1. As a Social Landlord, why would we
have Leaseholders?
2. The biggest hurdle to overcome when you wish to buy a home is
raising a deposit. Most banks now require a deposit of at least 10%, to
lots of people this would be unobtainable.
Family Mosaic give people the opportunity to purchase FM properties
that they currently live in or purchase homes in new developments that
we build.
To assist people in getting a foothold on the property
market, we will usually allow them to purchase a share of
their property.
We call this Shared Ownership
3. Shared Ownership
How does it work?
You may part buy a share in a home from usually 25% up to 75%
initially, and pay a subsidised rent on the part you don't own.
Who can buy?
Anyone who cannot afford to buy a suitable home on the open
market.
Check with the HomeBuy agent as to the income eligibility as it
varies between areas and property size.
Priority is given to those who are giving up a Local Authority or
Housing Association tenancy and to key workers who meet the
Government's eligibility rules.
We also consider if the person works in the borough where the
property is to be sold
4. How do I get on the scheme?
You must apply to the local Homebuy Agent, who keeps the central
register of applicants who wish to be considered for government
funded affordable housing.
We will only offer part buy, part rent properties when we have received
an approved registration from the Homebuy Agent.
London Properties – www.firststepslondon.org
Essex, Kent and Surrey Properties – www.homebuyoptions.co.uk
5.
6.
7. New properties along with resale properties are available to view at
www.familymosaicsales.co.uk
For new properties customers can also be directed to our
Sales and Marketing Team by telephone on 0207 089 1315 or
by email to sales@familymosaic.co.uk
Resales - buy a pre-owned home from an existing shared owner.
If the customer is interested in a re sale property, they can be directed
to our Resident Sales Team on 0207 089 1082 or 0207 089 1206
or by email to resident.sales@familymosaic.co.uk
We have a brochure called
“We Can Help You Buy a Resale Property”
8. Income received from the sale of new build properties
Financial year 11/12
Sales Figures as of 9th January 2012
Completed Sales 151 Sales
Income £15,943,908
Sales Forecast for
End of financial year April 2012
Sales 188
Income £19,667,714
9.
10. I want to purchase my home that I currently rent from Family
Mosaic, how can I do this?
Family Mosaic have take part in a scheme called Social Homebuy since
2006. Social Homebuy is a Government scheme which allows some
tenants to buy their home. It is a voluntary scheme, We offer funding
on a first come, first-served basis to qualifying tenants for as long as we
have discount money available.
If you can't afford to buy outright, you will be able to part buy shares
from 25% and you will pay a discounted market rent on the remaining
share calculated on the value of your home.
11. Would I be eligible for Social Homebuy?
No arrears for 6 months prior to application
Must be working, Minimum income £18K
Must not own or live in another property
Social Housing Tenant for at least 2 years (5 years if the tenancy
started after 18.1.2005)
Minimum 2 years with FM
Social Homebuy is only available to our Assured or Secure Tenants (Not
Shorthold Tenants)
No breaches of tenancy
This is a voluntary scheme – you do not have the right to purchase your
home using this scheme.
When you apply we will check whether your home is suitable as part of the
eligibility assessment.
12. What discounts would I receive?
This depends on where you live. The maximum discount available in
Family Mosaic’s operating area ranges from £11,000 up to £16,000.
If you buy a share in your property, the discount will be calculated at the
same percentage as the share you are buying.
For example:
If the full discount is £16,000, you can expect to
receive the following discounts if you buy a share:
• 25% £4,000 • 50% £8,000 • 75% £12,000
If you sell your home within the first 5 years you must re pay the discount
you received on a pro rata basis.
• 1 year 100% of amount calculated as above
• 2 years 80% of amount calculated as above
• 3 years 60% of amount calculated as above
• 4 years 40% of amount calculated as above
• 5 years 20% of amount calculated as above
There is no discount repayment required after year 5
We have a brochure called a
“Guide to Social Homebuy”
13. Right to Buy
The only way a Housing Association would be involved in RTB is through a
Stock Transfer from a Local Authority
Residents who would qualify for RTB if they occupied their current property,
which was Local Authority before April 1997.
Old Oak Housing -London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham
Charlton Triangle - London Borough of Greenwich
Most of the Thames Valley Housing stock - London Borough of Kensington &
Chelsea
Penniwell Close (Stonegrove) -London Borough of Barnet
14. Income received from residents participating in the Social Homebuy
scheme
Financial Year 11/12
Completions 8
Income in Fees £10,858
Capital Income £1,870,000
15. My financial circumstances have changed, can I increase the
shares I own in my property?
If your financial circumstances change you can buy further shares in
your property, this process is known as staircasing. It will enable you
to own a greater proportion of your home.
There are different rules as to how much you can increase your share
by, this is dependent on what type of property you purchased, i.e. new
build, existing home or a re sale property and when you purchased the
property.
The greater the share you buy in your home
the less rent you will pay to Family Mosaic. If you staircase to 100%
you become an outright owner, and pay no rent!
We have a leaflet available for residents called
“ We can help with Staircasing”
16. Income received from Leaseholders who Staircased
Financial year 2011/2012
Completions 57
Income in fees £87,556
Capital Income £5,235,883
17. I am considering selling my Shared Ownership property, how do I do
this?
The terms for selling your home are set out in the lease.
If you are a shared owner and want to sell your home, you must give Family
Mosaic the opportunity to find a buyer for you. We have access to waiting
lists of first time buyers looking for homes in your area. Your lease will tell
you how long we have to find a buyer but this is usually from 8-12
weeks. This is known as the "nomination period" and if we do not find a
buyer within the nomination period, you will be free to sell your share on the
open market.
We have a brochure called
“We can help with resales”
18. Is it the same if I own 100% of my property ?
If you own your home outright 100% you may advertise on the
open market and sell your property to anyone who wishes to buy
your home.
You must however inform Family Mosaic of the change of
ownership, so that service charge collections can be updated to
prevent there being any issues regarding the collection of fees
19. Income received from Resales
Financial year 2011/2012
Completions 65
Income from fees £79,402
20. In London it takes 153 days on the open market to find a
buyer an increase of 14 days from the same period last year.
Resident Sales Team find a buyer in 69 days
less than half the time!
21. Can I have a copy of my lease?
When the LH purchased the property they should have been provided
with a copy of their lease by their Solicitor, you can advise them to
contact their Solicitor directly as they may still hold a copy on file.
They can also contact the Land Registry directly
Alternatively, we can provide a copy of the lease, which is usually
available on Swordfish. If not, we can apply to the Land Registry for a
copy.
Either methods, we charge a fee of £42
If we need to apply to the Land Registry for a
copy, this can be done by Gill or Oyinda
22. I would like to extend the years on my lease, how do I do this?
There are certain criteria that must be met to extend the
amount of years on your lease.
The existing lease must be for a term exceeding 21 years.
We will extend a lease for a further 90 years although this
may be lower if we do not hold the Freehold for the property
and we will only be able to extend it for the duration of the
lease we hold with the owner.
For the costs involved and further
information on extending a lease, we
have a brochure called
“ We can help with lease extensions”
23. Income Received from Leaseholders extending their lease
Financial Year 11/12
Completed 13
Income in fees £5040
Capital incomes £61,377
24. I currently own 50% share in my home but wish to reduce this, is
this possible?
Requests to sell shares back to Family Mosaic are dependent on
each resident's personal and financial circumstances. Applicants
will need to go through an independent financial assessment
which our Finance Team will signpost all suitable applicants to.
All applicants will be required to declare the details of their
financial circumstances.
25. I want to change my Mortgage lender, do you need to know?
We need to approve a re mortgage or further advance and require the following
information;
A copy of your mortgage offer.
Confirmation of the value of your home.
Confirmation from your existing lender of the outstanding balance
Explanation as to why you wish to change lender.
We also charge a fee of £60 for our administration charges
We will not agree a further advance, if the borrowing is increased to consolidate
debt.
If the further borrowing is for home improvements then the LH will be
required to obtain our permission.
They will need to complete a Residents Improvement form and provide a
payment of: £135
We have a brochure called
“ We can help with re mortgaging &
further advances”
26. I’m a shared owner and am going away for a while, can I sublet my
home?
Our shared ownership homes are subsidised by government funding and the
purpose is to provide help to first time buyers and others who could not otherwise
afford to. Shared owners are expected to live in the property we help them to buy
as their only place of residence. This is set out in your legal agreement when you
purchased the property.
However, we are willing to consider lettings in
exceptional circumstances. Examples of this may be
illness, family problems and job relocation or sabbatical
for a fixed period of up to 6 months.
Each case is looked at on its individual merits and the
decision will be made by the relevant Neighbourhood
Manager – Team Leader within our Housing
Management teams. You will need our written
permission.
There is a sublet form to be completed which they can
return along with a payment of £180 which covers our
administration costs.
27. Who is responsible for the repairs to my home?
A Leaseholder will be responsible for all the repairs and maintenance within
their home, even if they only own a share of 25%. However if you have moved
in to a brand new home, you would initially be covered by a defects period,
which usually lasts for 12months.
New properties are usually covered for 10 years by a NHBC guarantee which
covers structural defects.
If you live in a block of apartments then Family Mosaic would be responsible for
repairs to common parts, although this would be recharged back to the
leaseholder in the service charge.
28. How do I know what is my responsibility?
The Lease should provide you with information as to what repairs would
by LH responsibility.
There is also further information available in the
“ Home Ownership Handbook”
You can also find a chart on the Family Mosaic internet which outlines our
repairs policy.
Just type in the tool bar on the Intranet
“ Repairs Obligations”
29.
30. What do I do if I have had a flood which has damaged my property?
Damage to your property will be covered by buildings
insurance.
Check Northgate to see if there is a payment towards building Insurance, if
there is, the LH can contact Family Mosaic for a claim form or phone Zurich on
0800 028 0336 to report the claim. If necessary, you can arrange for repairs to
make the property safe for example, emergency boarding up.
Please send the receipt with the claim form.
You can return the claim form by:
• post to: Property Claims Unit, Zurich, PO Box 108, Farnborough GU14 0XQ.
• fax to: 0845 600 0083.
• email to: zmpropertyclaims@uk.zurich.com.
Policy Number : JHA – 22S155-0013
This isn’t a contents insurance policy. That means the
LH needs to insure things like kitchen appliances,
carpets and personal belongings, separately.
31. Who is responsible for my windows and outside decoration ?
For developments that Family Mosaic own and manage, we aim to carry out major
cyclical works every 5 to 7 years. These include items such as redecorating
communal areas, and items such as window replacements and roof renewal if
appropriate.
Within the service charge there is usually a sinking fund/reserve fund that will
hopefully cover the costs of the work, any deficit will be charged to the LH by
invoice.
If the works are likely to cost over £250 per LH there will be a consultation period
prior to the works being agreed. If works are to be carried out by our partnering
contractor, consultation period will be 60 days if we are required to tender for
works it would be 120 days. (Section 20 Landlord and tenant act 1985)
32. Could you provide me with information as to how you set my service
charge?
Service Charge is a monthly payment that includes management fees,
building insurance and the cost of maintaining, gardening and decorating of
common parts.
The cost vary from property to property, but the leaseholder would be given
an estimated monthly payment along with the details of the services to be
provided.
If there is a specific charge that is being queried then this can be raised with
our Service Charge Team via Front Office.
If it is a case that they are being charged for a service which they are not
receiving this would be raised with the Neighbourhood Manager.
For general information on how we calculate
charges, we have a brochure called
“We Can Help Explain Our Service Charges”
33. Death of a Leaseholder
If we are notified by telephone of the death of our Leaseholder,
complete the process on Front Office.
This process will produce an email to the Resident Sales Team who
will take the necessary action.
We have a brochure called
“We can help after with the death of a Leaseholder”
The aim of this brochure is to help with some of the basic
procedures that we are required to follow and to give some
assistance and advice to help you make an informed decision on
what to do with the property and any payments due since the loss of
the Leaseholder.
34. Other Leaseholder enquiries
Disposals
Disposals are properties that we no longer need for affordable rent. These properties
are usually in need of major refurbishment and are sold through an Agent or at
auction.
They are all sold in their current condition and there are no restrictions on who can
buy. Typically they are bought by property developers for refurbishment for sale or
let.
Buy to let
Properties that are specifically purchased as investment properties as they are
purchased for the Leaseholder to rent out.
Properties built to be sold and purchased outright 100%
35. Other income received from Leasehold products
Financial year 2011/2012
Solicitors enquires £15,174
Re-mortgage admin fees £791
Notice of transfer to new owner £8,697
Resident Sales Team achieved in total
Total fee income £208,178
Total Capital Income £7,335,010
36. A guide to Social Homebuy We can explain our administrative
Charges
We can help with Staircasing
We can help with re-mortgaging
& further advances
We can help with Lease
Extensions
New Build Homebuy
Leasehold Management Services
We can help after the death of a
Leaseholder
We can help you buy a Resale
property
We can explain our Service
Charges
We can help with Resales
37. Where to find information relating to Home Ownership
Intranet > Policies > Leaseholders
www.familymosaic.co.uk
www.familymosaicsales.co.uk
Customer Careline Folders > FM Leaflets
Resident Sales Team 0207 089 1206 /1339
Customer Care Line, Gill or Oyinda
Notes de l'éditeur
We are going to discuss why a registered social landlord would have leaseholders in their properties
Where does the funding come from?The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA)is the national housing and regeneration agency for England, with a capital investment budget of nearly £7bn and are the governing body for Housing Associations . They contribute to economic growth by helping communities to realise their aspirations for prosperity and to deliver high-quality housing that people can afford. They provide investment for new affordable housing and to improve existing social housing, as well as for regenerating land.
For example:You wish to purchase a property valued at£235,000Minimum share purchase is 35%Which equates to £82,500Most banks will require 10% depositYou would only need around £8K instead of around £23K deposit which makes it more achievable to get on the property ladder.
Eligibility of the Prospective buyers will need to be agreed by the Home buy agent, they will make the necessary checks to confirm the buyer is eligible. If they do not wish to register online and prefer to process a paper application, they can be found on our website under the sales section > important information> downloads.
A brochure that provides good information on Shared Ownership, is the New Build Homebuy which is available to print in the CCL drive FM leaflets or on our website.
Check with the caller that they are registered with the Homebuy Agent, if not advise them that we cannot assist them until they have had their eligibility checked and have received their registration number.
An example of how we receive our income to build further homes and to put back in to the companyApologies, I do not have the end of years figure available
Social HomeBuy is funded under section 19(3) of the Housing and Regeneration Act 2008 as Financial Assistance (FA)
Right to Buy discounts to rise to 75% The Government is set to breathe life into its Right to Buy (RTB) plans and increase the discounts available for tenants to up to 75% of the property in a bid to reinvigorate interest in the scheme. Under the plans it is understood families could receive a 35% discount after five years' residency, with an extra 1% for each additional year, up to a maximum of £75,000. It had previously been expected that the maximum would be set at £50,000. Tenants in flats will get 50% off after five years, with 2% added yearly. Currently the maximum discount stands at £16,000 to £38,000 depending on location. Currently there is no instruction relating to residents of Housing Associations receiving larger discounts to purchase their homes, but if the government are trying to offer incentives for people to own their own homes this may change.
The Homes and Community Agency, the governing body for Housing Associations require that LH may acquire additional shares in their home, at a price equal to the relevant proportion of the current open market value of their home.Leases drawn up before April 2006 - staircasing must take place within 4 steps to become 100% LH and you cannot staircase within the first 12 months of purchase. If LH purchased property as a resale they are unable to staircase until after 3 monthsLeases drawn up after April 2006 - no limit on the number of staircasing transactions and staircasing can take place any time after purchase. If LH purchased property as a resale there is no time limit before they can staircase.
Remember, If they own less than 100% of their property, any potential purchaser will have to complete an application with the Homebuy Agent and be approved. Potential purchaser must meet the criteria set down by the Government and administered by the Homebuy Agents to qualify to buy a shared ownership home.
100% LH can sell to anyone without consultation with FM, we will be notified during sale/purchase process of the change of ownership
Remember,Tony Residents Sales Team Manager has a waiting list of people looking for a Shared Ownership property
If a LH wants a copy of their lease and it is not on Swordfish, a copy can usually be available to view as a PDF from Land Registry immediately. This is not always the case and some can take a few days to be sent to us.Always advise the LH that the request will take up to 7 days just in case any delays in postal services etc.
This is the first year Family Mosaic have promoted Lease Extensions – It generates vital income for us, but is also offering our residents a service .Some of our leases are approaching less than 80 year left – This is known as short and can cause leaseholder problems gaining mortgages and have difficulties securing buyers when selling.Remember- Family Mosaic do not own all our blocks and therefore we do not hold the freehold. The lease extension can only be increased to the amount of years that Family Mosaic have their lease for, with the Freeholder.If you are unsure, you can check the residents lease on Swordfish if available, the lease may show the wording ‘Under lease’ this shows that there is a freeholder, Family Mosaic have a lease with the Freeholder and our leaseholder has a lease with us.UNDER LEASE
Such requests can be processed through Front Office and will be dealt with by our Credit Control TeamSometimes we receive calls where a Shared Owners home is no longer suitable for them and they would like to transfer to another FM Shared Ownership property. There is no scheme in place to do this, they will have to sell their existing property through us in the usual way and the Resident Sales Team will assist with their sale. Until recently the HCA would only grant a new shared ownership property once the old property was sold. People used to have to move into rented to qualify. Finally they have seen sense and will now consider people to move to a new shared ownership property once their property is under offer however the Homebuy agent has to refer the case to the HCA for approval. Remember the Resident Sales Team have a waiting list for people who want Shared Ownership properties and may be able to match them with a potential buyer which will make their sale process far easier.
In general, home owners review their mortgage every 3 – 4 years. Family Mosaic have approximately 2800 leasehold properties therefore we should be receiving remortgage application regularly. Until recently we had 6 in 18 months.Why do we need to know about a remortgage?- To ensure the leaseholder remain the same, to ensure that the new mortgage meets with HCA guidelines.To ensure the mortgage is a shared ownership mortgageTo ensure Family Mosaic are aware of the new lender so that our Building Insurance policy is noted.To ensure no additional borrowing is requested except for Home ImprovementsTo ensure Home Improvements are approved by our Asset Management team to ensure no problems to the structure of building or cause problems to their neighbours.
Shared Ownership agreements prohibit subletting by the owner to protect the public funds and ensure applicants are not entering in to affordable home ownership for commercial gain. For residents who purchased their property under Social Homebuy scheme- The whole point is that it is the persons main home which they have bought with the benefit of a Grant. We have to protect the grant funding for the 5 years, therefore they are not allowed to sublet within this period. If they wish to rent out and are 100% owners then the following applies: The lease they sign states that we will consider letting in the same way as we do for shared owners with our reasonable costs and disbursement paid. So for a short period with a suitable reason – work sabbatical etc. The difference with Social Homebuy tenants is that they have to provide a copy of the tenancy agreement with their request to sublet. If they have a flat there is a sub clause within the lease which says that if they wish to sublet then they have to also provide a copy of the tenancy agreement and pay Family Mosaic 1% of the monthly rent. This doesn’t apply to houses.
Exampleof the Repairs obligation on the intranet
If there is no Building Insurance payment showing, it may be that this building is not owned by FM and we lease the building from the Freeholder, the insurance will be included within the management fees.The resident would have to contact them to arrange a claim. Details of the Managing Agent would have been provided to the Leaseholder when they moved in to their home.Managing Agents contact details will usually be available in the communal area.
Reserve fund/Sinking fund is money held in an interest gathering bank account and is put aside to contribute towards the cost of future cyclical decorations or major works to the block or estate. The aim of the fund is to cover the cost of major works so that the LH’s are not faced with large bills when the works take place. If there is not enough money in the reserve fund to pay for these works then the LH will have to make up the difference. This money is not refundable if you were to sell your home you would not be repaid any of the money. But your solicitor will advise the new purchaser of how much the LH has contributed to the fund.If the Works are urgent and cannot wait for the consultation to be carried out then FM can apply to the LH valuation tribunal for the permission for the works to be carried out without going through Section 20 process.Leasehold Valuation Tribunal (LVT) is an independent decision making body which can make decisions on a variety of disputes relating to residential leasehold properties. The panel on LVT consists of three members: a lawyer, a lay person and a valuer. LVT has the authority to enforce payments of claims and legal fees, dismiss or partly dismiss claims, and attribute fees.
DisposalsPeter Stratford arranges for properties to be sold at Auction, these are properties that are no longer cost effective for us to maintain. Therefore we sell them. If the property is a flat then there will usually be ground rent and possibly service charges if any services provided by FM. If a house we will normally sell as a freehold property therefore no further responsibility to FM.Buy to LetAt the moment we have one block Effra Parade which was built for the sole purpose of people purchasing to rent out as an investment. There will be more of these in the future100% purchase no criteria or eligibility, just built by FM in the capacity as a developer
All this money goes towards building new homes, so you can see how important Leaseholders are to Family Mosaic and our business.
