My SO Home: No. 32 – Update

My mother lived in an Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) Extra Care property. When she died, we expected the sale of her home to be straightforward. But it became a prolonged and distressing ordeal involving the housing association, Anchor, and multiple representatives.

Finding a buyer for my mother’s home

Initially, we believed that finding a buyer for my mother’s Older Persons Shared Ownership (OPSO) home would be our only challenge. How wrong and naïve that assumption proved to be. At every stage, we attempted to comply fully with the housing association’s requirements. Only to discover that processes, systems, and requests changed repeatedly depending on which member of staff we were dealing with.

Once we found a buyer, we encountered obstacles at every turn

When we found a potential buyer, we had to arrange an interview with the Estate Manager. I helped to coordinate this in mid‑May 2023. From that point onward, a frustrating journey began involving conveyancing solicitors, the estate agent, and Anchor representatives. I remained proactive throughout, promptly completing forms and providing information whenever requested.

What we could not have anticipated was the level of dysfunction within the housing association. Anchor’s legal department closed down for a period of time. No one answered customer service lines. It took three months for the housing association to issue the management pack, and the electrical certificate proved elusive. Anchor introduced obstacles at every turn.

Did they not recognise how rare it was to find a willing buyer? Their only acknowledgment of this diabolical performance was a token gesture, waiving their administration fee. In reality, they came dangerously close to losing us our buyer altogether.

Accumulated service charges and an exit fee cost us £33,000

One of the final stages before completion involved a statement from Anchor detailing accumulated service charges and the ‘exit fee’. The calculation for the exit fee is 0.75%, multiplied by the number of years of ownership, applied to the sale price. In our case, this amounted to 11.25% – just under £20,000. When combined with service charges, the total reached £33,000, paid to an organisation that had demonstrably failed in its responsibilities.

In what other area of commerce do you pay such sums for services that are not delivered? We wanted to challenge the final figure, but the overwhelming need to escape the grip of the lease left us with little choice. The entire process took six months to complete.

We remain deeply grateful to the conveyancing solicitors and the estate agent who supported us throughout. By contrast, we are still astonished by Anchor’s lack of systems and accountability. 

The dysfunctional sales process made the loss of my mother even harder

It is only once you emerge from those dark clouds that you begin to recognise the immense mental pressure you have been under. Completing the sale allowed my mother’s estate to be finalised. The relief was profound.

Only then could we focus on healing, on grieving the loss of a parent and feeling truly blessed to have found a way out of leasehold.

No transparency about future financial costs

If costs were transparent from the outset, we could have prepared. But no one explained exit fees at the time of purchase. No one warned us about full service charges continuing after my mother’s death. Nor that building insurance would be included and, in fact, we were misinformed that cover lapses after a period of vacancy. No one told us about the onerous clause allowing exit fees to escalate even after death. Add to this the double council tax imposed on an empty property that you are desperately trying to sell, and the situation becomes almost beyond belief.

Gillian Perceval

Daughter of the late Jean

Featured image: stockking on Freepik