Selling Shared Ownership Property

[walthamcross]

My OH has moved in with me and things have gone so well we're going to try and buy a house with the money we've raised for a deposit. I've owned a shared ownership house for just over a year now and am looking to sell it.

Is it really as complicated as it looks?

I haven't had personal experience but it is trickier than a "normal" sale. Basically, because you don't own the whole flat you have to agree the sale with your co-owner, the HA - and, most HAs will want the property offered to those who qualify for SO schemes first. If the house fails to sell within a specified time, then it can go to the open market but, bear in mind, mortgages are particularly difficult to come by for those wanting to buy SO so it could be a long wait. It's worth testing the market - although you may have to pay extra for HA admin charges as well as an EPC - but, if it doesn't sell, maybe resign yourselves to staying put for a while.

Sometimes HAs (assuming it is a HA property) have a waiting list of people who are also looking for shared ownership, so I would suggest you contact them first. Also some would like you to sell your share back to them so that they can rent it out. It depends what the housing needs are at the moment. Alternatively they may say they are not interested and you can sell your share on the open market. Because of the state of the property market at the moment I am not sure how easy that will be. Hopefully the HA want it back and that would make it very easy, but unfortunately they don't tend to pay very much.

The HA don't want it back, this block is, I've learnt from someone I know on the local council, being sold to another HA in a few months time. I've trawled many a site and only found a few people that have ever sold these things!

Hi

We put our shared ownership flat on the market (not open market, but through housing association) in October. We have a buyer now, everything is going through we are just waiting to exchange contracts.

A few of the properties in our block have sold in the last few years and ours was a resale when we bought it.

I would contact your HA and they will send you a resales pack which will have most of the info you need to know. You won't be committed to selling. It took us ages to get round to it. But I am really glad we did.

HTH

Gruffalo, i've the valuer coming around on Monday and then it'll go on the market! I learnt today too that I've been promoted (yay!) and we need to move 100 miles away!

This was a resale when I bought it, just 14 months ago! I'm hoping that it goes for roughly the same price I paid for it but that could be optimism.

Which HA did you use? Which county are you in?

Bump

Hi Walthamcross

We sold our Shared Ownership just before Christmas. The housing association had 6 weeks to market it and then it went on with a local estate agent with experience of shared ownership. We started all this in August so took us a good few months to find a buyer, but thankfully we have now. At the moment there havent been too many complications although we havent exchanged yet

Let us know how you get on

We've had three people come through to see the house. All three have applied to buy it, gone for the financial interview, and failed it. We're waiting on a fourth now but the HA aren't that forthcoming with information, I really have to badger them!

I'm getting really fed up with it all now, I want the place sold, now lol.

Our HA had to market our flat for 3 months but it was fine with them that we sell it through EA at the same time. HA was REALLY slow in everything, it took them about 3-4 weeks to put it up to their website and offer it to the people on their witing list. We found the buyer with EA, first time buyer and luckily for us her parents helped her with mortgage, it's very difficult for 1st time buyers to get mortage. And usually shared ownership properties are wanted by 1st time buyers. Hope everything goes well with your house, selling took us nearly 5 months but we have moved now and all was ok in the end!
Oh, and finding a solicitor who has experience with SO properties really helps!

We had a buyer, who then couldn't get out of their lease and we're all back to square one now. I can't afford an EA, I know a really good one but she's £2200!