FTB Shared Ownership

Mac_Sami

brit1234 wrote: »

My mate found a drug addict chasing the dragon in the corridor of his shared ownership block last week. I was then asked by Hounslow council if I was still interested in their shared ownership properties.:eek:

Those pesky dragons... keep seeing them myself in these SO properties :rotfl:

(only joking - but the bit about the brothel and student loan fraud in the Barratt Home property on Panorama made for some interesting discussion...!)

MadSebW

I don't really understand the question.. Are you wanting to get them to lower the price of the full value or just the share?

My Husband and I are going through the shared ownership purchase at the moment on a 3 bed house worth 140k.. They were offering a minimumshare at 50% for 70k. We got offered a mortgage for 67k and went back to the HA and asked for a smaller share which apparently doesnt happen with HA's but they agreed and i managed to knock them down to a 44% for 62k. So trying to get a smaller share can happen although i know it's very un common. However i doubt they would knock down the value of the actual house/flat

Richard_Webster

I don't really understand the question.. Are you wanting to get them to lower the price of the full value or just the share?

OP was trying to lower the full value on the principle that it was too high.

Builders buy land and put up "apartments" but to get planning permission, usually have to agree that a proportion will go for "affordable housing". Quite possible that part of "deal" with Hsg Assn will be about the selling values. Builder wants everybody to believe that the flats are worth what he is selling them for, so getting Hsg Assn to sell for a percentage on shared ownership doesn't do any harm because builder can point back to the market value to justify his continued high prices. He will offer some kind of discount or incentive on his own flats which will not show on the Land Registry prices.

Obviously, as OP has perceived, someone buying shared ownership might not be so worried in the short term about present market value, as for him the bottom line is what he has to pay for the proportion he is actually buying. However, further down the track, if the values goes down he may get into negative equity on the value of his current share.

Mac_Sami

Yes, I'm looking to buy a 40% share at a lower value i.e. reducing the overall value of the property.

Richard, you might be interested to know that I made an offer yesterday - their line, as we expected, was that due to how they were funded, they did not accept offers. I persisted, pointing out that I have a MIP, "sizable" deposit and am ready to go on a quick purchase, however the sole sticking point was the asking price. The person is now going to talk to their boss, as "sometimes they accept offers below the asking price".

Even if nothing comes of it, it's still interesting to see what they'll say next!

Mac_Sami

MadSebW wrote: »

I don't really understand the question.. Are you wanting to get them to lower the price of the full value or just the share?

My Husband and I are going through the shared ownership purchase at the moment on a 3 bed house worth 140k.. They were offering a minimumshare at 50% for 70k. We got offered a mortgage for 67k and went back to the HA and asked for a smaller share which apparently doesnt happen with HA's but they agreed and i managed to knock them down to a 44% for 62k. So trying to get a smaller share can happen although i know it's very un common. However i doubt they would knock down the value of the actual house/flat

The new build properties I've looked at all had flexible options on the share you could purchase, usually to the nearest 5%. Think the HA may have been trying to hold out for more money in your case, but at least you got the share and price you wanted

Mac_Sami

Time to revisit this one!

Since making an offer on the 5th, I've heard nothing back from them, which in my opinion is just poor. I phoned yesterday asking to speak to the person I deal with, only to be told they were out but would return my call. Surprise surprise, no call was returned. I phoned a second time yesterday, and again was promised my call would be returned, but it wasn't.

I'm unhappy about this - I appreciate they might be a bit peeved at the offer, but it would save everyone's time if they just had the courtesy to give me an answer either way with regards to the offer. Is there anything I can say or do to help "conclude" this deal - even if it means walking away (which I have no issue with doing).

Mac_Sami

Finally received an answer - the HA have accepted my offer.

Richard_Webster

Congratulations on your persistence!

angelesque

Well done! Really interesting to hear about this - like others, I had assumed that the asking prices for SO schemes are non-negotiable. Enjoy your new home

Mac_Sami

Thanks guys I had thought the same, but I think this shows that persistence and sticking to your guns gets the results.

I'm hoping to keep note of the whole process as a sort of guide for other people looking at shared ownership.

Here's to hoping this is the first of many offers they accept from us SO buyers!