If you are looking for alternative ways to sell your house, you may be asking if you can sell your house to a housing association, and if so how this works.
You can sell your house to a housing association if there is a social housing need where the house is and if the type of property is what’s in demand in that area. But often times housing associates don’t buy properties on the open market, and if they do it will be at below market value.
Housing associations are not for profit organisations which own, let and manage rental properties to people who are often on low incomes or who need extra support. The rent received by housing associations is ploughed back into the organisation to acquire more property and for property maintenance.
What is housing association property?
Housing association property is owned by the housing association and is available for rent by those on low incomes or needing extra support. You can apply for a property to more than one housing association at a time, directly to the housing association or via your local council to be put on a waiting list.
Do housing associations buy private houses?
Housing associations buy private houses if the type of house is what’s needed for social housing in the area. Unless a housing association is looking for a particular type or size of house, they are unlikely to buy the house, but will sometimes rent from private landlords instead of buying property.
How do you sell your house to a housing association?
If you want to sell your house to a housing association, contact your local council and ask them if your property is what’s needed in the area for the type of social housing they have. If it is the right type of house, they will put you in contact with the right housing association.
The housing association will visit your property and will explain to you how the sale will proceed. They will do their own assessment of how much they consider your house is worth and what price they are prepared to pay. It will be up to you if you accept their offer.
Before you meet with the housing association representative, make sure to do your own research into how much your property is worth. You can do this by asking at least two estate agents to value your property.
You can also research this online using Zoopla and Rightmove, but when you do, make sure to look at sold-comparables, rather than looking at properties that haven’t yet sold. Make sure to look at similar properties to yours and preferably those that are in the same postcode area.
Once you’ve researched similar properties in your area, make sure you discount/increase the value of your property when compared to the state of repair of similar properties.
By having a good idea of what your property is worth, you will know if the price offered by the housing association is fair.
How much do housing associations pay for houses?
Housing associations tend to pay below market value for the houses they buy, for example housing associations bought up houses at a discount from private builders who wanted to offload their stock amid uncertainty around Brexit.
Reasons why you would want to sell your house to a housing association
The area has fallen into disrepute making it difficult to sell it privately*.
* Housing associations may not necessarily buy your property if the area has fallen into disrepute, but if they do, what they pay will take this into consideration.
What properties housing associates buy?
Most Housing Associations only buy properties at the behest of Local Authorities and take account of social housing needs in the area and the types of property in demand.
If your property is what’s needed, you have a better chance of selling it to the housing association and getting more for it.
For example, is there a need for 1 bedroom flats and yours is a 1 bed-flat, or if 4 bedroom houses are in demand and you want to sell a 4-bed house, this will make a difference whether your property will be purchased.
What type of housing is housing association property?
Housing association properties are offered for Social Housing, as housing associations are Registered Social Landlords or Private Registered Providers of Social Housing. Housing associations offer houses to those most suited to that particular property, but suitable property may take a long time to become available.
Alternatives to selling your house to a housing association
If your reason for wanting to sell your house to a housing association is because you want a quick house sale, these are your alternatives:
Can you sell your house to a housing association and still live in it?
It’s unlikely you can sell your house to a housing association and still live in it, which is called a sale and rent back. But if a housing association were to buy your house and let you live in it they must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to do so, as sale and rent backs are regulated by the FCA.
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Can You Sell Your House To A Housing Association?
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Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been investing in property since purchasing his first commercial property in the 1990's for his own Chartered Accountancy business. But his first property investment project was to turn an old dilapidated restaurant into a large 5-bed home, which he purchased for £117,500 and sold for £450,000 (to see an "after" photo of the house before it was sold see here: About). Russell owns a number of investment properties, which includes houses, flats and HMO's. More recently he has turned his creative side to investing in property using lease options. His largest lease option deal to date was to acquire 12 properties worth over £2 million for just £12, which means he paid just £1 to acquire each property!
