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Hi there, I am looking for some advice on what steps to take next.
A year ago, I purchased a new build Shared Ownership property in my local area.
From the day I got my keys, I have had nothing but problems…
1. The way the house was left for when I got my keys (over 80 snagging issues, grass up to my hips where it had not been maintained, broken window frames and general poor state)
2. Almost the entire street is low income rental or council housing – this was not mentioned at all prior to confirming to purchase the property. The concentration of these homes is intense. In every other street in this development, the mixture is far more sensible.
3. A number of concerning anti-social issues ranging from tenants brawling and assaulting each other in the street to littering in the street, dealing and taking drugs in public, drinking alcohol in the street and generally not respecting the area.
Dealing with the housing association in question has become a second job to me with constant chaser emails re the snagging, trying to get compensation for the awful state the garden was left in.
With regards point two, I fully appreciate that there has to be a mix of neighbours from all walks of life. However, the property marketing brochure deliberately greyed out the volume of council and low rental properties in our street such that it looked like there would be some social housing, and the rest outright owned. When you walk around our development, my street has a far higher concentration of low income rental and council housing than any other street. It is just not a good mix.
Point three, I have raised several issues with the housing association re the fights and litter and they have been really slow to resolve matters. The noise during evenings and weekends has become unbearable. Children use the street as a park, kicking balls at cars, leaving bikes and scooters everywhere and throwing litter in our gardens. The parents do not supervise them and some are as young as five years old.
In summary, I am really not enjoying my time living here, I am not the only one..several other shared ownership neighbours are really stressed and fed up with living in our street and we have been there for such a short time. I am really concerned that the values of our properties will have been negatively effected by this and in my opinion, I think we have over-paid for our homes. When friends come to visit, they cannot believe how much I paid for my property. Friends and work colleagues are genuinely concerned for me and feel worried that I may end up trapped in negative equity. I love my house and street, and I don’t want to move, but I just don’t know how much more of it I can cope with.
I would like to make a formal complaint to the housing association outlining the above, however, given their lack of action on the above issues as it is, I am looking for some advice on what I can do after the formal complaint as I am very sceptical that anything positive will come of it.
Is there an ombudsman I could go to? If we can’t get these issues resolved, I am not happy to continue living here and I want to look into how and if I can get compensation as I feel a lot of important facts and details were not covered during the sales process for these properties. We (all shared ownership neighbours in this street) were pressured into signing on the dotted line off-plan with threats that the homes would be offered to someone else if we didn’t do things within hours of their requests.
I was really looking forward to finally becoming a home owner, but the experience in the last 12 months has been the worst in my life. I would never recommend buying from this housing association. Their online reviews mirror my thoughts.
I would be really grateful of any advice or suggestions.
A year ago, I purchased a new build Shared Ownership property in my local area.
From the day I got my keys, I have had nothing but problems…
1. The way the house was left for when I got my keys (over 80 snagging issues, grass up to my hips where it had not been maintained, broken window frames and general poor state)
2. Almost the entire street is low income rental or council housing – this was not mentioned at all prior to confirming to purchase the property. The concentration of these homes is intense. In every other street in this development, the mixture is far more sensible.
3. A number of concerning anti-social issues ranging from tenants brawling and assaulting each other in the street to littering in the street, dealing and taking drugs in public, drinking alcohol in the street and generally not respecting the area.
Dealing with the housing association in question has become a second job to me with constant chaser emails re the snagging, trying to get compensation for the awful state the garden was left in.
With regards point two, I fully appreciate that there has to be a mix of neighbours from all walks of life. However, the property marketing brochure deliberately greyed out the volume of council and low rental properties in our street such that it looked like there would be some social housing, and the rest outright owned. When you walk around our development, my street has a far higher concentration of low income rental and council housing than any other street. It is just not a good mix.
Point three, I have raised several issues with the housing association re the fights and litter and they have been really slow to resolve matters. The noise during evenings and weekends has become unbearable. Children use the street as a park, kicking balls at cars, leaving bikes and scooters everywhere and throwing litter in our gardens. The parents do not supervise them and some are as young as five years old.
In summary, I am really not enjoying my time living here, I am not the only one..several other shared ownership neighbours are really stressed and fed up with living in our street and we have been there for such a short time. I am really concerned that the values of our properties will have been negatively effected by this and in my opinion, I think we have over-paid for our homes. When friends come to visit, they cannot believe how much I paid for my property. Friends and work colleagues are genuinely concerned for me and feel worried that I may end up trapped in negative equity. I love my house and street, and I don’t want to move, but I just don’t know how much more of it I can cope with.
I would like to make a formal complaint to the housing association outlining the above, however, given their lack of action on the above issues as it is, I am looking for some advice on what I can do after the formal complaint as I am very sceptical that anything positive will come of it.
Is there an ombudsman I could go to? If we can’t get these issues resolved, I am not happy to continue living here and I want to look into how and if I can get compensation as I feel a lot of important facts and details were not covered during the sales process for these properties. We (all shared ownership neighbours in this street) were pressured into signing on the dotted line off-plan with threats that the homes would be offered to someone else if we didn’t do things within hours of their requests.
I was really looking forward to finally becoming a home owner, but the experience in the last 12 months has been the worst in my life. I would never recommend buying from this housing association. Their online reviews mirror my thoughts.
I would be really grateful of any advice or suggestions.
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