Need to sell home for our safety but can't due to clawback

[Sch3cter]

Hi Folks,

I was just hopeing someone could offer some advice on our issue.

We moved in to home, bought via the affordable housing scheme, in Jan' 2008. Since Oct' 2008 we have had huge problems with antisocial behaviour. We have been to the council and the Gardai neither of which seem to give a flying sh...! It has just escalated and escalated. The damage includes-
- Having our sky cable ripped off the wall several times
-graffiti written in blood on the walls
-our phone line ripped out of the wall ( on the outside of the house ) twice , the second time the damage was so bad that they snapped the cable inside the wall of the house so that eircom had to drill through our sitting room and run a new cable down the length of the wall.
-Had the 4 tyres on the car let down and the rear wiper snapped off
There is loads of other stuff but to be honest if I put it all here we'd be here forever.
Basically we want out, but we can't sell because of the clawback. We have tried to ask the council if they would drop it as we want to sell our home not for profit or gain but because we fear for our safety. But this fell on deaf ears.We have talked to TDs who either show no interest or can do very little for us. We went to a solicitor who told us that we have no rights because we " didn't ask the council who are neighbours who be" But in fairness we were 1 of 4 occupied houses on our road for about 5 months when moved in. At the moment we don't live there full time simply because we are too afraid so we stay with my partners parents.
Has anyone any idea of what we can do or how we get out of there?

 

[Brendan Burgess]

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[Cheeus]

We can't sell because of the clawback.

What is it about the clawback that is preventing you from selling?
How much did you pay for the property and how much is it now worth?

I would have thought that if you bought in January 2008 prices would have fallen so much that you would have no clawback?

If it is still worth more than you paid for it the council will still only look for the difference between what you paid and what you can get for it now.

If the issue is that you can't sell it at all because it's in a bad area that's different, but it's not really an affordable housing issue. Do you want to sell it for much less than it's worth to get rid of it? If that's the problem you'll never be able to do it, whether you had bought via affordable or privately.

If you can clarify exactly what the issue is with the clawback then people might be able to better advise. What council is it?

 

[Sch3cter]

Hi,

Thanks for replying.

We bought the house for 179k but at the mo' the same house is selling in our estate for 165-170k. We asked Laois CoCo about it and they said we still have to take the loss AND pay the clawback.
The only reason we want to sell is because we have had enough of the antisocial behaviour and want out of there but we can't as we can't afford to pay the clawback to the council.

Thanks,
Schec

NB- there was 9 replies on this thread but the moderator took them all down as my title was too vague.

 

[Cactus Cat]

Hi Sch3cter, whoever you talked to at the council doesn't know what they're talking about! If you sell your house for less than you paid for it you owe no clawback. Section 9(3)(d) of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2002.

 

[Cheeus]

Whoever you spoke to in the council had their facts wrong. Terrible to think that they misinformed you and caused you all this worry. Put a written request for clarification in writing to a senior person in the housing department - maybe a complaint about being given wrong information too.

The council can insist on a valuation to ensure that you don't sell it for less than it is currently worth. You will have to pay off your mortgage obviously, but you won't owe the council anything if it is now worth less than you paid for it.

I'd ask the solicitor you spoke to for your money back! If they know affordable housing they should know how clawback works in negative equity. Strange too that the TDs wouldn't have known that you could sell now without owing clawback?

You didn't buy via shared ownership? It would be more complicated if the council owned a share I imagine - though I don't know how it actually works.