to think this housing association is taking the mick

9 replies

FrustratedBuyer · 06/12/2011 21:50

I am about to buy a shared ownership property, which were marketed at certain price. My mortgage survey valued the property at 10k less than this. I've told the Housing association who wanted me to challenge. I did. The mortgage company said no can do.

The housing association in the mean time have been trying to "sort this out as quickly as possible" waiting for valuations on other flats. These have come in mixed, and they still want to wait for more valuations and challenge more valuations.

Six weeks on, with a mortgage agreed, I'm no closer to knowing whether I can move in, and having paid for some things don't want to pull out. Are they taking the mick? Should I try and force their hand?

OP posts:

LydiaWickham · 06/12/2011 21:53

Thing is, if it's worth £10k less than they think it is, then noone is going to get a mortgage for the higher amount, and all people buying a shared ownership property are going to need a mortgage and aren't going to have a spare £10k lying around to make up the difference.

Original poster

FrustratedBuyer · 06/12/2011 21:55

That's what I think, we're the one with the power here - they keep on saying that the valuation was too low,..., "we're working on this", but surely they're going to have to accept a lower price?

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LydiaWickham · 06/12/2011 21:58

Yep, how about replying back "a house is only worth what someone can get a mortgage for. If a buyer can't get a mortgage for X amount on this property, then you can keep saying it's worth X amount, but you will never sell it."

LineRunnerCrouchingReindeer · 06/12/2011 22:00

It ooks like the HA have built the properties using a business plan that, sadly, no longer stacks up.

Could you contact the HA's Board of Trustees? Or, if your Local Authority is in partnership with them, the councillor and chief officer in charge of housing? This is really, really crap, and a great shame for all involved.

Someone with the power to make a decision needs to know what's going on, and allow these properties to be inhabited.

NICEyBahHumbug · 06/12/2011 22:06

Oh well I could give you a story or three about how bad my old HA were when we bought second half of our Shared Ownership house.

The only thing I can say is try and go over the heads of whoever you are dealing with and get the name of the Chief Executive and email/ring them direct.

Its the only thing that made them get a shuffle on with anything and actually deal with any problem. They were all a bunch of monkeys who didn't like to do anything they didn't do on a daily basis or involved any level of effort or extra work without having a rocket up their arses.

Don't give up. Just put pressure on them. At the end of the day, they don't make money from having an empty house...

Original poster

FrustratedBuyer · 07/12/2011 12:08

It is such a pain - the seemingly endless dragging of heels with them. I don't like to go to someone like the top bosses, but it feels that's what I may have to do.

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NICEyBahHumbug · 07/12/2011 12:37

You aren't in the North West are you?

Original poster

FrustratedBuyer · 07/12/2011 13:34

I'm not, I'm in the South West. Was that where you were?

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NICEyBahHumbug · 07/12/2011 17:55

I was wondering if it might be the same housing association, but I know ourselves is north west based. Sounds like they are all as bad as each other! I understand where you are coming from when you say you don't want to go over anyone head... It really was the only thing that seemed to get them to do anything in this case. They did get very arsey with us when we called them incompetent as they were (apparently this is abusive). We had the last laugh though when, as we expected, they tried to charge us rent after they no longer had the right to.

Flip