Homes in England are more cramped than those in New York City, according to new analysis that showed UK property offers the worst value for money in the developed world.
The Resolution Foundation’s findings, which also show UK housing costs are also more expensive relative to general prices than in any OECD country, underscore the scale of the housing crisis in Britain. Many younger Britons are struggling to get a foot on the property ladder due to soaring prices, and the issue is rising up the political agenda ahead of an election expected later this year.
“By looking at housing costs, floor space and wider issues of quality, we find that the UK’s expensive, cramped and ageing housing stock offers the worst value for money of any advanced economy,” said Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation.
“Britain’s housing crisis is decades in the making, with successive governments failing to build enough new homes and modernise our existing stock. That now has to change.”
What Hongkongers need to know about the UK mortgage process
What Hongkongers need to know about the UK mortgage process
The Resolution Foundation found that if all UK households were “exposed to the full brunt of the housing market, the UK would devote the highest share of overall spending to housing” to every OECD country except Finland.
Some 38 per cent of UK homes were built before 1946, higher than the level of 29 per cent in France, 24 per cent in Germany, 21 per cent in Italy and 11 per cent in Spain. That means British properties by comparison are poorly insulated and come with higher energy bills.
The cost of UK housing and rentals has been sent surging by the lack of supply along with an upswing in demand, particularly in the post-pandemic period. While higher interest rates cooled the surge in house prices, rents in the UK and London are rocketing at the fastest pace on record.
The UK has struggled to build enough homes to meet the demand with just 234,400 new homes added in 2022-2023. That’s despite the ruling Conservative Party presenting a target to build 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s in its 2019 manifesto.
Estimates by Capital Economics show that this now should be closer to 385,000 to bring real house price growth in line with the European average.
Additional reporting by SCMP reporter
By Kylie Stevens For Daily Mail Australia
23:39 24 Mar 2024, updated 01:25 25 Mar 2024
Australia needs 90,000 more tradies in the next 90 days in order to meet the Albanese government’s ‘impossible’ new goal to build 1.2million new homes in five years, the building industry has warned.
Major building industry groups have called out the Federal government’s plan – which would see the country construct 60,000 new homes each quarter from July 1 – as unrealistic.
One solution would be for Australia to boost immigration and fast-track skilled tradespeople, Master Builders Australia chief executive Denita Wawn suggested.
Ms Wawn said she was concerned ‘there is no way … we can get 90,000 (workers) in three months, unless we had a radical change in the way which we are looking at our migration system’.
Recognising tradies’ qualifications from other countries should be easier and cheaper, Ms Wawn said.
‘We know that there are a large number of tradies in this country that can’t get their licences recognised as it’s too expensive and too cumbersome for them,’ she said in an interview with Sunrise.
‘We have to focus on those who are currently in the country by their skills aren’t recognised.’
Ms Wawn also said there needs to be a massive push to skill up Australians and encourage them to work in the trades industry.
‘We really are focusing on school levers particularly but also those who want a career change to look at trade,’ Ms Wawn said.
‘Thirdly, as an industry, we need to retain the current tradies and call back the ones that have decided enough is enough.’
But she acknowledged finding 90,000 tradies in the next 90 days is unrealistic.
‘I think this figure reflects the difficulty that we’re going to have if we don’t resolve the tradie shortage in meeting the agreed target of 1.2 million homes over five years,’ she said.
‘The clock starts ticking on July 1 and we’ve got a huge, huge issue to resolve.’
Ms Wawn remained hopeful the government’s target of 1.2m new homes by 2029 can be achieved, despite only 170,215 new homes being built in the 12 months to September last year for 548,800 newly-arrived migrants.
‘We need to focus on how we can actually get there,’ she said. ‘The issue really is: how do we actually encourage more people into our sector?’
BuildSkills Australia executive director of research and planning Robert Sobyra said finding skilled labour will be the biggest supply-side barrier to addressing the housing supply crisis.
‘Returning the housing market to a healthy state will require a significant uplift in the national dwelling completion rate,’ he said.
‘While there are plenty of hurdles to overcome in achieving this goal, labour will be the single biggest supply-side barrier.’
Housing Minister Julie Collins said that while the government’s housing target was ambitious, it was getting on with the job.
‘We know we’ve got a lot of work to do,’ she told Sky News.
‘We’re working right across government – I know the skills ministers had a meeting just over two weeks ago, where they talked about the skills required to meet the housing demand in Australia and the challenges we currently have.’
A rise in modular housing or pre-fabricated homes common in Japan and Germany could see the housing supply fast-tracked.
Australian housing giant Mirvac is among the developers trialling modular housing construction in response to the crisis.
‘We’ve been able to reduce the construction of those homes to be watertight within 12 weeks,’ Mirvac chief executive of development Stuart Penklis told Nine News.
He added that modular housing doesn’t come with some of the challenges of a traditional build, such as supply chain shortages and severe weather disruptions.
Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic added that governments were working together ‘to take a serious look’ at modular housing.
‘Other countries have got their act together on modular housing and are seeing great jobs and great new homes – we want to be able to do that right here on shore,’ Mr Husic said.
Letting and estate agents faced more complaints and paid out higher levels of compensation last year, after a “perfect storm” hit the housing market, according to an industry report.
The figures emerged as the House of Lords accused the Government of “sitting on its hands” by failing to regulate property agents – nearly five years after its own experts told it to take action.
Housing Secretary Michael Gove was told that the failure to act meant tenants and leaseholders were being exposed to “malpractice”, according to the Lords Industry and Regulators Committee.
Baroness Taylor of Bolton, the committee chair, said ministerial inaction had left consumers “in limbo.”
A new regulator would make a “significant difference by driving up standards in the sector and proactively enforcing against agents who engage in bad practice”, the committee said.
It heard evidence of included letting agents encouraging or telling prospective tenants to bid above the advertised rent, or requesting multiple months’ rent up front.
Others spoke of agents failing to respond promptly to complaints about problems with their properties, and in some instances seek “revenge evictions” in response to them.
Some had a “vested interest in either raising the rent or changing the tenant” in order to earn commission, the committee said. At the end of a tenancy, many tenants “regularly complain about spurious claims” regarding the return of their deposits.
It found that existing mechanisms for protecting consumers from poor practice were limited. These included self-regulation by the sector; two redress schemes – the Property Ombudsman and the Property Redress Scheme; and the involvement of local Trading Standards.
Latest annual figures from the Property Redress Scheme (PRS), which covers more than 17,000 estate and property agents, show that complaints rose by a fifth last year to 2,393.
Difficult housing market conditions and an “overheated rental sector” created a “a perfect storm and an increase in overall discontentment, resulting in increasingly fractious disputes,” Lord Palmer, chair of the PRS, said.
The scheme provides an alternative means of resolution for consumers involved in property disputes, without havnig to go to court. By December 2023, it had investigated 55 per cent more cases than in 2022.
The top three complaints over property sales were poor service and misleading information, unclear instructions including commissions and marketing and advertising.
Leading complaints for lettings involved agents holding on to deposits, poor service and management, and tenancy payments and rent collection. Property managers faced complaints about poor service and maintenance issues.
The PRS is approved by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and by National Trading Standards.
Advocates say it can be a valuable way to get issues resolved, offering mediation and arbitration, and acting as an independent third party between the customer and firm.
How do I complain about estate agents and letting agents?
There are a number of schemes and organisations who can help.
For advice on property and renting matters try Advice for Renters or Shelter or Generation Rent.
For redress organisations contact The Property Ombudsman or The Ombudsman Service or the Property Redress Scheme.
All agents must belong to one of the schemes, but experts say it is advisable to ensure your estate agency is a member from the outset. If not you many need to speak the Trading Standards.
The three schemes will only handle a complaint if the agency is registered with one of them, and you have written to the complained-about agency.
If eight weeks have passed and your complaint has still not been satisfied you should refer it to one of the above schemes.
An estate or letting agency should also be signed up to the National Association of Estate Agents or Association of Residential Letting Agents – both now Propertymark.
All agents must hold an indemnity insurance which can pay compensation to both sellers and buyers when a successful claim is made.
The PRS said that around half of cases were resolved at the early resolution stage in 2023, with total awards of £359,426 – up from £353,053 in 2022. The average award was £776.30.
The total figure awarded over proposed decision and default cases was £953,062.24, up 95 per cent from 2022. The average award was £1,832.81.
Overall, 58 agencies were expelled from the PRS in 2023 compared with 61 in 2022.
Sean Hooker, PRS head of redress, said: “The notable increase in financial awards underlines the growing volume of complaints, compounded by a lack of engagement from a minority of members.”
“As we strive to support, educate, and improve industry standards while continuing to clamp down on some of the poor practices that ensue, our adoption of innovative approaches like mediation and early resolution has yielded positive outcomes, fostering greater satisfaction among stakeholders.”
He warned that the condition of properties will become a growing focus: “The tragic case of baby Awaab was a turning point and the measures on tackling damp and mould that are now being rolled out in the social sector will be rapidly extended to the private market, so be prepared.”
Property experts say all consumer complaints should be directed to the individual company in the first instance. If the agency fails to satisfy the complaint internally it can be taken up with the PRS, the Property Ombudsman or the Ombudsman Service.
A Government working group set up in 2019 found that the redress schemes are limited by only acting where individual cases are brought by consumers; nor can they mandate that agents be qualified or
adhere to a code of practice.
Luay Al-Khatib, at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, emphasised that there is “a fundamental difference between redress and regulation”, as the latter can ensure “minimum standards are met”.
Rebecca Marsh, The Property Ombudsman, told the Lords there was a need to protect tenants and leaseholders, particularly those who are vulnerable, “in a way that does not rely on them having to be responsible for it” by making complaints. She argued that redress schemes working on individual cases “cannot drive that cultural change” the sector needed.
Conor O’Shea of tenants organisation Generation Rent said the current regulatory framework was “inadequate” and “does not work properly”. Regulation was “no silver bullet” and the problems in the private rented sector “go beyond the scope of a regulator or ombudsman”.
He told the Lords inquiry a regulator would “be able to address some of these concerns” and “push up the quality of work of letting agents through the threat of tangible action”
Martin Boyd, Chair of LEASE, which provides advisory services to leaseholders, said that “those people who get away with the most are those who choose to be the least regulated, those who do not join the voluntary codes”.
Andrew Bulmer, chief executive of the Property Institute, which represents managing agents, told the Lords “there needs to be a regulator” to raise standards and ensure proper enforcement”.
The “competence requirements for managing big, scary buildings have changed out of all recognition”, meaning that “a regulator should be setting the standards of competence” for those professionals and firms, he said.
LEASE’s Martin Boyd said it was “utterly ridiculous” that agents do not need any qualifications to manage “buildings that are as complex as a jumbo jet, and more expensive than a jumbo jet”.
The Lords said a single regulator would “add considerable value above and beyond existing mechanisms”.
A DLUHC spokesperson said: “The government is committed to promoting fairness and transparency for tenants and homeowners and making sure that consumers are protected from abuse and poor service.
“We continue to work with industry on improving best practice across the property agent sector, and measures in the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Bill and Renters (Reform) Bill will help to drive up overall standards.”
THE misfortune-after-misfortune saga of the “saddest ever” Grand Designs property continues, as the owner won’t be able to sell the house for another decade.
Grand Designs’ ”saddest” property may not sell find a new owner for ten years as “sadness is ingrained into every wall and window,” according to a psychic.
Chesil Cliff House in Devon, the UK, made headlines after it brought owner Edward Short a seemingly never-ending stream of misery for a whopping 12 years.
Not just that, but building the lavish white property by the coast left him with a hefty £7million in debt – and even cost him his marriage.
Edward began working on the picturesque five-bedroom, glass-fronted pad in 2010, with plans to live there with his then-wife Hazel and their two children Nicole and Lauren, now both in their 20s.
With an initial budget of close to £2m, the dad hoped to complete the ambitious project in 18 months – however, development issues meant the building process went on for a long 12 years, with costs spiralling out of control.
However, once the property had finally been complete, it was not to everyone’s taste, as British designer Kevin McCloud described it on Grand Designs as the “carcass” of a seashore wreckage.
Looking back at the time, which had put the family under a lot of stress, especially given the mounting debt, Edward previously said: “The whole project has been a horrendous strain for Hazel, I have sunk our family purse into this and I really feel for her.
”I never meant to put her through any of this,” he told DevonLive.
“There’s a lot of guilt about that.
”But there was no way out, once we started. If we didn’t finish we’d have been in big trouble,” the dad said in a chat with The Sun.
Since then, the lighthouse property has been put up for sale – however, with no luck of potential buyers keen to snap it up.
And according to tarot reader and celebrity psychic Inbaal Honigman, who spoke to the Daily Star, it more bad news for Edward and the £7million mansion.
“The Tarot card which comes up for the house is the very sad seven of Swords,” she said.
“It is a card named ‘futility’, which represents grief, loss and loneliness.
“Houses carry the energy of people and events that existed within them, and the Grand Designs’ saddest house’s history of separation and subsequent loneliness is represented in this Tarot card.”
What’s more, she noted, the sadness is essentially ”ingrained into every wall and window”.
Another card – the 10 of Wands – revealed that the house is most likely to not sell in the next ten years, if it remains as is.
Inbaal added that for the outcome to change, the circumstances have to change – and there are some things the owner could do.
Inbaal pointed out that the house needs to to have its energy uplifted for the property to finally sell – and one way to achieving that is placing rose quartz crystals for love around the mansion.
Read more on the Irish Sun
Work on Chesil Cliff House started with a budget of £1.8m and was supposed to be completed within 18 months.
Last year, the unfinished home was taken off an estate agent’s site during talks with a “serious buyer”, who reportedly backed out at the last minute.
According to a property expert, houses with certain names command an impressive sale price often well over one million pounds.
Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, has revealed that homes abodes with certain names are highly sought after by buyers.
More traditional names like The Manor House, The Old Rectory and The Vicarage took first, second and fourth place respectively on the table of high value names of properties.
Mr Cook said: “Once home to those with the highest status in society, the likes of The Manor House, The Old Rectory and The Old Vicarage, still command the highest house prices, fending off the competition from more contemporary names such as Mallards and Timbers.”
According to Savills, over the past five years, The Manor House named properties have commanded a £1,400,000 price tag, on average. More than two in every five sales is worth more than £1 million pounds, almost four times more than the average house price in England and Wales.
Houses called The Old Rectory sold with an average price tag of £1,301,424. Half of the properties sold with this name over the past five years have been valued at over £1 million.
Over the same period, properties called The Vicarage have sold at an average price of £1,086,887, although fewer sales have been over £1 million, 39 percent.
Mr Cook added: “Certain English house names have held steady over hundreds of years, and tell us a lot about the provenance and history of the property, whether it be related to the feudal system, religion, mythology, our nation’s flora, and even beer.
“Still today, house names instantly conjure an image, whether it’s the distinctive roof line of an Oast House or the intricate timbers within a Tithe Barn.”
Ranked by number of sales in past five years, average value (£) and percentage over million.
THE MANOR HOUSE – 56… £1,423,128… 43 percent
(THE) OLD RECTORY – 355… £1,301,424… 50 percent
MALLARDS – 38… £1,164,150… 24 percent
(THE) OLD VICARAGE – 325… £1,086,887… 39 percent
THE OAST HOUSE – 31… £1,038,774… 45 percent
LIME TREE HOUSE – 33… £981,121… 21 percent
MANOR HOUSE / THE MANOR – 204… £967,117… 29 percent
MANOR FARM HOUSE – 41… £966,235… 32 percent
GROVE HOUSE – 68… £962,904… 25 percent
GLEBE HOUSE – 86… £940,814… 31 percent
PROSPECTIVE home buyers are in luck because house prices have been dropping, offering lower prices and more negotiating power.
The number of homes with price drops last month increased to record levels, even in some of the largest US cities.
The number of home sellers lowering their prices increased last month to the highest levels seen since 2019, according to a report from Realtor.com.
“The percentage of homes with price reductions increased from 13.2% in February of last year to 14.6% this year,” said Sabrina Speianu, economic data manager at Realtor.com.
“This is the first time the share of price reductions has increased over the previous year since May of last year,” she added.
A rise in home listings with slashed prices suggests that more properties are on the real estate market and/or prices are higher than buyers are willing to pay, according to Hannah Jones, Realtor.com senior economic research analyst.
Read More on Let’s Get Real
“As a result, time on market increases and sellers start cutting prices to attract attention,” she noted, which provides buyers with greater negotiating power.
Not to mention, the price decreases are occurring in relatively large metropolitan areas. Of the biggest 50 US metros, over half experienced the share of price reductions increase year over year in February.
The following are the top 10 major cities that have experienced slashed prices, along with the percentage increase in the share of listings with a price reduction and the median list prices:
- Portland, Oregon: +8.8%, median list price: $600,000
- Miami, Florida: +5%, median list price: $550,000
- Tampa, Florida: +4%, median list price: $416,000
- Columbus, Ohio: +3.4%, median list price: $377,000
- Oklahoma City, Oklahoma: +3.1%, median list price: $323,000
- Memphis, Tennessee: +3%, median list price: $325,000
- Orlando, Florida: +3%, median list price: $435,000
- San Antonio, Texas: +2.9%, median list price: $335,000
- Dallas, Texas: +2.8%, median list price: $435,000
- Virginia Beach, Virginia: +2.8%, median list price: $385,000
PORTLAND PRICE DROPS
As part of our Let’s Get Real series, The U.S. Sun spoke with a prospective home buyer and realtor in Portland, Oregon, the city with the steepest home price reductions.
Haley Church, a prospective condo buyer, searched in the Lake Oswego neighborhood, which is encompassed in the Portland Metro area and located about seven miles south of downtown Portland.
Church noted that she saw a few price drops while looking at properties recently and that she was able to negotiate the price down on the condo she ended up purchasing.
The sellers of the condo had it listed as $445,000 despite a nearly identical unit selling in December for $425,000.
She offered $412,000 and ended up at $425,000, which the sellers declined. They thought about it over the weekend and accepted her offer the following Monday.
“I’m stubborn and I know my own financial situation and I’m not going to pay too much for a condo. I would like to make sure that it is worth exactly what I need it to be worth so if anything were to happen and I needed to sell it, I wouldn’t be so far in that I’d lose a bunch of money,” said Church.
WHY THE DECREASES?
Greg Lawler, Church’s realtor and a real estate agent of 17 years, shared how he has noticed similar price drops recently, and how they are a “hangover from the Covid market.”
He dubbed the market during that time a “unicorn market,” stating that we’ll probably never see a market like that again with such movement.
The pandemic resulted in record-low interest rates – around 3% – and many people wanting to move in search of more accommodating homes, such as ones with office spaces.
“There was a ton of movement. More buyers than we’ve probably ever seen in the market with low interest rates and that drove prices up,” shared Lawler.
In Portland, the home prices increased significantly, in some areas by around 40% during Covid.
Lawler gave the example of a home worth $600,000 that sold for $750,000. It did not sell at that price point because it was valued as such, but rather because it had 10 offers, forcing people to increase their offer to secure the home.
The realtor noted that the Covid market was going for around three years, lasting through the end of summer last year when interest rates crept up to around 8%.
“We saw a lot of [reductions] in the fall. The only way they could match the limited number of buyers, high interest rates, and get their house sold was to reduce it because their house wasn’t worth as much as they thought it was because they were comparing it to old numbers,” said Lawler.
Some homes saw four or five reductions – the realtor noted a home that was listed at $710,000 in September, which saw subsequent decreases to $699,000, then $675,000, and down to $655,000 recently.
“I think we’re probably going to see less price reductions as we move further into spring but we’re still seeing price reductions from houses listed in the fall,” he said.
HOW TO NAVIGATE THE MARKET
In Church’s case, the sellers of her condo were using a price point more aligned with numbers during Covid.
The similar condo sold in December for $425,000 was a much more accurate number for the current market.
When it comes to navigating the current market and assessing prices, Lawler suggested sticking to comparables.
Checking the prices of similar properties that have sold in the last three months or really close in time to when you are close to writing an offer can provide insight into accurate market value.
As part of our Let’s Gel Real series, we reviewed the top five cheapest beach towns to live in – and you don’t have to sacrifice space.
We also looked into the top five markets to buy a home in early spring as experts warn the “housing rush” is near.
A DISABLED man was instructed to immediately leave his home after it was sold from under him, allegedly without warning.
Archie Robinson from Memphis, Tennessee is one of numerous homeowners whose homes were sold by Shelby County at auction during the pandemic.
The County foreclosed the properties because the owners were behind on tax bills.
“Some young lady served me some papers stating that someone had bought the home, and why was I here? And who was I?” the 54-year-old told WMC-TV in 2022.
“I was like – I’ve been here basically all my life.”
Robinson inherited his childhood home when his mother, who was behind on her property taxes, died.
However, the property was then sold in a tax sale in February 2021 by the Shelby County Trustee’s Office.
This action is taken so the money owed to the county, in this case, $5,000, can be paid back from the sale.
Robinson was sick and bedridden in 2021 when he received an eviction notice telling him to vacate the property “immediately” and claims he had no idea his home had been sold.
“I asked, ‘How could you sell my property without me knowing?'” Robinson said.
“He said ‘Well, we sent out notices,’ “I said, ‘Well, I haven’t received any notices.'”
Under state laws, homeowners whose properties are set to undergo tax sales must be notified.
Shelby County uses certified mail which must be signed by the homeowner or another authorized individual to prove receipt of the notice.
However, during the pandemic, the U.S. Postal Service allowed carriers to sign the notices instead of the homeowners with the words “COVID” or “C-19.”
Shelby County Trustee Regina Morrison Newman told the news outlet that Robinson signed three certified mail notices, though he denies this.
However, she did not dispute the fact that thousands of homeowners may not have been correctly informed of a tax sale.
“Our return receipts for 30,000 pieces of certified mail came back marked COVID, so we could not prove to the courts that anybody received that mail or that due process was provided,” Newman told the County Commission in October 2020.
Despite this, the Trustee’s Office auctioned off nearly 1,700 homes between August 2020 and February 2021.
During this period there was a ban on federal eviction and mortgage foreclosure.
According to the analysis done by the University of Memphis Institute for Public Service Reporting in a joint investigation with WMC-TV, the majority of these properties were empty but over 400 seemed to be occupied at the time.
When faced with eviction, owners are either forced to move somewhere else quickly or cough up the money to repurchase their homes.
How can your home be sold without your consent?
Your home can be sold from under you for various reasons – here are three key things to look out for:
Tax Sale
- A Tax sale is the sale of property by a governmental entity to recover unpaid taxes by the owner who has reached a certain point of delinquency in their owed payments.
- Before a tax sale takes place, there is a right-of-redemption period where the owner can pay off their debt and reclaim their home.
- Each state has different laws surrounding tax sales but in most areas, the basic requirement is that adequate notice is given to the owner to pay the outstanding money, and any sale must be open to the public.
Foreclosure
- Foreclosures can take place when lenders take control of a property after borrowers have failed to make their repayments.
- Borrowers will receive a Notice of Default, triggering the foreclosure process.
- Homeowners in HOA communities can also see their homes foreclosed by their HOA for falling behind on fees.
- This means that even if you keep up with mortgage repayments, you could still lose your home if your HOA has a lien on your property.
- When such a foreclosure takes place, the sale price only needs to be enough to cover the HOA debt meaning that properties can be sold for much less than they are worth.
Property Fraud
- Criminals can sell or mortgage homes by pretending to be the owner by using a fake or stolen ID.
- Typical targets for property fraud include absent owners like landlords, owners who live abroad, and sole owners of unmortgaged homes.
- The U.S. Sun previously reported on a man whose vacation home worth $300,000 was sold by criminals for just $9,000 – they even had the deed to the property.
Newman defended the actions of the Trustee’s Office by arguing to the news outlet that the addresses of the homes set for tax sale were published in the Memphis Daily News.
It is a state requirement to put the addresses in a newspaper that is in general circulation as well as putting them on the Public Notice Tennessee website.
However, the news outlet was told by several homeowners, including Robinson, that they had never heard of or seen the Memphis Daily News.
A former attorney from Newman’s office spoke to the news outlet about the issue.
Jack Turner explained that homeowners can come forward to claim that they did not receive proper notice of the sale of their homes.
“Somebody may challenge a tax sale after the fact and say they were never given notice and the courts will have to decide whether the notice was sufficient or not,” said Turner.
“If that happens, they’re still going to have back taxes due, but it might set aside a tax sale.”
Turner added that before he left his position at Newman’s office, it was still receiving certified mail that was signed by postal workers, not homeowners, while tax sales continued to go through.
“I can just tell you my experience being there: the goal is to get taxes paid so county services can be provided,” Turner said.
Robinson was forced to borrow money to redeem his property and keep his childhood home.
“I guess I’m one of the fortunate ones if you’d like to look at it like that,” he said.
However, due to this drastic action, he is now behind on his property taxes once again.
Taking legal action to claim that he did not receive proper notice of the tax sale would take even more money from his dwindling funds.
“I can’t imagine not having any place to live or having to depend on someone else for my wellbeing, especially after working so hard and now being disabled,” he said.
The U.S. Sun has contacted the Shelby County Trustee Office for comment.
EIGHT common features around the home could actually be knocking money off its value.
Halifax said house prices rose for a fifth consecutive month in February by 0.4% and 1.7% year-on-year.
The uptick might have you thinking of selling on your property and cashing in.
But you should be wary of a number of features that could actually make your home worth less, according to estate agent Yopa.
Ponds, artificial grass and unused or old swimming pools can knock up to 19.6% off the value of your home it turns out.
An unused or old swimming pool could slash your home’s worth by £55,799, based on the average UK property price of £284,691.
Got brown, unpainted Pebbledash on your external walls? That could be reducing the value by £28,469.
Meanwhile, poor parking options, or none at all, can slash your potential asking price by £19,359.
Artificial grass, having no lawn and no bath in the main bathroom can also see the average UK home value drop by £14,804, £6,100 and £5,694 respectively.
Having a north facing garden and pond can also see a home’s value fall by £5,525 and £5,258 respectively.
How to boost the value of your home
Some home improvements will inevitably boost the value of your home more than others.
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops, said buyers were increasingly looking for green energy measures in homes such as electric vehicle charging points.
He added: “We might see buyers start to negotiate on asking prices, prioritising a home purchase that is future-proofed from day one.”
Meanwhile, data from property buying company Open Property Group recommends 12 improvements that will boost the overall value of your property the most.
Loft conversions, costing around £40,000, can add £56,938 to the value of the average UK house price of £284,691.
A 20square foot extension, costing around £48,000, can add £56,938.
Meanwhile, a garage conversion can add £28,469 while only costing an estimated £15,000.
This is Open Property Group’s list of 12 home improvements, how much they cost and how much they’ll add to the value of your home:
- Loft conversion (£40,000 cost) – £56,938 added value
- 20square foot extension (£48,000 cost) – £56,938 added value
- Garage conversion (£15,000 cost) – £28,469 added value
- Garden room/office (£10,000 cost) – £21,352 added value
- Kitchen upgrade (£10,550 cost) – £15,658 added value
- Utility room (£8,730 cost) – £14,235 added value
- Solar panels (£7,000 cost) – £11,388 added value
- All over redecoration (£3,200 cost) – £8,825 added value
- Bathroom renovation (£5,000 cost) – £7,402 added value
- Boiler/central heating upgrade (£3,850 cost) – £5,409 added value
- EV charging point (£1,150 cost) – £4,840 added value
- Landscaped garden (£3,950 cost) – £4,270 added value
How else to boost the value of your home
Jonathan Rolande, from the National Association of Property Buyers, previously revealed to The Sun one quick tip to boost the value of your home when it comes to actually selling up – buying flowers and plants.
Doing this can increase the value of your home by thousands of pounds and create a greater demand among buyers.
“It increases the saleability,” he told The Sun. “You buy some nice plants, clean the rooms and the estate agent photos will look a lot better.
“This means you get more people looking around, more competition, and you can barter the price more.”
Giving your home a fresh lick of paint will boost its immediate value too, according to Chris Husson-Martin from Hamptons estate agent.
Adding a few lights to your home can add thousands to the value of your home as well, he told The Sun.
It’s worth moving any furniture that’s blocking windows around the house as well, to let any natural light in.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
EIGHT common features around the home could actually be knocking money off its value.
Halifax said house prices rose for a fifth consecutive month in February by 0.4% and 1.7% year-on-year.
The uptick might have you thinking of selling on your property and cashing in.
But you should be wary of a number of features that could actually make your home worth less, according to estate agent Yopa.
Ponds, artificial grass and unused or old swimming pools can knock up to 19.6% off the value of your home it turns out.
An unused or old swimming pool could slash your home’s worth by £55,799, based on the average UK property price of £284,691.
Got brown, unpainted Pebbledash on your external walls? That could be reducing the value by £28,469.
Meanwhile, poor parking options, or none at all, can slash your potential asking price by £19,359.
Artificial grass, having no lawn and no bath in the main bathroom can also see the average UK home value drop by £14,804, £6,100 and £5,694 respectively.
Having a north facing garden and pond can also see a home’s value fall by £5,525 and £5,258 respectively.
How to boost the value of your home
Some home improvements will inevitably boost the value of your home more than others.
Nick Leeming, chairman of estate agent Jackson-Stops, said buyers were increasingly looking for green energy measures in homes such as electric vehicle charging points.
He added: “We might see buyers start to negotiate on asking prices, prioritising a home purchase that is future-proofed from day one.”
Meanwhile, data from property buying company Open Property Group recommends 12 improvements that will boost the overall value of your property the most.
Loft conversions, costing around £40,000, can add £56,938 to the value of the average UK house price of £284,691.
A 20square foot extension, costing around £48,000, can add £56,938.
Meanwhile, a garage conversion can add £28,469 while only costing an estimated £15,000.
This is Open Property Group’s list of 12 home improvements, how much they cost and how much they’ll add to the value of your home:
- Loft conversion (£40,000 cost) – £56,938 added value
- 20square foot extension (£48,000 cost) – £56,938 added value
- Garage conversion (£15,000 cost) – £28,469 added value
- Garden room/office (£10,000 cost) – £21,352 added value
- Kitchen upgrade (£10,550 cost) – £15,658 added value
- Utility room (£8,730 cost) – £14,235 added value
- Solar panels (£7,000 cost) – £11,388 added value
- All over redecoration (£3,200 cost) – £8,825 added value
- Bathroom renovation (£5,000 cost) – £7,402 added value
- Boiler/central heating upgrade (£3,850 cost) – £5,409 added value
- EV charging point (£1,150 cost) – £4,840 added value
- Landscaped garden (£3,950 cost) – £4,270 added value
How else to boost the value of your home
Jonathan Rolande, from the National Association of Property Buyers, previously revealed to The Sun one quick tip to boost the value of your home when it comes to actually selling up – buying flowers and plants.
Doing this can increase the value of your home by thousands of pounds and create a greater demand among buyers.
“It increases the saleability,” he told The Sun. “You buy some nice plants, clean the rooms and the estate agent photos will look a lot better.
“This means you get more people looking around, more competition, and you can barter the price more.”
Giving your home a fresh lick of paint will boost its immediate value too, according to Chris Husson-Martin from Hamptons estate agent.
Adding a few lights to your home can add thousands to the value of your home as well, he told The Sun.
It’s worth moving any furniture that’s blocking windows around the house as well, to let any natural light in.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.
Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
A TEXAS man claims his homeowners association initially stopped him from selling his house because of the color of his roof.
Mike Luna, of Fort Worth, said his homeowners association refused to give him a certificate to sell his property until he changed the roof – which was gray.
Luna purchased his home in 2016 and had repairs done to the roof the following year due to storm damage.
The roofer, Luna explained to NBC, then noticed additional damage, from hail storms, so along with his wife, the pair selected new shingles. They were in a shade of gray.
A week later he received a violation notice, with Tehama Ridge HOA saying Luna did not get approval for his roof.
They also took issue with the color which Luna found odd, “since other homes in the neighborhood have a very similar colored roof”, he told NBC.
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His roofer, Luna also noted, had a similar colored roof.
The bylaws, Luna said, appeared to be full of contradictions, with one section stating property owners need approval for home alterations, while another stated that it was “encouraged, but not required” for roof materials, like shingles.
The homeowners associations allow weatherwood or an earth tone color, which Luna thought he had.
The color palette typically includes warm and muted shades of brown, green, gray and beige.
Luna flagged this with the homeowners association and appealed its decision, but kept getting denied, meaning he couldn’t get a certificate for resale.
He then got inventive, and sent the homeowners association a list of color options, hoping they would approve one. They did – the one that was already on his roof.
When Luna made them aware of this, he claims they got mad, and told him he still needed to replace the roof.
“It’s taking resources away for my family because we can’t sell our home,” Luna told NBC.
The homeowners association vice president told NBC it believes Luna’s roof is blue, but also took issue with him not seeking approval.
Real estate attorney Robert Abtahi told NBC he believes the homeowners association was overstepping its bounds and added that the rules “they’re trying to enforce go against state law”.
He said it appears the homeowners association is applying its 2005 bylaws to enforce the shingles issue, yet other portions of the rules reflect current state law.
As of 2011, he said, homeowners associations can’t enforce a provision on shingles if they resemble others in the community.
Three months after NBC first told Luna’s story the homeowners association agreed to let him sell his home and he was not fined over the issue, the broadcaster reported in an update.
The family later moved to Waco, Texas.
What to check before buying a HOA home
Not every HOA is the same, so specific research is required
An HOA is a non-profit association that’s set up to help manage and maintain a community.
But, for homebuyers, a property that belongs to an HOA often comes with extra costs, responsibilities and rules concerning upkeep and maintenance of their home and yard.
Not every HOA is the same, so rules and regulations might vary, so buyers need to research their specific association.
Before buying a HOA property, homeowners should do the following:
- Ask to see the governing documents
- Research your monthly fees and what they cover
- Double-check the HOA’s finances
- Get to know the community