To think my flat won't ever sell!

[Monkeymilkshake7]

First time seller. I bought my 2 bed flat in 2016 on a shared ownership basis for 73k. It's a lovely property in a sought after location, small village with good transport links to the city centre. It went up for sale in December for 90k but then we reduced in March to 85 after only having a couple of views but no offers.

FTB put in an offer of 80 at the end of June which I rejected. They came back and said that was there final offer as the property needed some work doing to it which apparently wasn't advertised in the pictures (new flooring, paint job, new cooker needed and a few other things). I decided to accept as I didn't know how long it would be until another offer came in.

Agent rang on Friday to break the news that my buyer had pulled out. This was because they were fed up of the paperwork taking so long, didn't realise the requirements in buying a shared ownership property and didn't like the fact there were multiple people involved rather than just the buyer-seller etc. They also mentioned that they'd seen a property which was cheaper that they could buy outright. I'm not sure what they expected really, of course it's a much more lengthy process than buying outright as you have to deal with the other shareholder too. There isn't a lot I can do in regards to the process as this is something any standard buyer has to do.

Flat has gone back on for sale. I'm just feeling so deflated and wondering if it will ever sell. I am looking to buy a house with my boyfriend so we can start a family and it just feels like the day will never come

If you are happy to post a link then people can give very helpful advice.

Hi OP, there was a strikingly similar thread on here last week but from the buyer’s perspective. I’ll see if I can find it

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4303184-to-put-complaint-in-against-estate-agent

Figures are different (although the poster may have fudged to make less identifying) but it might give you some ideas. Hope you manage to sell.

It WILL sell. You only have to see the countless threads on here alone about wanting to get on the property ladder to know that. Whether it sells for the price you expect and in the timeframe you want is a different matter.

Sorry you’re struggling with selling. I had a hard time selling my flat a couple of years ago, although not shared ownership. My reasons for wanting to move were similar too.

Do you have a decent estate agent and solicitor? Might be worth considering buying some of the paperwork off the ex-buyer to speed things up for when the next offer comes in - although speak to the pros about that. Good luck!

Would it be simpler and easier if you owned 100% of the flat?

It crossed my mind that if it would, you might do better to do that jointly with your BF (you can protect your share of the equity in case you split), then sell it as a non-shared ownership and buy the house you want in a year or two.

I know a couple of people who've tried to buy SO properties, both gave up because dealing with the HAs was such a nightmare.

@VioletVesper

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4303184-to-put-complaint-in-against-estate-agent

Figures are different (although the poster may have fudged to make less identifying) but it might give you some ideas. Hope you manage to sell.

I thought you must be referring to this thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4289732-to-except-this-offer-on-my-property-so-torn

Also very similar!

Personally, I think this is one of the reasons why shared ownership is a rip off. It seems fine when you're the first owner because it allows you to buy with a small deposit , but when you want to sell, you need a buyer who is in a position to buy you out but unaccountably doesn't want to use that deposit-sized lump of cash to buy a non shared ownership property. Also, I think they lie to you/fudge the issue of how much the flat is "worth", since that value is made up by the developers and isn't tested on the open market.

Not to rag on you, OP - shared ownership is a scummy way for the state to shirk its responsibility to make sure there is enough affordable decent housing. Its not your fault.

The bottom line is that you can either drop the price (things usually sell if they are priced right) or hang on to wait for someone to fall in love with it.

Everything sells if the price is right.

Is the £73k your share or the total price of the flat?. If it is a share what is your share? Are you being confined to a particular EA? I believe the HA has a year (??) to set terms and then you are free to do your own. Surely this is a difficult time. Especially for the lower earners SO can be for. I think you will sell it. But it will be a while. We're in SO and we are so happy. It does work for some.

The problem is buying shared ownership is a massive PITA for the buyer so they will likely expect a significantly reduced price to make up for the inconvenience. That’s the problem with SO flats and houses, it’s not a sellers market for flats at the moment and your hair a big strike against before people even come in the door.

It would be a hell of a lot easier if you owned it 100%.

I'm not knocking SO. It's how we bought our flat. However I've not known anyone sell until they've bought out the HA.

Some flats can't be staircased to 100%

Shared ownership is known to be challenging for this reason. It's such a shame, the difficulty in selling means they don't rise in value as fast as comparable properties that are not shared ownership, which then means they actually are less helpful than they should me to the people they are designed to help.

Pp have said can you buy 100% then sell that? I think that's a very good idea, essentially means you get rid of the biggest barrier to selling, although check your property's rules for any restrictions on sale in the open market.

If you posted link people might be able to help a bit more?

@Monkeymilkshake7 I wanted to share my experience. I was in shared ownership and had no difficulties selling (3 years ago). We had several offers (the housing association chose who was accepted). I don't know if it's the same as you, but we were required to have the price set by a surveyor. This made the sale fair, as the surveyor's job is to make sure it is market value. If the sale wasn't agreed in 3 months, then the surveyor would revalue (this wasn't needed for us).

I don't agree with pps advice to buy the rest of your flat to make it easier. In terms of selling your flat, most flats are leasehold so it means there is another party involved in the sale, in your case the housing association. This will be the case whether you are shared or full ownership.

The problem with flats right now is they are less desirable, because of the pandemic, and grenfell. Are there any cladding issues with your block? I have several friends struggling to sell their flats (not shared ownership). People who would have previously bought flats are choosing to buy houses elsewhere as they we no longer needing to commute to their workplace every day.

I wish you all the best.

I agree that it could be the flat that's off-putting rather than SO. My daughter has just bought a shared ownership house. Yes the process was very long but it was cheaper than a new build shared ownership house. The pandemic meant that she didn't even consider a flat. She moved out of a rental flat just before the pandemic and was so grateful to rent a place with a garden. The lack of garden is probably what puts people off. We've noticed SO flats for sale for a very long time in our area. Some have sold but only when they dropped the price significantly.