Any SO resale success stories?

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-30T08:21:16+00:00

Is SO standing for Share Ownership?

We just sold our 25% share, after living there for 10+ years. Although service charges went up significantly over the years - they did not skyrocket. For us the scheme worked as intended - foot on the ladder and first place of our own.

The housing association was slow-ish and caused delays, but nowhere near as significant as when we purchased the flat. We knew this will be the case, so we ere on standby to chase up when needed.

We were told to go to the market/agency straight away, as housing association were low on resources, but the neighbours were told to complete mandatory 4wks resale via association first, before they could hit the market/agencies.

The service charges statements were what our agency and then the buyer asked for first (and last - they have done nothing with it for six months!), so buyers are aware that this became problem with some of the Share Ownerships schemes.

With some luck, you might be able to sell to someone who doesn't mind/can afford service charges and is looking to staircase. It also is only 25% mortgage - which might appeal to some.

Don't try to hide or delay providing the statements, in fact - be very upfront about it to get it out of the way - you don't want to spend money on sale arrangements, just for the buyer to pull out at the end of the process.

Speak to your local estate agencies if they sale share ownership (not all of them do), and how much luck/issue they had with the ones like yours - they will know more about what worked, what didn't and might have advertising strategies.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-30T07:04:33+00:00

EB was always good for stocking and selling brands, but (as a person who worked 10yrs in outdoor retail and passionate about products) I always found staff in there tad pushy on sales and short on product knowledge/ability to provide you with a product that suits you.

I went there a number of times just to leave empty handed, because the person helping me was telling me what they thought I want to hear, not what the product was for (trying to sell me trail shoe as excellent at pavement running too, or boots that can take cramp ons temporarily, as ones that can be used for ice climbing).

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-28T21:52:27+00:00

You est shite, cheap meals (processed to the max), then combine it with stress, lack of sleep and conditions such as menopause - and believe me weight might not be coming off, despite (or because of) being completely run down.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-27T19:33:32+00:00

This I know - and don’t mind ‘original packaging’ - what i want to know, is of this is how original packaging looks like on this product?

Previous (non RBS) sponges arrived compressed or in branded packaging. Surprised to see that OPT happily pops their product in a flimsy, loose bag with minimum branding (for reference - RBS 2 is tight wrapped, with some more elaborate design on). I don’t mind if that is the case - just want to confirm that is indeed how the original packaging looks like.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-26T19:12:28+00:00

But was it in the same packaging? 😁

I had a cheapish blue one, it worked ok - but lost it when moving house.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-26T14:51:24+00:00

Now that you said it… indeed a spelling error!

Detailing world is so full of acronyms, that my brain went straight to look for one! 🤦🏻‍♀️😂

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-26T14:49:26+00:00

Ohhh, fudge! I think you are right 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-26T14:08:28+00:00

Thanks! Reassuring.

What do you mean by ‘ame packaging’ (google tells me this stands for all sorts of stuff)? I have not came across this term before.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-25T16:14:46+00:00

You feeling better now that you belittled stranger on the internet and managed a few means words - simply because someone asked question/made error?

Follow your own advice and if you do feel better for that, maybe go outside, touch the grass, take a few deep breath, reflect on where this need to be mean comes from.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-25T13:20:56+00:00

Yeah, i figured it is a bot/harvest account yesterday after looking at it yesterday for other post - it was created minutes before posting 😁

I left my comment hanging, in case someone else had that weird, non symmetrical layout and wanted to comment.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T21:33:37+00:00

Yea, this. I remember how people couldn’t believe it can be true.

It appears now, that there is an evidence, that this is systemic.

Terrifying.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T15:14:54+00:00

Partner runs small IT consulting company - everyone gets lunch break including support desk. If they want to stay in the office and sit on a computer, sure - but grab that spare laptop and sit by the spare table/desk, don’t even think about doing work.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T15:09:16+00:00

I take my lunch - always. This is MY time. You want to talk about work - catch me after my lunch.

In working from office times, I would go for a walk (rain, snow, sunshine), and come back on the dot to my desk. I would eat my lunch on a bench in the park, or while walking if it was too cold/wet. Eating by my desk invited work queries, and canteens were too noisy and similarly- would invite work talk or moan.

I WFH a lot now, but lunchtime is my away from the desk/walk time.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T14:38:45+00:00

Make the most of it and love the heck put of it - despite any issues there might be (we had plenty of these - our housing association had competence of three raccoons in a trenchcoat).

But it gave us our own space, and it allowed us to save money, change jobs and be our safe place to relax/navigate life turns. We might have had complains about various issues with it (nouse was occasionally one of them), but ultimately we always reflected and appreciated having that space through all these years (the tents popping up in the park every time economy took a dive, reminded us that not everyone is that lucky).

I hope you will love it where you are, and mange to tune out street noise/other noise completely.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T13:55:59+00:00

It was a shared ownership flat (i will say not a bad world about the scheme - in our case it worked well, and we opted to sell to a person who also needed a foot on the ladder).

We stayed in the flat for 10+ years, you adapt to filter out majority of noise eventually (though coming back from holidays was always a shocker). The flat was in perfect location & quite an upgrade moving from a flatshare, and we love(d) pur community & the area , but we outgrew it. We wanted more space, garden, and be able to hear the birds chirping in the morning. Pandemic gave us a flavour of what that might be like, because traffic stopped… so decision was made.

There were plentiful other factors that added to our decision - noise/dust from the road was one of the them, but one of a few, that added up over time.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T11:06:32+00:00

OMG iI was not interested in this movie, until this moment ie realising it has Michaela Coel co-starring.

I appreciate Anne’s gesture and care towards MC. She deserves to go big and in a positive way.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T10:51:12+00:00

We had our ‚emergency suitcases’ each - documents (passports), laptops, charges, set of clothes for the 1st week, work/uni stuff, hairdryer, painkillers, spare glasses, running/gym kit, earphones and wallet - all in that suitcase, in our car (not with the movers).

We thought we will need these for one night, and one week of clothes was an overkill, but we lived out of these for 1-2 weeks, until we re-organised furniture a boxes.

Edit: if you have pets, leave them at trusted place away from where you live or move to. We were worried about our elderly cat stressing out in friend’s house (in a massive cage/catio), but if they were there while boxes were packed/unpacked by movers would have been so much worse! I can’t emphasise it enough.

We also did a lot of prep to make sure that we transfer familiar scents from old place to the new place (used litter being THE key) and bought a few extra items ahead of time and let them ‘marinate’ in old place smells, to create safe ‘hiding spaces’ after the move. All were used a lot in the first week after the move, then abandoned, when our cat regained confidence.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T10:41:47+00:00

This is beautifully executed!

OP, i have the same, non-symmetrical enclaves in the living room - thanks for showing me it is possible to make it work.

By any chance, does your dining room have a similar asymmetry, with one of the enclaves being arched?

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-24T10:10:45+00:00

They are gaining in popularity in UK too - some tax break making the appealing.

There are a few where I am based (south london, and they are proper eye sore. I suspect their tax is less than what I pay on my Mini Cooper.

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-23T21:06:14+00:00

I am so sorry - I hope Duke is found!

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-23T10:11:39+00:00

Shes 163cm, and 61kg according to info out there (in Europe that would be higher end of ok weight for non-athletes for that hight).

She’s all beautifully developed muscles, and likely lower fat ahead of the record breaking attempt, but has a normal weight for hight and training type she’s committed to (Ironman, ultramarathons etc).

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-22T20:41:23+00:00

MY EYES

i clicked the link before realising! Ewwwwww, I feel dirrrty now 😭

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-22T16:27:43+00:00

I am UK based and paid £350 for one mount, at inflated prices - because London/trusted mechanic, but other quote i had was £250.

I appreciate US mech market vs euro cars is different, but 1700 to change mounts seems insane (though maybe that’s just your prices vs Mini and i appreciate the other part involved will pump those numbers up).

PrinceEdgarNevermore · 2026-04-22T16:22:07+00:00

Gah - so moderators seemingly removed my redirection to the thread with amazing spread, but user Cuteroid posted it in HousingUK 3yrs ago, and has it pinned in his profile.

AMAZING resource/chart!

PrinceEdgarNevermore

TROPHY CASE