Affordable housing Cornwall

Shared ownership homes 'unsellable'
EFFORTS to help people on to the property ladder by allowing them to buy a
share in a house are being scuppered by banks refusing to lend to them.
Westcountry councils report homes built for Shared Ownership Schemes have been left empty or rented out  ......   
click here to read the full article on the Western Morning News website

Cornwall Council pass affordable housing development in St Stephens
even with objections from the Parish Council, AONB, the planning office and legal advice.
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The real scandal of 'affordable' homes

WE ARE regularly told that shared ownership houses will provide the first step on the housing ladder for young people, and provide an opportunity for others in years to come.  Unfortunately, this is not the truth. Banks are refusing to lend on these properties, and a recent report by the Commission for Rural Communities stated that securing a mortgage for shared ownership schemes was “increasingly difficult, if not impossible”.
So what is happening to these properties ? In Mevagissey, four affordable homes failed to sell at a subsidised price of just £71,500, and are now being rented out. In Polruan, the shared ownership homes on a recently completed development of 15 affordable homes are “unsellable” as applicants have found it “impossible” to obtain mortgages.
In the last year, developers have rushed to jump on the “affordable” bandwagon, as they know that these houses will get planning permission on sites that would never be considered for standard housing. It would now appear highly likely that instead of providing starter homes, as promised, these developments will revert to being 100% social rented, what used to be known as council houses.
Planners and developers are aware of this likelihood, yet the public is being misled with false promises, and more and more of our beautiful countryside is being lost for the wrong reasons.
B. Honeyman, Mevagissey