Shared ownership mortgage dilemma

savingsj

Hello,

I am the 50% owner of a shared ownership flat in SE London. I have fallen fowl of the cladding crisis and the flat has received a B2 rating. The only certainty I have is that it will need some remediation works at some point in the future. L&Q, the housing association who own the other 50% will not commit to when or how the works will be carried out.

My dilemma is if I should pay down extra on my mortgage. I have always planned on over paying, but I am 5 years in now and have not put any extra money down. Basically I have an asset that is on paper worth nothing, with no guarantee of ever been remediated. I hope and expect that it will be fixed at some point, but it would not be the first block of flats to be condemned once works have finally begun. 

In the EWS1 report it states that the issues lie with the firebreaks within the walls.

To pay extra and save £1000's with increased financial risk in the flat, or to stick to basic payments?

Thank you!

jrawle

You are still liable to repay the morgage irrespective of what problems may be present in the flat, or whatever it may be worth. As far as choosing how to manage your mortgage is concerned, it's no different from any other. You need to pay it off eventually, and it's best to do so at the lowest cost possible, while staying within your means.

El_Torro

Your flat isn't worth nothing. You could sell it if you want, some banks will even give a mortgage on a property with cladding issues these days. Whether you get the money you paid for it is not certain though. 

You will have to pay off the mortgage sooner or later, regardless of when the cladding issue is fixed. I wouldn't base my decision on whether or not to overpay the mortgage on this.