER afford a normal mortgage on a single wage in my area, I have no desire to move to a cheaper area so my option was renting forever or shared ownership. As above, in my case this meant an upgrade in house for less money that I was paying renting.

Interesting. For reference, the same property sold in 2019 for £315,000. That's a £35K increase in 18 months. 
Another shared ownership on the first floor in the same building (so should cost more, as you pay a little extra per floor) has been on the market for 8 months for LESS: £345,000 "market value". I went to view it and the owners were miserable: They had moved out due to work in another part of the country, but still had to pay for this London property. They felt it was overpriced, but there was nothing they could do. The prices are set by the schemes. Only now, after 8 months of paying for two properties, has there been an "offer" (I think after 6 months of no sale they begin to get flexible on the price).
One of the residents in the same building told me that the biggest mistake she ever made in her entire life was joining a shared ownership scheme. 
I'm glad it worked out for you, but others aren't so lucky!