Category: The Buzz

Fame at last! We a delighted to say that our first national media item was broadcast by R4 You and Yours consumer program on 26th June 2017.

It would be great if as many people as possible contact the program with their own stories – it is clear that more of us need “to come out of the woodwork” as the presenter says. Here is the link.

A recent article in the Daily Mail has highlighted the exploitative scandal of leasehold houses being sold to innocent first time buyers under the governments “Help to Buy” scheme. It estimates 1 in 7 Help to Buy new homes are leasehold. Not only are the home owners being exploited, but the tax payer too.

The article fails to mention the extra bills for estate maintenance all new build home owners face, and the potential long term effect on the value of these homes in comparison to older, truly freehold houses.

The question is – who is Help to Buy really helping? The government is able to tick a box over housing promises and the commercial house builders are being subsidised to rip off ordinary home owners and the taxpayer!

If you have used Help to Buy and find you are being forced to pay for estate maintenance with no accountability or value for money, please either comment here or join our Facebook group.

 

Channel 5 are filming a new series this summer following families who have had issues after the builder has left. Whilst the main focus may be snagging, they have confirmed that they would take a case study regarding the land maintenance scandal.

So, if you want to be a TV star and tell your story about this rip off then email vicky.maitland@channel5.com or phone 0203 580 3867

If anyone is willing to do this, it may help us all by raising the profile of the issue.